The Clap
Amazon is gearing up to compete with Elon Musk’s SpaceX in delivering internet from space.
Backstory
Amazon first announced its ambitions back in 2019. The project only started gaining momentum last month, when Amazon signed a multi-billion dollar partnership with three companies, including its ex-CEO Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin.
The deets
Amazon plans to launch Project Kuiper, a group of 3,236 small satellites. For reference, Musk’s SpaceX currently has around 2,000 satellites, which serve around 250k subscribers. SpaceX is allowed up to 12k satellites.
Why this matters
The satellite communications market is valued at tens of billions of dollars. Currently, around 37% of the world’s population has never used the internet, mostly coming from developing countries.
