Taking on SpaceX, Amazon to invest $10 billion in satellite broadband plan

Amazon.com Inc said on Thursday it will invest more than $10 billion to build a network of 3,236 satellites that will provide high-speed broadband internet services to people around the world who lack such access.

The announcement follows the Federal Communications Commission’s approval of the plan, called “Project Kuiper”, for the constellation of low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites that will compete with the Starlink network being built out by Elon Musk’s SpaceX. It also comes on the heels of Amazon posting its biggest profit in its 26-year history.

“A project of this scale requires significant effort and resources, and, due to the nature of LEO constellations, it is not the kind of initiative that can start small. You have to commit,” the company said in a blog post.