Amazon has inaugurated a new facility in Kirkland, Washington, dedicated to the production of satellites for its Project Kuiper. This project aims to establish a constellation of low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites to provide internet connectivity.
Amazon’s Project Kuiper has entered into an agreement to offer low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite services across seven Latin American countries. This distribution deal with Vrio, the parent company of DirecTV Latin America and Sky Brasil, will see high-speed Internet services provided to Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia.
T-Mobile has secured a significant $2.67 billion defense contract, positioning itself as the primary wireless solutions provider for the U.S. Navy over the next decade. This contract, known as Spiral 4, succeeds the earlier Spiral 3 agreement, which expired in May. The new arrangement allows all U.S. Department of Defense agencies to access T-Mobile’s wireless services and equipment until 2034.
Reports this week indicate that the Indian government is expected to postpone spectrum allocations for satellite broadband providers by four to six months, awaiting clarity following the ongoing general elections. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is reportedly holding off on final decisions until after the election results are announced on June 4.
Indonesia is poised to welcome SpaceX’s Starlink LEO satellite broadband service within the next two weeks, announced Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, the coordinating minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment. According to government sources, Starlink has secured the necessary agreement and license from Indonesian authorities to commence satellite internet operations.
In a significant development for remote connectivity, Telstra, the Australian telecom giant, has initiated the transition of its remote mobile sites to the low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite network provided by Eutelsat OneWeb. This move marks a departure from the traditional geostationary (GEO) satellites, aimed at reducing latency issues and meeting the growing demand for real-time services among customers.
BT’s recent talks with SpaceX to leverage Starlink’s LEO satellite fleet for remote connectivity in the UK has sparked curiosity, especially given BT’s current partnership with OneWeb, Starlink’s competition. It’s speculated that Starlink’s innovative direct-to-device capabilities, which promise unblemished global coverage without a need for a terminal, could be the allure.
China finished building the first launchpad at its Wenchang spaceport for the Long March 8 rocket. OmniOn Power’s Intelligent Distribution Bay addresses the growing challenges in the telecom and data center industry by providing real-time monitoring. Infobip launched AI Hub, an advanced upgrade integrating analytics, AI, and gen AI features to facilitate seamless end-to-end conversational experiences. CallTower joined the International Trade Council, reinforcing its dedication to excellence in Cloud Communications. The US government granted $50 million to Dish for the Open RAN Center for Integration & Deployment (ORCID), aimed at enhancing the global Open RAN ecosystem.
SpaceX’s Starlink project faced a setback this week as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted 3-2 to maintain its decision to deny funding from the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF). The initial award in late 2020 aimed to extend broadband coverage to nearly 643,000 premises in 35 states.
OneWeb, a Eutelsat entity, gained India’s coveted regulatory endorsement to usher in its satellite broadband service, evoking enthusiastic response from Eutelsat’s co-chair, Sunil Bharti Mittal. This development signifies a new era for India’s internet coverage in line with the Prime Minister’s digital vision. However, a crucial spectrum allocation by the government awaits, making OneWeb’s journey not entirely smooth sailing. An array of procedural and regulatory hurdles demands navigation, alongside competing market perspectives delaying the process.
