Amazon’s Gen 1 performance has been impressive, but the introduction of Gen 2 satellites promises even more capacity, coverage, and throughput. This upgrade is aimed at providing better services to customers worldwide, especially large enterprise and government clients who require high-performance networks for data transfer.
The upgraded constellation will enable high-speed services such as satellite TV and 5G through the Ku-band and V-band frequencies. Amazon’s move to utilize these bands aligns with competitors like SpaceX’s Starlink network, which already operates in these frequency ranges.
While the FCC has approved most of Amazon’s requested frequencies, there are still some pending requests, including operating in specific ranges of the Ka-band. Challenges from competitors like Iridium and Viasat have been dismissed by the regulatory agency.
Amazon has made progress in launching Gen 1 satellites, with 180 already in orbit and more scheduled for launch this week. However, the company is behind the FCC’s required timeline, prompting a request for an extension to meet the milestones. The FCC has set deadlines for the deployment of the Gen 2 satellites, requiring half of them to be launched by February 2032 and all to be operational by February 2035.
