Starlink alternative from Amazon to be available in Germany in early 2026
In spring, Amazon's satellite internet will be available to book in five countries. According to the US company, this includes Germany as well as the USA.
(Image: Amazon)
Amazon's Starlink alternative should also be available in Germany by next spring – in addition to the USA, Canada, France and the UK. This was reported by Bloomberg, citing Amazon manager Ricky Freeman, who presented the schedule for Amazon Kuiper in Paris on Monday. According to the report, the US company wants to have placed 200 Kuiper satellites in low earth orbit by the end of the year and release the satellite internet for the first users. By the end of 2026, it should be available in up to 26 countries and be extended further south. The equator should be reached in 2027. By 2028, Amazon Kuiper wants to be able to offer the service in 88 to 100 countries thanks to over 3,000 satellites.
Still a long way from the model
Amazon has launched more than 100 satellites into space for the project since August, almost half of them using rockets from competitor SpaceX. Four more launches are planned for this year, including with an Ariane 6. The aim is to build a satellite internet that can compete with Starlink. However, the great role model has already been available in dozens of countries on all continents for years and has reportedly been generating as much money as it costs to operate since 2023. However, because Starlink is lagging plans in terms of customer numbers and revenue, it is still unclear whether the market for satellite internet is big enough. Apart from that, however, Starlink has demonstrated enormous strategic value in the war in Ukraine.
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After years of delays at Amazon Kuiper, construction is now proceeding at the planned speed. Nevertheless, the US telecommunications authority FCC's target of launching half of the more than 3,200 satellites into space by July 2026 is unlikely to be met. Just a few days ago, the US company announced that Project Kuiper had achieved a transmission rate of more than one gigabit per second via a satellite internet connection. This relates to the download speed, but the upload speed is also said to be impressive. In real operation, however, a maximum download speed of 400 MBit/s should be achieved, which corresponds to the value of Starlink.
(mho)
