Amazon had said previously it planned to spend at least $10
billion to build 3,236 such satellites through its Project Kuiper programme.
Late on Thursday it asked the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for
approval to deploy a total of 7,774 satellites for the project.
On Monday, Amazon asked the FCC for approval to launch and
operate two prototype satellites by the end of 2022.
Amazon said in its filing the satellites "will serve
households, hospitals, businesses, government agencies, and other organisations
around the world, including in geographic areas where reliable broadband
remains lacking."
"Although connectivity has improved on a global basis,
only 51% of the global population, and 44 percent of the population of
developing countries, are online," the company filing said.
In 2020, the FCC approved the Project Kuiper plan for the
constellation of low-Earth orbit satellites to compete with the Starlink
network being built out by Elon Musk's SpaceX.
Amazon has sparred with Musk, recently accusing the
billionaire of ignoring a variety of government-imposed rules.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Musk are rivals in the private
space launch business. Bezos' Blue Origin had challenged the National Aeronautics
and Space Administration's decision to award a $2.9 billion lunar lander
contract to SpaceX but a judge rejected the challenge on Thursday.
SpaceX has deployed more than 1,700 satellites.
Earlier this week, the FCC approved Boeing's application to
launch and operate 147 satellites to provide high-speed broadband internet
access.
Boeing first filed with the FCC in 2017 seeking approval to
deploy a V-band Constellation of mostly low-Earth orbit satellites.
Boeing said this week it "sees a multi-orbit future for
satellite technologies. As the demand for satellite communications grows,
diversity will be required across orbital regimes and frequencies to satisfy
unique customer demands." © Reuters
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