Amazon seems to have identified another market for launching Project Kuiper: India, a fast and affordable internet service.
Job listings indicate that a US e-commerce group is hiring an Indian executive to launch an internet service. The company plans to use low earth orbit satellites for that purpose.
One Bangalore-based position aims to hire managers to implement and manage project licensing strategies in India and Asia Pacific countries. The company also employs a business strategy manager on its domestic development team to “launch and operate” nationwide broadband services.
“Successful candidates are voluntary, highly analytical, work very effectively in a matrix organization, understand how business works in India, and create innovative, cutting-edge solutions for their clients. I’m good at doing it, “Amazon says on the list. work. ..
The company, which has reportedly been working on launching an Internet service in India for over a year, did not respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.
Amazon launched Project Kyper in 2019 with the goal of deploying a large broadband satellite Internet constellation that competes with SpaceX’s Starlink, at least in paper. The Seattle-based company promises to invest more than $ 10 billion in projects and intends to provide affordable broadband to underserved and underserved communities around the world. Said that.
Last year, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved the company to launch and operate a constellation of over 3,200 Internet satellites. The company plans to launch its first satellite later this year, indicating that the United States could be the first market to deploy Kyper’s Internet.
In addition to providing direct broadband connectivity to consumers, Project Kuiper said it will also offer carrier backhaul services. In April, Amazon announced partnerships with commercial space companies Arianespace, Blue Origin and the United Launch Alliance (ULA), ensuring up to 83 launches of its low-orbit (LEO) satellite system.
India is already the second largest internet market in the world, but about half of its population is still offline. According to data compiled by the World Bank, only 43% of India’s total population will use the Internet in 2020, significantly less than the United States, which has an Internet penetration rate of 91%.
This explains why so many tech giants have tried to launch internet services in India for years.
SpaceX’s Starlink announced last year that it plans to launch up to 200,000 handsets in India by the end of 2022. The company enthusiastically began accepting pre-orders in India until it randomly abandoned the project without the approval of the local government.
OneWeb, a London-based company backed by Bharti Airtel, is one of the leading players launching satellite broadband services in India. Launched a satellite in partnership with the New Space Unit of the Indian Space Research Organization.
Nerco, owned by Tata Group, is also running to provide satellite-based broadband internet in India. Similarly, Reliance Jio has partnered with Luxembourg-based terrestrial and satellite communications provider SES to announce a native satellite broadband service called JioSpace Technology in February.
“We are confident that broadband satellite communications will be available by next year,” Lieutenant General AK Bhatt, CEO of the Indian Space Association (IsPA), said in an interview with TechCrunch.
IsPA memberships launched last year include Larsen & Tubro, Nerco, OneWeb, Bharti Airtel and Walchandonaga Industries. It involves both the government and its agencies and private citizens to act as the “collective voice” of India’s space industry.
Bert said the government is likely to announce a new space policy 2022 that will fully clarify the regulatory system.
“The first broadband services from the LEO Constellation can be slightly more costly, but the power and volume of the market outweighs this. In the long run, satcom broadband will become” Fiber in the Sky “to users. It provides seamless communication, “he says.