Amazon told a regulator in the UK that it's developing technology that will connect smartphones to its planned Project Kuiper constellation of low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites.
"Amazon's D2D offerings are in development," the company wrote to Ofcom, the telecommunications regulator in the UK, in response to the agency's "call for input" on direct-to-device (D2D) services in the country.
Continued the company: "Amazon is exploring options for D2D services and is seeking to develop the most versatile technical solutions for D2D offerings. Certainly, the value proposition is for D2D services to complement the use case of existing terrestrial mobile wireless service because D2D offers service beyond the reach of existing terrestrial mobile networks."
Amazon also urged the agency to avoid placing strict guidelines on D2D technologies, including limiting what types of spectrum bands might support such offerings. "D2D operations in all spectrum bands allocated for terrestrial mobile wireless services and all geographic areas where applicants can demonstrate compliance with applicable terrestrial service rules and protection requirements," Amazon wrote.
That position would appear to put Amazon alongside SpaceX's Starlink, AST SpaceMobile and Lynk Global. All three of those companies are hoping to run their own respective D2D services through the existing spectrum holdings of terrestrial mobile network operators. Other companies, like Viasat and Globalstar, run their D2D services through their satellite spectrum holdings.
Amazon didn't immediately respond to questions from Light Reading about its new filing with Ofcom. The company has previously made clear its plans to connect its satellites to cell sites operated by the likes of Vodafone and Verizon, but it has not previously indicated plans to enter the D2D space. D2D connections link customers' smartphones directly to satellites, not network operators' cell sites.
Another entrant
Amazon's Project Kuiper-branded satellite gambit has been maturing since the company first announced its intentions to enter the sector in 2019. On its website, Amazon said it hopes to begin deploying its satellite constellation via rockets from the likes of Arianespace, ULA, SpaceX and Blue Origin starting early next year, a slight delay from previous plans. Amazon said it will offer commercial Internet services – stationary connections to its dedicated receivers – starting later in 2025.
Amazon hopes to eventually operate more than 3,000 LEO satellites, and its FCC license requires the company to deploy and operate at least half of those satellites by July 2026.
Project Kuiper's technology and business model closely mirrors that of SpaceX's Starlink. Already Starlink's broadband Internet service counts around 4 million customers – those using its stationary receivers – across more than 6,000 satellites.
SpaceX is currently in the process of refreshing its constellation with Gen 2 satellites capable of using terrestrial operators' existing spectrum holdings in order to connect smartphones directly to its new satellites. So far SpaceX has launched roughly 300 Gen2 Starlink satellites capable of such D2D connections.
Thus, if Amazon does enter the D2D sector, it would likely continue following the lead of Starlink.
Other companies either offering D2D services or hoping to do so include Globalstar, AST SpaceMobile, EchoStar, MidWave Wireless, Omnispace, Ligado Networks, Skylo, Lynk Global, Viasat, Iridium and others.
It's not clear what network operators might be interested in Amazon's D2D services. Vodafone and Verizon – two Project Kuiper customers for cell site connections – have already said they intend to use AST SpaceMobile for D2D services.
The T-Mobile connection
T-Mobile in the US may be the first wireless network operator to connect its customers to Starlink's new cellular-capable Gen 2 satellites. Other operators hoping to use Starlink's satellites for D2D offerings include Rogers in Canada, Optus in Australia, One New Zealand, KDDI in Japan, Salt in Switzerland, and Entel in Chile and Peru.
SpaceX and T-Mobile are currently urging US regulators to approve SpaceX's out-of-band emissions waiver request. That has stirred up opposition among a wide variety of companies including AT&T, Verizon, Orange, Telefonica and Vodafone.
T-Mobile and SpaceX have been pointing to the emergency-related aspects of their planned service in order to convince regulators to quickly approve their waiver request.
The latest: The FCC will temporarily allow SpaceX and T-Mobile to offer their direct-to-cell services in areas affected by Hurricane Helene.
"The satellites have already been enabled and started broadcasting emergency alerts to cell phones on all networks in North Carolina. In addition, we may test basic texting (SMS) capabilities for most cell phones on the T-Mobile network in North Carolina," SpaceX wrote on social media. "SpaceX's direct-to-cell constellation has not been fully deployed, so all services will be delivered on a best-effort basis."
T-Mobile argued such efforts could help first responders.
"While SpaceX's direct-to-cell constellation has not been fully deployed, we felt that getting even this early test version into the hands of people on the ground could provide vital support as teams work to get infrastructure and services back online and help first responders with rescue efforts," T-Mobile wrote on its website.
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