Amazon, SpaceX heat up race to dominate satellite internet

Though satellite internet has existed for years, the competition is about to rapidly intensify, with companies planning to launch thousands of their own systems into low Earth orbit.

The latest move in the industry came on April 5 from Amazon, which took a major step towards getting its $10 billion Kuiper constellation off the ground by sealing deals with three rocket companies.

The U.S. online retail giant wants to strengthen its lucrative diversification into IT services, and "provide low-latency broadband to a wide range of customers," including those "working in locations without a reliable internet connection."

"Satellite solutions are an indispensable complement to fiber," said Stephane Israel, chief executive of Arianespace, one of the Amazon rocket providers.

"There are situations in which fiber is much too expensive compared to satellite connections, especially to reach the last inhabitant of a remote area," he explained.

In addition to the satellites themselves, Amazon plans "small, affordable client terminals" along the lines of Echo smart-homes and Kindle e-readers, and promises to "provide service at a price that is affordable and accessible to customers," with no further pricing details immediately.

Satellite internet already exists: U.S. customers have access to HughesNet and Viasat, while in Europe, Orange subsidiary Nordnet - among others - uses the power of the Eutelsat Konnect satellite to offer broadband to its customers.

Costs for users start under 60 euros ($70) per month, excluding terminal and antenna, and increase according to the bandwidth.

But because these services use satellites at geostationary orbit - more than 35,000 kilometers from Earth's surface - their speed cannot match...