FCC Green-Lights Amazon's Second-Gen Leo Satellite System

Amazon has received clearance to launch a second-generation satellite constellation for Leo, which promises to boost coverage and speeds for the company’s Starlink challenger.

The Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday gave Amazon the green light to launch an additional 4,504 satellites for Leo in low-Earth orbit. Of those, 1,292 will focus on covering the Earth’s polar regions, which should include Alaska and northern Canada.

(Credit: FCC)

The decision also means Leo’s second-generation satellites can beam data over more radio frequencies, including “V-band” along with the “Ku” bands, from 10.7 to 12.7GHz, 12.75 to 13.25GHz, and 14.0 to 14.5GHz—similar to the FCC’s approval for second-generation Starlink satellites back in 2022.

Also like Starlink, the FCC granted Amazon a waiver on the “equivalent power-flux density” limits so Leo can operate at higher power levels in the US to improve speeds. In total, the approval means Leo can span 7,736 satellites when accounting for the first-generation constellation.

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“Amazon Leo Gen 1 performance is impressive on its own, but lots to look forward to with Leo Gen 2: More capacity, more coverage (including polar) and additional throughput—good for customers everywhere, and especially important for big enterprise/gov customers who want max performance to move large amounts of data through our network,” said Rajeev Badyal, Amazon’s VP for Leo.

Amazon filed for the second-gen system in 2021. But the approval is especially notable now because the company doesn’t expect to reach an FCC-imposed deadline for the first-generation Leo constellation. Amazon was supposed to launch at least half of its 3,232 first-gen satellites by late July. But the constellation currently spans about 180 satellites, and is only expected to increase to around 700 by mid-summer.

If the company doesn’t hit the threshold, then it risks losing the authority to launch and operate more satellites for the first-generation system. As a result, Amazon last month asked the commission to push back the deadline or waive it. We’ll have to see how the FCC rules, but Tuesday’s approval means the company can at the very least launch satellites for the second-generation constellation.

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That said, the FCC’s approval technically amounts to a “partial grant.” The commission deferred on the company’s request to “operate in the 20.2-21.2GHz and 30.0-31.0GHz bands.”

Leo is already promising speeds up to 1Gbps for enterprise users. The main challenge for Amazon is launching the needed satellites when SpaceX’s Starlink is already serving over 9 million users across the globe through about 8,300 satellites in operational orbits. Although Amazon is behind, the company told the FCC it’s spending billions to secure more rocket flights. In the meantime, Leo remains in a private beta with select business customers. The company is also slated to launch another batch of 32 satellites this Thursday.