FCC Grants Key Waiver to Amazon Leo, Keeping Competitive Pressure on Musk’s Starlink

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Amazon: The FCC has given Amazon’s $10 billion satellite Internet network a conditional green light to keep launching. In a June 5 order, FCC Space Bureau ChiefJay Schwarz granted Amazon Leo – the company’s low‑Earth‑orbit broadband project – a limited waiver allowing it to continue deploying its Gen1 constellation even though it will miss a July 30, 2026 deadline to have half its satellites in orbit. Amazon Leo has launched only 331 satellites so far and expects to have 700 deployed by July 30, 2026, a target unlikely to be met and far short of the 1,616 LEOs required by the agency. “Waiver serves the public interest by promoting a second large satellite broadband constellation. At this time, only one operator, SpaceX, is providing broadband to American consumers from low-Earth orbit. Amazon Leo’s service promises to be ‘groundbreaking,’ both in quality of service and affordability for consumers,” Schwarz said in his 10-page order. ** (More after paywall)**

FCC Space Bureau Chief Jay Schwarz

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