Amazon on Tuesday said its Project Kuiper satellite-based internet service will get a big helping hand from its Amazon Web Services division, enabling the service to run faster and more securely.
Amazon Web Services, or AWS, powers websites and cloud services around the world, and is quietly the most profitable part of the retail giant. So it makes sense that Project Kuiper will tap into the AWS infrastructure to help it deliver internet services to big businesses, government agencies, and consumers. The company said AWS will allow it to reach more people in a shorter time.
“Amazon founded Project Kuiper with the vision of bringing affordable broadband connectivity to tens of millions of customers around the world, and using AWS helps us accelerate and scale our network deployment and business operations,” said Rajeev Badyal, vice president of technology for Project Kuiper. “Running the Kuiper network in the cloud means we can rapidly extend our residential connectivity services to countries around the world and help our business customers access the data and services they need from virtually any location on the planet.”
Amazon is betting big on Project Kuiper, which represents a wholly new business for the retail giant. The company last month launched two test satellites into space, hitting a major benchmark to provide satellite-based internet service, and two weeks ago said it had successfully tested video streaming, shopping, and other basic connectivity tests. It aims to begin offering services next year as it plays catch-up with Elon Musk’s Starlink service, which already offers satellite-based internet around the world.
AWS will play a role in helping Amazon deploy its service, with AWS working in the background to smartly route traffic and help with network optimization.
Amazon fittingly announced the partnership onstage at the company’s annual re:Invent conference, which focuses on all things AWS. The company unveiled the ability for big business and government customers to securely move their data from a remote location to AWS without touching the public internet, and said that Project Kuiper will eventually offer these capabilities as well.
“Project Kuiper is a global, high-speed satellite network that will provide connectivity to places that have never had coverage before,” AWS CEO Adam Selipsky said. “Imagine the power of delivering, in very hard to reach places, the ability to access the internet with the same kind of speed and reliability that most of us take for granted every day. The possibilities for consumers are enormous, but so are the benefits to companies and governments”
Image credit: Amazon