Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos are fighting publicly in front of the FCC over approval of SpaceX's addition of lower altitude satellites for its satellite internet. The two are competing for the future of space satellite internet with Musk's Starlink project and Amazon's Project Kuiper.
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- Elon's SpaceX is trying to convince the FCC that it should be allowed to move some Starlink satellites to lower altitudes than had been first approved, but Amazon is objecting to it, as its own satellites are designed to operate in lower altitudes.
- Musk claims that Amazon is objecting to the request to move satellites lower in order to stifle competition, as Amazon's satellites aren't yet ready.
- Elon tweeted today that it doesn't serve the public for the FCC to hamstring his own Starlink project while waiting for Amazon's satellites to be built and finished, which could take years.
- Amazon News, an official Amazon Twitter account, tweeted out that SpaceX was the company trying to stifle competition and that Amazon has designed its satellites to avoid interference with SpaceX's. An Amazon spokesperson also gave a statement to CNBC on the matter.
- Starlink is designed to connect about 12,000 satellites in space to deliver high-speed internet to anywhere on the planet. Amazon's competing Project Kuiper will put 3,236 internet satellites into low Earth orbit.
- The FCC authorized Amazon's Project Kuiper in January, and Amazon plans to invest $10B into the project.