FCC relaxes Amazon's satellite internet deadline

The retailer had until July 30 to launch 1,600 satellites, but won't have the rocket capacity in time.

The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has granted Amazon an extension on its Leo satellite internet deployment, according to a ruling released on June 5 . Amazon was supposed to launch over 1,600 Leo satellites, half of its planned constellation, by July 30th. However, the company requested an extension in January due to rocket capacity issues and changes to its satellite design.

"[The] waiver serves the public interest by promoting a second large satellite broadband constellation" along with SpaceX, the FCC wrote in its ruling. "In this case, strict adherence to the rules would curtail Amazon Leo's deployment of its Gen1 constellation by limiting the service it can provide to American consumers. Such would be contrary to the Commission's mandate under the Communications Act."

Amazon's request for an extension was opposed by SpaceX, which complained that the FCC would be giving its rival special treatment. "Amazon failed to mention that over the past six years, it launched barely six percent of the satellites that it pressured the Commission to approve ahead of its competitors," Elon Musk's company said in a protest letter to the FCC .

However, Amazon said that its slow pace wasn't due to a lack of satellites but problems getting them into orbit. "No operator could have predicted that all three core heavy-lift launch programs — Ariane 6, New Glenn, and ULA's Vulcan Centaur — would experience repeated, concurrent scheduling slips severe enough to exhaust the buffers Amazon Leo had built in," the company said. Both Vulcan and New Glenn are grounded following recent anomolies, most recently the dramatic launchpad explosion of New Glenn on May 29.

The reprieve came with a condition, though: Amazon will lose its "priority status" for any launches after July 31, 2026. That means it will be required to demonstrate that Leo "will not interfere with other operators," particularly SpaceX. That clause addresses SpaceX's primary concern about conflicts with its Starlink constellation.

Though Leo's midway milestone was waived, the FCC is still holding to its primary deadline requiring Leo have its full constellation of 3,232 satellites in orbit by July 2029. That will still pose a large challenge, considering Origin's New Glenn rocket will be delayed by months. Future launches, including with other providers like SpaceX, will also need to go without a hitch. Despite all the issues, Amazon still plans to launch commercial Leo internet service later this year .