The FCC has granted Amazon a regulatory reprieve by waiving a requirement that the company launch half of its satellite broadband constellation by the end of July. The decision creates competition in the satellite broadband market for Elon Musk and SpaceX’s Starlink service.
Ars Technica reports that Amazon received approval for the Amazon Leo broadband network in July 2020, with the FCC imposing two key deadlines. The company needed to place half of its planned 3,232 satellites in orbit by July 30, 2026, to retain authorization for the full constellation, and it must deploy all first-generation satellites by July 30, 2029. It had become increasingly clear that Amazon would not meet the initial 50 percent deployment target, which equated to 1,616 spacecraft. In January, Amazon asked the FCC to either extend the milestone to July 2028 or waive it entirely. The commission chose to eliminate the deadline for the halfway mark while preserving the 2029 deadline for full deployment.
The FCC announced its decision in a letter released Friday, signed by Jay Schwarz, chief of the FCC Space Bureau. The ruling aligns with expectations, as Amazon represents the most credible near-term challenger to SpaceX’s dominant Starlink service. The commission explicitly noted the limited competition in the satellite broadband market. “Waiver serves the public interest by promoting a second large satellite broadband constellation,” the FCC wrote. “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. Amazon Leo has further invested significant resources into meeting its commitments, including more than $10 billion to deploy the system along with investments in physical infrastructure and manufacturing capabilities.”
The FCC identified the public interest benefits and Amazon’s multibillion-dollar investment in Amazon Leo, previously called Project Kuiper, as “special circumstances” justifying the waiver. The commission added that “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.”
Although the July 2026 milestone has been removed, the FCC established a mechanism to encourage continued rapid deployment. Satellites launched after the former July 2026 deadline will receive temporarily reduced spectral priority until Amazon accelerates its launch pace.
The primary obstacle facing Amazon Leo is not satellite manufacturing but launch availability. The company has batches of satellites, each weighing slightly more than half a ton, waiting to fly on Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket and United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan launcher. Both vehicles are currently grounded following recent anomalies.
Amazon has arranged launches on alternative rockets, though none can match the capacity of New Glenn and Vulcan, which are each capable of carrying more than 40 Amazon Leo satellites per mission. ULA’s Atlas V, which is nearing retirement, has handled most Amazon Leo launches so far. A final Atlas V mission for Amazon is scheduled in the coming weeks from Cape Canaveral, Florida, carrying 29 satellites.
Arianespace’s Ariane 6 rocket is contracted for 18 Amazon Leo launches, with two already completed and a third planned later this month carrying 36 satellites. SpaceX’s Falcon 9, which can launch 24 Amazon Leo satellites at a time, has conducted three missions for Amazon. Overall, Amazon has procured more than 100 launches for the constellation. Thirteen launches have been completed to date, deploying 333 satellites since October 2023, including two demonstration satellites not counted in the operational fleet.
Amazon originally reserved launches on nearly all Western heavy-lift rockets except those operated by SpaceX, which owns competing Starlink. That exclusion ended in 2023 when Amazon purchased three Falcon 9 launches, later adding 10 more. SpaceX submitted comments to the FCC opposing Amazon’s request for deadline relief.
Recent developments had suggested Amazon might overcome its launch bottlenecks. Blue Origin’s New Glenn, the most powerful rocket in Amazon’s portfolio, was scheduled to make its first Amazon Leo mission earlier this month. That launch was delayed indefinitely when the rocket exploded on its Florida launch pad on May 28. The 48 Amazon Leo satellites assigned to that mission were not damaged.
Amazon has been increasing launch frequency using Atlas V and Ariane 6, with Falcon 9 missions potentially resuming soon. The company is approaching the 80-satellites-per-month target that officials forecast three years ago. However, Atlas V availability is about to end. When Amazon petitioned the FCC in January, it projected deploying roughly 700 satellites by July 30, 2026. The actual figure is now expected to be closer to 400, with delays involving New Glenn and Vulcan accounting for most of the shortfall.
Amazon contended that the delays were “unforeseeable” and that its spending and progress “demonstrate an overall commitment to deploying its system,” according to the FCC’s summary.
Breitbart News previously reported that SpaceX and Amazon have traded barbs in complaints to the FCC related to their satellite’s orbits:
In a letter submitted to the FCC, SpaceX alleged that Amazon launched satellites into orbits with insertion altitudes above 450 kilometers on eight separate occasions without submitting an amended orbital debris mitigation plan or obtaining Commission approval for the change. Amazon had previously told the FCC in a 2021 application that its satellites would be launched into an initial deployment orbit at or near 400 kilometers before being raised to their operational altitudes of between 590 and 630 kilometers.
SpaceX’s filing focused specifically on Amazon’s February 12, 2026, Ariane 6 launch, which it claimed inserted satellites at an altitude high enough to create what SpaceX described as unmitigable collision risks with dozens of operational spacecraft. SpaceX stated that Starlink satellites alone were forced to conduct 30 collision avoidance maneuvers within hours of the Ariane launch to avoid the newly deployed Amazon satellites. SpaceX further alleged that the estimated collision risk from the insertion considerably exceeded the FCC’s semi-annual reporting threshold for unmitigated conjunctions.
Amazon denied the allegations in a response letter filed with the FCC, stating that its launches comply with the flexibility provided under the “at or near 400 km” language of its license. Amazon said it had been transparent with both the FCC and SpaceX regarding its insertion altitudes and noted that it had explained its safety-focused approach to SpaceX in coordination meetings prior to launching production satellites into the disputed altitude range. Amazon also pointed out that SpaceX itself had launched Amazon satellites to an insertion altitude of 460 kilometers in July 2025, and on two subsequent occasions, without raising objections at the time.
Read more at Ars Technica here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of AI, free speech, and online censorship.
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