D.C. Memo: FCC Grants Key Waiver to Amazon Leo, Keeping Competitive Pressure on Musk’s Starlink
Space Bureau Chief Jay Schwarz says “Amazon Leo’s service promises to be ‘groundbreaking,’ both in quality of service and affordability for consumers”
Today’s Headlines
■ Nexstar–TEGNA Merger Creates GOP Split in Kansas
■ D.C. Circuit Not Required to Hear FCC Bureau’s Approval of Nexstar-TEGNA Merger, Nexstar Says; FCC Agrees
■ Carr, Markey Clash over LGBTQ+ TV Content Labels
■ Arkansas PBS Keeping PBS Affiliation after Donations Arrive
■ AT&T Pitches FCC’s Gomez on Copper Transition in California
■ House Bill Would Rely on HUD Grants to Defray Broadband Costs for Low-Income Families
■ New York’s Online Pole Attachment Complaint Portal Goes Live
■ House Judiciary Panel Posts Witness List for TV Sports Hearing
■ Reps. Latta, Carter Back Wi-Fi Bill Ahead of WRC in China
■ Liberty Capital CEO Ron Duncan Spends $1.4 Million on Non-Voting Shares
■ Neal Gladner Retiring as Executive Director of the Arkansas Broadcasters Association
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 Chief Jay 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)
