Amazon has acquired a long-term lease on 500 square meters (5,380 sq ft) of land in New Zealand to support its Project Kuiper satellite roll-out.

The New Zealand Overseas Investment Office recently announced a decision to allow Amazon to acquire a leasehold interest of up to 20 years in approximately 500 square meters of land.

The precise location of the site hasn’t been disclosed.

The decision said Amazon Kuiper will install and operate telecommunications equipment on the land, which will be used to provide broadband services to customers in New Zealand.

Plans for the company’s Project Kuiper constellation were first revealed in 2019 and Amazon aims to launch more than 3,000 satellites into Low Earth Orbit (LEO) over the next few years to provide broadband connectivity.

Amazon has to launch half of its planned 3,236-satellite constellation by July 30, 2026, or risk losing its FCC license to operate the satellite network. To date, the company has launched two prototype satellites for the project, which have been de-orbited.

The launch of the first commercial Kuiper satellites was recently pushed back to Q4 2024. The first machines were previously set to launch in the first half of the year.

Vodafone in Europe, Vodacom in Africa, Verizon in the US, and Latin American telecoms group Vrio have all partnered with Kuiper.

Amazon currently operates 12 ground station sites through Amazon Web Services; the most recent launch was in Alaska in late 2023.

OneWeb signs SoftBank and Bayobab

This week saw European satellite firm Eutelsat announce SoftBank will integrate OneWeb’s low Earth orbit (LEO) connectivity services into its offering.

The multi-year partnership will see OneWeb directly interconnect with SoftBank's closed network SmartVPN service for additional security communications. SoftBank will initially target the Japanese market, with potential to expand to Japanese customers in other territories.

Masakatsu Kawahara, SoftBank Corp. VP, head of communication service division, said: "We are excited to partner with Eutelsat. By using the OneWeb low Earth orbit constellation it becomes possible to use high-quality, highly secure satellite communications services in places such as maritime and mountainous areas where connectivity is difficult to provide with terrestrial mobile networks. This will enable us to promote digital transformation in various industries and for local governments, heralding a new era in secure, ubiquitous connectivity services."

OneWeb has also signed on a new partner in Africa. MTN subsidiary Bayobab has signed a distribution deal with OneWeb to provide satellite services across the continent.

Frédéric Schepens, Bayobab’s CEO, said: “At Bayobab, we're passionate about being at the forefront of harnessing technology to empower people and businesses across Africa. Our partnership with Eutelsat and the integration of OneWeb's LEO satellite services into our solutions is a testament to this commitment. This collaboration brings cutting-edge digital connectivity to even the most remote corners of the continent and reaffirms our promise of 'Connecting Africa' – a promise rooted in partnership and driven by a vision of a digitally inclusive future."

OneWeb was also recently involved in an autonomous ship trial. Kongsberg Maritime and Telenor Maritime recently installed OneWeb terminals on a ship for a trial of autonomous barge operations in Norway.

An electric barge owned and operated by grocery distributor ASKO sailing over the Oslo Fjord will be remotely controlled from a remote operations center located in the Kongsberg Maritime facility in Horten.

On the broadcast side, OneWeb parent Eutelsat recently renewed a broadcast deal with Cable Color for video broadcast services over Central America on Eutelsat’s EUTELSAT 117 West A satellite.

The Times reported last month that OneWeb CEO Stephen Beynon is to stand down from the company. The company is yet to officially announce any leadership change.

Other recent satellite news:

– Local reports suggest Starlink will be setting up ground stations in Nigeria in partnership with Equinix. The ground stations will reportedly be located in Ajah, Lagos State; Port Harcourt, Rivers State; and Sagamu, Ogun State.

The three sites are estimated to total 29,000 acres. Construction has already begun in Okun Ajah, Lagos State, and is expected to be completed by Q4 2024. The other locations are projected to be ready in 2025. Starlink launched services in Nigeria in early 2023.

– Viasat has confirmed the successful launch of the Arctic Satellite Broadband Mission (ASBM), which will see two broadband satellites, ASBM-1 and ASBM-2, deployed in a highly elliptical orbit (HEO) covering the poles. They are expected to enter service next year.

Viasat says the mission will see two satellites, ASBM-1 and ASBM-2, deployed in a highly elliptical orbit (HEO) in the world’s first HEO mission carrying a broadband commercial service payload.

– China recently launched the ChinaSat 4A communication satellite into orbit.

– Turkish firm Plan-S has successfully launched four Connecta IoT satellites into orbit. Founded in 2021, the company aims to launch 28 more in the future, with the goal of reaching 200 satellites.

– Heriot-Watt University has broken ground on an optical ground station in Scotland.

– Zambia has completed the construction of a ground station in Chibombo, which will support a planned earth-observation satellite. This will be the first Zambian satellite launched.

– Telkom Indonesia-owned Mitratel is partnering with Aalto to explore HAPS-based connectivity.

– Skylo is to provide a satellite SOS feature on the new Google Pixel 9 series in the US.

– China could develop a relay system in lunar orbit to facilitate communications between the Earth and the moon.

– California’s Apex has announced the introduction of its 200kg Aries microGEO satellite bus.

– Lockheed Martin is acquiring small satellite manufacturer Terran Orbital for $450m.