Boeing throws in the towel on launching a competitor to Starlink
Boeing, which received FCC approval two years ago to provide satellite internet services to consumers, quietly revoked its license.
American aviation giant Boeing has abandoned its plan to create its own satellite internet network. The company has revoked its license from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to operate a constellation of 147 satellites, a company official told Aviation Week.
Boeing applied to the FCC on September 15 to cancel the license granted two years ago. The company had to pay a $2.2 million fine to the US government for this. Let us remind you that Boeing applied for a license to provide satellite internet services to consumers in 2017.
Starlink dominated the market
Since then, the situation in the satellite internet market has changed significantly. SpaceX, which provides satellite internet service to more than 2 million subscribers worldwide with its Starlink network, currently dominates the market. The company has approximately 5,000 satellites in its low orbit system.
Boeing planned to use the V-band in the 40-75 GHz frequency range. It even launched a test satellite using V-band spectrum last year for this purpose. The company does not rule out returning to the project, but will not use the V-band test satellite and will destroy it.