FCC Chief Slams Amazon’s Opposition to SpaceX’s Massive Satellite Expansion

TLDR FCC Chair Brendan Carr strongly rebuked Amazon for challenging SpaceX’s ambitious proposal to deploy up to 1 million satellites Carr noted that Amazon is expected to miss its deployment target by approximately 1,000 satellites Amazon submitted a formal petition urging the FCC to deny SpaceX’s request, describing it as unrealistic SpaceX’s Starlink network currently operates between 9,000 and 10,000 satellites, serving approximately 6 to 9 million subscribers Amazon’s satellite initiative has deployed more than 200 satellites and is seeking a 24-month deadline extension for its 1,600-satellite requirement FCC Chair Brendan Carr publicly criticized Amazon this Wednesday, suggesting the e-commerce giant should address its own satellite deployment challenges before objecting to competitors’ plans. Amazon should focus on the fact that it will fall roughly 1,000 satellites short of meeting its upcoming deployment milestone, rather than spending their time and resources filing petitions against companies that are putting thousands of satellites in orbit. https://t.co/90Vn20Fq1R — Brendan Carr (@BrendanCarrFCC) March 11, 2026 Carr’s remarks came in response to a formal petition filed by Amazon Leo, the company’s satellite division, requesting that the FCC deny SpaceX’s application to launch as many as 1 million satellites in low Earth orbit. In its filing, Amazon characterized SpaceX’s proposal as “lofty ambition rather than a real plan,” arguing that SpaceX failed to provide sufficient technical details demonstrating how it would execute such an unprecedented deployment. Carr responded forcefully on social media. “Amazon should focus on the fact that it will fall roughly 1,000 satellites short of meeting its upcoming deployment milestone, rather than spending their time and resources filing petitions against companies that are putting thousands of satellites in orbit,” he posted on X. In comments to Reuters, Carr added: “Given the pace at which Amazon is launching ...