HANOI (Reuters) -Amazon is aiming to deploy its Kuiper satellite services in Vietnam, Vietnam’s Ministry of Science and Technology said in a statement.
The statement from late on Tuesday came after a meeting in Hanoi between deputy minister Pham Duc Long and Gonzalo de Dios, head of Global Licensing and Project Kuiper at Amazon.
The U.S.-based tech giant has pledged to invest $570 million by 2030 to build infrastructure, including up to six ground stations and terminal manufacturing in the northern province of Bac Ninh through local partnerships, the ministry said.
Amazon has also established a Vietnamese entity, Amazon Kuiper Vietnam Co., Ltd., based in business hub Ho Chi Minh City, and submitted an application for low Earth orbit satellite services.
Amazon’s Kuiper initiative aims to deliver broadband internet services via low Earth orbit satellites, targeting underserved areas in remote regions and on islands, the ministry said.
The company’s pilot programme application is seeking approval for a five-year rollout to serve consumer, business, and government subscribers.
Rival Starlink has also been given the go-ahead by the government to operate a similar scheme in Vietnam over the same five-year period.
In April, the first 27 satellites for Amazon’s Kuiper initiative were launched into space from Florida, kicking off the long-delayed deployment of an internet-from-space network.
Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment out of U.S. business hours.
(Reporting by Khanh Vu, Phuong Ngyuen and Francesco Guarascio; Editing by David Stanway)
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