{"id":18030,"date":"2019-06-06T19:22:24","date_gmt":"2019-06-06T11:22:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/jeff-bezos-explains-amazons-bet-on-project-kuiper-satellites-and-copes-with-an-onstage-protest\/"},"modified":"2019-06-06T19:22:24","modified_gmt":"2019-06-06T11:22:24","slug":"jeff-bezos-explains-amazons-bet-on-project-kuiper-satellites-and-copes-with-an-onstage-protest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/jeff-bezos-explains-amazons-bet-on-project-kuiper-satellites-and-copes-with-an-onstage-protest\/","title":{"rendered":"Jeff Bezos explains Amazon\u2019s bet on Project Kuiper satellites \u2014 and copes with an onstage protest"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Amazon\u2019s Jenny Freshwater engages Jeff Bezos in a fireside chat at the re:MARS conference in Las Vegas. (GeekWire Photo \/ Alan Boyle)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

LAS VEGAS \u2014 For the first time in public, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos explained the rationale for his risky Project Kuiper satellite broadband venture, during a fireside chat that was interrupted when an animal rights activist jumped on stage.<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s half-hour discussion was one of the headliner events for Amazon\u2019s inaugural re:MARS conference, held here in Las Vegas to throw a spotlight on the frontiers of M<\/strong>achine learning, A<\/strong>utomation, R<\/strong>obotics and S<\/strong>pace. It\u2019s modeled after the invitation-only MARS meeting that Amazon has been organizing annually since 2016.<\/p>\n

Bezos and his partner in the fireside chat \u2014 Jenny Freshwater, leader of forecasting and capacity planning at Amazon \u2014 broadened the focus of the conversation to touch on some of the Amazon CEO\u2019s favorite topics, including his management philosophy and his advice for entrepreneurs.<\/p>\n

When Freshwater asked Bezos to name a \u201cbig bet\u201d that Amazon has taken recently, he focused on Project Kuiper, the plan to put more than 3,200 satellites in low Earth orbit for global broadband coverage. The project came to light in April, and seems likely to be based in Bellevue, Wash. Here\u2019s how Bezos explained his bet:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cThe goal here is broadband everywhere, but the very nature of [having] thousands of satellites in low Earth orbit is very different from geostationary satellites. \u2026 You have equal broadband all over the surface of Earth. Not exactly equal, it tends to be a lot more concentrated toward the poles, unfortunately.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut you end up servicing the whole world. So it\u2019s really good. By definition you end up accessing people who are \u2018under-bandwidthed.\u2019 Very rural areas, remote areas. And I think you can see going forward that internet, access to broadband is going to be very close to being a fundamental human need as we move forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo Project Kuiper has that. It\u2019s also a very good business for Amazon because it\u2019s a very high-capex [capital expenditure] undertaking. It\u2019s multiple billions of dollars of capex. \u2026 Amazon is a large enough company now that we need to do things that, if they work, can actually move the needle.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

That\u2019s when the protester came up from the back of the stage. Although what she said couldn\u2019t be distinctly heard from the audience, her remarks seemed to focus on chicken farms and a plea for Amazon to be more environmentally responsible for the sake of the animals.<\/p>\n

The protester got within a few yards of where the world\u2019s richest individual was sitting, but in less than 30 seconds, security team members grabbed her and pulled her offstage. Bezos then turned to Freshwater and quipped, \u201cDo you have a response to that?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI wasn\u2019t quite prepped for that,\u201d Freshwater confessed.<\/p>\n

Bezos went on to finish his thought. \u201cWe need to be doing things where, if they work, they have to be able to move the needle for us. We can\u2019t do things that, if they work, they\u2019ll be small,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n