After Elon Musk’s SpaceX now Boeing receives approval from the US for a satellite grid that will provide internet from space

Boeing received approval from the United States on Wednesday for a project to launch satellites that will provide internet services from orbit.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced in a statement that it had granted Boeing a licence to “build, deploy, and operate a satellite constellation” that will “provide broadband and communications services for residential, commercial, institutional, governmental, and professional users in the United States and around the world.”

“Advanced satellite broadband services have a critical role to play in connecting hard-to-reach communities,” said FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel.

The FCC approved 147 satellites, the most majority of which will be in low orbit: 132 could be deployed at a height of around 600 miles (1,000 km), while 15 would be significantly higher, at a height of between 17,000 and 27,000 miles.

People in the United States will be the first to benefit from the service, followed by clients all over the world.

In a statement, Boeing stated, “Boeing anticipates a multi-orbit future for satellite technologies.”

“As the need for satellite communications develops, diversity across orbital regimes and frequencies will be required to meet distinct customer demands, and we see V-band as contributing to part of that diversity,” Boeing said.

Competing firms are already working on other satellite constellation ideas.

Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX, has already launched over 1,500 satellites into orbit as part of the Starlink network, while Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is working on a similar project dubbed Kuiper.