0: Since the former Soviet Union launched the Sputnik 1 satellite in 1957.

4: A new moon is in the sky.

6: More than 10,000 objects have been sent into space.

9: 10,000 is actually a relatively small number, compared with what's to come.

16: Go USA!

19: Beginninig in 2019, SpaceX has been using the Falcon 9 to put satellites into orbit for a global internet.

26: There we go, as they make their way off.

30: It has now launched nearly a thousand.

32: The plan is to put at least 12,000 Starlink satellites into orbit and the US Federal Communications Commission, the FCC, has given the green light for up to 42,000.

44: They will soon have some company as Amazon has plans to offer a competing service, dubbed Project Kuiper.

50: Leading Elon Musk to call the online retailer's founder Jeff Bezos a copycat.

55: The billionaire entrepreneurs have the same game plan. They want to beam high-speed satellite internet to remote and rural areas on Earth.

63: Amazon has a lot of catching up to do. It hasn't launched any satellites, but it does have the means to get them there.

71: It just so happens that Bezos has another company, Blue Origin.

75: His space venture has yet to go into orbit but it has signed deals to launch satellites for Canada's Telesat and the UK's OneWeb using New Glenn.

84: The orbital rocket is set to fly for the first time in 2021.

88: Amazon plans to launch 3,200 satellites - roughly a quarter of SpaceX's current goal. The FCC gave the go-ahead on the condition

97: that they don't interfere with previously authorized projects, like Starlink.

101: But Amazon is worried that SpaceX might actually interfere with their satellites after Musk's company wanted to move a batch of Starlinks to a lower orbit.

110: SpaceX will now operate all of its satellites at least a kilometer below Amazon's to make sure there's no interference.

117: Both companies are flying only 500 - 600 km away from our planet whereas current satellite networks are too far away,

124: sometimes tens of thousands of kilometers out. The closer they are to Earth, the lower the latency, which measures responsiveness and lag.

132: The time it takes between clicking on a keyboard and getting a response on screen.

137: A downside of being closer is you see less of the planet, so more satellites are needed.

142: SpaceX has already launched enough to beta test its service in the northern United States and parts of Canada.

149: Among the first private customers is a native American tribe in a remote part of Washington state.

154: They received a terminal the size of a pizza to connect to Starlink.

158: SpaceX says latency ranges from 20 to 40 milliseconds but expects that to fall below 20 as more satellites are launched.

165: That's enough to have a good gaming experience.

168: It says data speeds ranging from 50 Mb/s to 150 Mb/s are expected to increase dramatically as well.

175: The current speeds are more than enough to stream a YouTube video in 4K.

179: Amazon also says it's been able to stream 4K video.

183: The company announced this antenna it developed connected to a satellite 50 times farther out than where its own satellites will be deployed.

190: Tests at its research facility in Redmond, Washington found the antenna can handle up to 400 Mbps

197: though it hasn't said how good the internet connection will be.

201: The prototype is just a foot in diameter because the company explains it will be cheaper to manufacture and less expensive for the customer.

208: We don't know how much Amazon's service will cost, and whether it will be similar in price to Starlink.

213: Some people believe Starlink is too expensive.

215: The initial service is priced at $99 a month plus $499 (emphasize!) for the equipment.

221: Musk has said the most difficult technical challenge is bringing the price of the satellite dish down.

226: SpaceX does hope to attract customers globally. The plan is to expand coverage to nearly all parts of the populated planet in 2021.

235: Amazon also has ambitions to connect the world, starting with the US. When that will happen is still unclear.

242: In order to meet FCC requirements, Amazon has to get half of its satellites into orbit and operational by 2026, with the rest up and running three years later.

251: Besides beaming internet directly to customers, Amazon and SpaceX hope to provide backhaul solutions to telecom companies

258: so they can extend their 5G coverage to hard to reach places.

263: Building a satellite internet service takes a lot of effort and even more money.

267: Amazon says it's investing more than $10 billion into Project Kuiper -

272: precisely the amount SpaceX's COO Gwynne Shotwell once estimated would be needed to complete Starlink.

278: The upfront costs may be high, but the returns are expected to be far greater.

284: SpaceX could become a $100 billion dollar company thanks largely to Starlink, according to the investment banking giant Morgan Stanley.

292: Musk is counting on its success to help fund his quest to send people to Mars on this giant rocket, Starship.

299: As for Amazon, Kuiper could further expand Amazon's worldwide customer base. The service could be bundled as part of a package under the Amazon umbrella.

307: Amazon Web Services already offers computing and storage to clients like Netflix. So the new internet could help move the data.

315: Despite the rivalry between Musk and Bezos, satellite internet could rake in billions of dollars for both of their companies.

322: And provide more choice for consumers.

325: No matter which internet provider you choose, you might run into a situation where you can't access certain sites or videos.

331: That's what happened to me when I tried to buy a bottle of Tesla Tequila only available in the US.

337: But I quickly remembered my sponsor NordVPN can help out.

341: I used NordVPN to change my IP address to an American one and made the purchase.

346: My brother is going to be very happy on Christmas day.

349: And by masking your real IP address, it protects your privacy, especially important in today's connected world.

355: NordVPN has a special Christmas deal. If you buy a two-year plan, you'll get four additional months free.

362: Head to nordvpn.com/newsthink and use the promo code: newsthink at checkout.

367: The link is in my description.

368: So, how much would you be willing to pay for Amazon's service?

371: If you like what you saw, give it a like and don't forget to subscribe to my channel.

375: And thank you very much to my Patrons for your support.

377: I'm Cindy Pom and I'll see ya next time.