| Amazon is known for its expansion, and its latest development could bring the company into the mobile service sector as they plan to offer low-cost cellular data services to its Prime members. This comes as no surprise as the trillion-dollar corporation already offers a variety of services like music, gaming, ebooks and audiobooks, movies, and T.V. shows, as well as an online shopping center that provides anything customers need. All of this is through the $139 per year Prime membership, and telecommunication services would surely bring in those who have not yet benefited from these numerous services. However, there are still doubts as to whether this indeed will happen and when it will happen. Amazon launched the Fire Phone in 2014 as its first attempt to enter the mobile phone market, though it was short-lived due to its competition, the iPhone. A second attempt was made in 2018 when the Kuiper Program was launched. Amazon planned to launch 3,236 internet satellites into orbit that would “provide fast, affordable broadband to communities around the world that are currently unserved or underserved by traditional internet and communications options.” Plans for launching the first two satellites in mid-2023 were cut short when one exploded in January. Tim Farrar, a satellite expert from TMF Associates, stated that “those rockets are largely behind schedule” and that the first satellites have been pushed back to 2024. Amazon is clearly making an effort to broaden its influence yet again. With a market cap of $1.29 trillion USD and currently over 200 million Prime members, doubled from 2018, these developments pose the question: how much further will Amazon spread? |
Complex Terms:
- Market Cap – Market capitalization is a measurement of a company’s size. It is defined as the total value of a company’s outstanding shares of stock, which include publicly traded shares plus restricted shares held by company officers and insiders.
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