Technologies

Amazon’s Starlink Satellite Rival Plans Wednesday Rocket Launch. How to Watch

Project Kuiper is planning to take a major step forward tomorrow with its first full-scale satellite launch.

Amazon is planning to send 27 low-Earth orbit satellites into space this week, with Project Kuiper setting a launch date of Wednesday, April 9, between 7 and 9 p.m. ET (4-6 p.m. PT).

The launch mission, «KA-01» or Kuiper Atlas 1, will be on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket and will take place at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Amazon said. The company set up a mission page for updates on the launch and plans to livestream the takeoff.

You can watch the rocket launch live on the mission page or on YouTube.

It’ll be a big step forward for the project, which Amazon announced in 2019 with promises of a $10 billion investment. Now the company is poised to enter the race to provide satellite internet service, a space currently dominated by SpaceX’s Starlink, which has about 7,000 satellites. Amazon’s plans call for 3,200 satellites to be deployed over 80 launches. The company intends to provide internet service with this technology later this year.

Amazon may bring more competition to improve internet services

The literal space race, which includes Starlink, Amazon and other companies such as Viasat, Hughesnet, Eutelsat and China’s SpaceSail, could mean more availability of internet service in far-flung and rural areas that have limited broadband options. Though Starlink is the leader in the space, some of these other companies are continuing to launch satellites and working to deploy high-speed internet in more markets such as Brazil. With more players in the market, that could mean faster and cheaper internet in more areas, although whether that actually bears out for consumers remains to be seen.

Mahdi Eslamimehr, executive vice president at Quandary Peak Research and adjunct professor at the Department of Computer Science at USC, said Amazon is well poised to go up against Starlink. «Amazon has made extensive launch agreements with major providers such as United Launch Alliance (ULA), Arianespace, Blue Origin, and even SpaceX itself, positioning Kuiper as a major challenger due to its expansive infrastructure and significant resources.»

He said, «While Starlink currently enjoys clear market leadership, it faces increasing competition from well-capitalized and strategically agile competitors, specifically from China, suggesting the market will become considerably more competitive in the near future.»

Amazon’s satellite efforts so far, Eslamimehr said, have been promising and successful, at least in the prototype stages. The company has also been testing Amazon Web Services in space. «These developments collectively underscore Amazon’s robust entry into the satellite internet market and reflect positive early momentum in its overall space strategy.»

Beyond how it fares against Starlink and other companies, the Amazon satellite launches are significant in other ways. Eslamimehr said, «Project Kuiper isn’t just about competition; it’s positioned as a critical step toward closing the global digital divide, promising to deliver high-speed internet to underserved communities worldwide.»

Correction, April 4: An earlier version of this story misspelled the name of the USC professor and Quandary Peak Research executive vice president. His name is Mahdi Eslamimehr.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Nov. 19, #422

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Nov. 19, No. 422.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition features a blue category that I think is a real stumper, unless you’re familiar with one certain phrase. If you’re struggling but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Splish-splash.

Green group hint: Hoopsters.

Blue group hint: Get in shape.

Purple group hint: Vroom-vroom.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Swim gear.

Green group: NBA player nicknames.

Blue group: HIIT.

Purple group: ____ car.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is swim gear. The four answers are cap, goggles, nose clip and suit.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is NBA player nicknames. The four answers are Book, Joker, Kat and Wemby.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is HIIT. The four answers are high, intensity, interval and training.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is ____ car. The four answers are funny, Indy, rally and stock.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Wednesday, Nov. 19

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Nov. 19.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? There were a couple tough clues, so read on for the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: ___ angel
Answer: SNOW

5A clue: ___ fairy
Answer: TOOTH

6A clue: «Go, go, go!»
Answer: HURRY

7A clue: Voice between soprano and tenor
Answer: ALTO

8A clue: «Sorta» suffix
Answer: ISH

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Spiritual selves
Answer: SOULS

2D clue: Word in two U.S. state names and two country names (can you name them all?)
Answer: NORTH

3D clue: Spanish for «other»
Answer: OTRO

4D clue: «For what reason?»
Answer: WHY

5D clue: Cuisine with massaman curry
Answer: THAI

Technologies

Meta Wins Antitrust Case, Won’t Have to Give Up WhatsApp or Instagram

The FTC claimed Meta held an illegal monopoly in social networking.

Meta has won its antitrust case against the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC said Meta held an illegal monopoly in social networking — centering on the company’s acquisitions of WhatsApp and Instagram.

Judge James Boasberg of the US District Court for the District of Columbia released a memorandum opinion on Tuesday, stating that the FTC failed to prove its claims in court.

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«Whether or not Meta enjoyed monopoly power in the past,» Boasberg wrote in the filing, «the agency must show that it continues to hold such power now.»

Boasberg initially dismissed the FTC’s complaint in 2021, stating that the agency lacked sufficient evidence that Meta holds «market power» in the social networking industry. At the time, the FTC argued that «Facebook’s course of conduct has eliminated nascent rivals,» preventing «the benefits of competition, including increased choice, quality and innovation» from developing for US social media users.

After the FTC amended its filing with information about Meta’s user numbers and acquisitions of the WhatsApp and Instagram applications, Boasberg allowed the case to proceed in 2022.

The trial began in April, and multiple high-ranking current and former Meta executives testified before the court — chief among them, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Much of Zuckerberg’s testimony focused on refuting the FTC’s primary claim, which hinged on an argument Zuckerberg made in 2008: «It is better to buy than compete.»

Meta’s win means the company will be able to continue operating WhatsApp and Instagram unimpeded. Had the FTC proven its claims in court, Meta likely would have had to break these applications off into their own separate social networking companies.

Meta released a public statement on Tuesday, stating that the decision «recognizes that Meta faces fierce competition» in the social networking industry.

«Our products are beneficial for people and businesses and exemplify American innovation and economic growth,» the statement read. «We look forward to continuing to partner with the Administration and to invest in America.»

FTC Director of Public Affairs Joe Simonson said the agency is «deeply disappointed» with the outcome of the case.

«The deck was always stacked against us with Judge Boasberg, who is currently facing articles of impeachment,» he said. «We are reviewing all our options.»

Republican lawmakers have tried multiple times to impeach Boasberg, a frequent political target of the Trump administration.

While Meta’s antitrust case may be over, it didn’t take place in a vacuum. Google recently settled a case with the FTC that resulted in the search giant being told it must share limited search and user-interaction data with «qualified competitors.» Another case targeting Google’s AI overview feature is ongoing in the European Union, as a group of publishers claims the company is causing harm due to a loss of traffic, readership, and revenue.