Enlarge (credit: Getty Images | NurPhoto )

Facebook has confirmed plans to launch a low-Earth orbit (LEO) broadband satellite early next year in what could be the first step toward a constellation of satellites, according to Wired.

A May 2018 report from IEEE Spectrum provided evidence that a satellite company called PointView Tech LLC is a subsidiary created by Facebook to pursue broadband plans under the code name “Athena.”

“When contacted by Wired, Facebook confirmed that Athena is their project,” Wired wrote on Friday.