Leo: The Future of Satellite Internet Services

Amazon has recently rebranded its satellite broadband project, formerly known as Project Kuiper, to Amazon Leo. This initiative aims to provide global access to high-speed internet by deploying a constellation of satellites in low Earth orbit.

The Seattle-based tech giant has already launched over 150 satellites as part of the Leo constellation, with plans to expand to more than 3,200 satellites in the future.

Project Kuiper, now Amazon Leo, started seven years ago with a small team of engineers and designs on paper. The project drew inspiration from the Kuiper Belt, a ring of asteroids in the outer solar system.

Amazon’s new website for Amazon Leo promises “a new era of internet” that will benefit billions of people and millions of businesses, governments, and organizations lacking reliable high-speed internet access.

Amazon will begin rolling out the service once it enhances coverage and network capacity. Pricing and availability details have not been disclosed yet.

Early partners and customers of Amazon Leo include JetBlue, L3Harris, DIRECTV Latin America, Sky Brasil, NBN Co., and Connected Farms, among others.

In a test conducted in September, Amazon executives highlighted data transmission speeds exceeding a gigabit per second from the satellite constellation.

Amazon’s primary satellite manufacturing facility is located in Kirkland, Washington, with additional components produced at Leo’s headquarters in Redmond. The company also operates a payload processing facility at Kennedy Space Center.

Amazon’s ambitious endeavor to compete with SpaceX’s Starlink constellation began with the launch of the first 27 satellites in April.

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy and Amazon Devices & Services leader Panos Panay expressed enthusiasm for the future of Amazon Leo in their posts on X.