Amazon is officially stepping into the satellite internet race with Amazon Leo, a low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite network designed to compete directly with SpaceX’s Starlink and bring high-speed connectivity to underserved regions around the world.
Formerly known as Project Kuiper, Amazon Leo is no longer just a concept. The company already has more than 150 satellites in orbit and plans to deploy over 3,000 in total. The network will connect to a global ground infrastructure of antennas, fiber links, and internet connection points, delivering broadband to homes, businesses, and organizations that currently lack reliable service.
Amazon Leo is built around three core elements:
- Satellites in low Earth orbit (around 590–630 km) that relay data.
- Ground stations and gateway antennas that connect the satellites to the global internet and cloud services.
- Customer terminals—compact antennas that users install at home or on-site.
To cover different needs, Amazon will offer three types of terminals:
- Leo Nano – up to 100 Mbps
- Leo Pro – up to 400 Mbps
- Leo Ultra – up to 1 Gbps
These terminals are designed to be easy to install, using a “plug-and-play” approach with self-orienting antennas, making them suitable even for rural users without technical expertise.
Amazon is initially targeting areas that traditional fiber or mobile networks struggle to reach. The company has already announced distribution agreements in Latin America, including partnerships with DIRECTV Latin America and Sky Brasil, to bring service to countries such as Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Uruguay, and Brazil.
Because the satellites operate in low Earth orbit, Amazon Leo promises lower latency than traditional geostationary satellite systems, making it more suitable for video calls, cloud applications, online gaming, and streaming.
Amazon Leo is managed within Amazon’s Devices and Services division (the same group behind Kindle, Echo, Fire TV, and Ring), and is separate from Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos’s spaceflight company. Production is centered in Washington State, with a facility capable of manufacturing up to five satellites per day, and launch integration at the Kennedy Space Center.
Amazon plans to begin offering service to select enterprise customers by late 2025, followed by a broader rollout in 2026, as more satellites are launched and coverage expands. Interested users can already sign up on Amazon’s website to receive updates and join the waitlist.
With Starlink already operating thousands of satellites in orbit, Amazon Leo’s arrival signals the beginning of a new phase of competition in satellite broadband, one that could translate into more options, better speeds, and improved coverage for users far beyond the reach of conventional networks.
