Amazon renames its satellite internet Project Kuiper to Amazon Leo

Under “Project Kuiper,” Amazon has already launched more than 150 satellites into space to provide fast satellite internet access even in hard-to-reach regions, on ships, or in the air. The company is now parting with its previous codename and will market the satellite internet as “Amazon Leo” in the future. The name is directly derived from the path of the satellites orbiting in low Earth orbit (LEO).

This timing fits with the current marketing, as the Amazon's Starlink alternative is expected to be available in Germany in early 2026. In a few months, Amazon Leo will be bookable in five countries. In addition to Germany, these are Canada, France, Great Britain, and the USA. By the end of 2026, it is expected to be available in up to 26 countries and will be expanded further south. The equator should be reached in 2027. By 2028, Amazon aims to offer internet in 88 to 100 countries thanks to over 3000 satellites. Amazon already received the US approval for more than 3000 internet satellites in July 2020.

From Codename to Business Customers

For the official name change, Amazon looks back on seven years of development of its satellite internet. It began with a handful of engineers and concepts on paper. Like all projects at Amazon, this one also received a codename inspired by the Kuiper Belt, the asteroid belt at the edge of our solar system. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy compares the name changes to past projects. According to his post on X, Echo was internally called “Doppler” and Kindle was “Fiona.”

Amazon already names some business customers and partners for its satellite internet. In addition to TV and streaming providers such as DirecTV in Latin America, Sky in Brazil, and the Australian broadband network, which aims to offer internet in rural areas of the continent, the airline JetBlue is also among them. Amazon has been working with this US airline for over ten years. In 2015, Amazon HD streaming on planes was introduced by JetBlue, allowing Prime customers to stream HD videos to their devices during the flight.

Expansion of Satellite Network and Internet Speed

In addition to expanding its satellite network – there should be 200 satellites by the end of 2025 – Amazon is also working on the speed of these internet connections. In early September, Amazon broke the gigabit barrier in satellite internet test. A download rate of 1280 megabits per second was achieved. However, the terminal used was not one that normal end-users will use. Furthermore, the test took place under laboratory conditions, as in real operation, the transmission capacities will later be shared among multiple users.

With the standard antenna, Amazon Leo later, a maximum download speed of 400 Mbit/s is to be achieved. This corresponds to the value of Starlink, the current market leader in satellite internet. However, SpaceX is also planning offers with gigabit speed for business customers in the future.

(fds)