Seven-year-old Project Kuiper, Amazon’s foray into the low-earth orbit (LEO) sector, has changed its name to Amazon Leo.
It’s a more down-to-earth name for two reasons. First, it includes the LEO technology it is hoping to harness. Second, the original name was taken from the Kuiper Belt, a ring of asteroids in the far reaches of the solar system.
The Amazon post announcing the name change also provided an update on the progress the company says it has made so far. It claims to have one of the largest satellite production lines, an advanced customer terminal and the first commercial phased array antenna that supports gigabit speeds.
The company says that it has more than 150 satellites in orbit and an array of partners.
Amazon Leo has become a player as the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program opened to non-fiber technologies. Amazon Kuiper Commercial Services LLC landed commitments in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and Wyoming.
The dominant player in the LEO sector undoubtedly is Starlink, which had 39 winning BEAD bids. In June, the company had 6,750 satellites in orbit. Telecompetitor looked at the competitive balance at that point. A Strand Consulting analyst said that Starlink was “light years ahead of their competitors” — such as Amazon Leo — and that it was on its way to launching 14,000 or more satellites.
Of course, the organization that is ahead at one point is not guaranteed to always dominate. Last April, ABI Research released a report that said that increased involvement by China and Europe will increase the number of LEO satellites in orbit from 7,473 in 2023 to 42,600 by 2032. That suggests that Starlink’s dominance is not a sure thing, especially if its fleet is less functional than those that arrive at the party later.
