Amazon is making its satellite communications network a little more official with a name change. The company announced that Project Kuiper will now be called “Amazon Leo,” a nod to the fact that its network is made up of satellites in low Earth orbit.
Project Kuiper’s journey to becoming a true Amazon brand has been a long one. The company launched the project in 2019 with the aim of bringing internet to regions without a reliable connection, through a proposed constellation of more than 3,000 satellites that could cover 95% of the world’s population with high-speed internet access. However, this constellation has not yet fully taken shape. In the years since Project Kuiper was revealed, Amazon has launched satellite prototypes, detailed plans for a laser mesh space network, and demonstrated the antennas that customers will use to connect to its network, but it didn’t actually launch the first 27 satellites in its constellation until April 2025.
In comparison, its competitor Starlink has expanded much more quickly. SpaceX launched the Starlink satellite internet service in beta in 2020 and has rapidly expanded it since then. SpaceX now has a deal with T-Mobile for satellite texting and has partnered with airlines to test or offer internet on flights. The renaming of the Kuiper project to Leo suggests that Amazon is finally ready to consider its satellite network as a product in its own right, but the company still has some catching up to do.
Amazon hasn’t released a date for when its satellite internet service will be widely available for personal and commercial use, but you can sign up on the Amazon Leo website to receive updates as the company works on its launch.
