Amazon has rebranded its satellite internet service from "Project Kuiper" to "Leo," taking on Elon Musk's SpaceX head-on.
According to U.S. tech outlet TechCrunch on the 16th, Amazon plans to apply an official brand to the satellite internet program that had so far been known only by its code name and to fully ramp up commercial expansion.
The name "Leo" was inspired by the fact that the satellites providing internet service stay in low Earth orbit (LEO). In the Project Kuiper era, Amazon had emphasized the public-interest aim of providing broadband service to regions with poor internet infrastructure. However, by completely replacing the brand, it is seen as clearly putting the emphasis on profitability and strengthening commercial competitiveness.
Since launching the project in 2019, Amazon has launched about 150 low Earth orbit satellites so far. About half of them, 72, were reportedly sent up using SpaceX rockets. The company plans to expand the number of satellites to more than 3,200 to sharply boost service coverage and quality. This signals a full-fledged competitive stance against SpaceX's Starlink, which already operates more than 9,000 low Earth orbit satellites.
Despite being a latecomer, Leo touts an advantage in speed. For large terminals for corporations, the maximum speed is 1 Gbps (gigabits per second), superior to the hundreds of Mbps (megabits per second) offered by Starlink. In fact, U.S. low-cost carrier JetBlue signed a deal with Amazon instead of Starlink in September to introduce free in-flight Wi-Fi. Global aviation companies including Airbus are also signing satellite internet supply contracts with Amazon, signaling a shift in services.
However, TechCrunch noted that Amazon quietly removed the phrase "low-cost internet provision" that had been stated on its website during the rebranding process. As the strategy shifts to a revenue focus, there is speculation that consumer pricing policy could change as well.