Amazon said it will launch service for its low Earth orbit satellite internet, Leo, within the year.
Amazon established a satellite internet project in 2019 called "Project Kuiper," and last year changed the name to Leo, meaning low Earth orbit. In Nov. last year it began enterprise service for some corporations, and within the year it will expand service to general consumers.
As a result, Amazon will compete with Elon Musk's space company SpaceX's Starlink. Starlink has currently built a constellation of more than 10,000 satellites and secured more than 10 million subscribers.
The number of satellites Amazon has deployed in low Earth orbit is currently 396. Amazon plans to deploy more than 7,700 satellites, but the pace has been slow due to limited rocket launch capacity. Chris Weber, Amazon's LEO lead, said, "There is still much to do, but we have completed enough launches to make initial service possible within the year." Leo's initial service will start near the Arctic and Antarctic and is expected to gradually expand toward the equatorial regions.