Amazon Leo is ready to start limited internet service later this year

Amazon Leo is poised to start limited internet service later this year, but it’s far behind Starlink — several thousand satellites behind.

Amazon launched 29 more satellites into low Earth orbit on ThursdayBringing the total number to 396 and putting the company in a position to begin offering Internet service to a relatively small customer base. Liu Business and Products Vice President Chris Weber Published on X The company will be able to “support continuous service across primary supply lines.”

He added: “There is still a lot of work ahead of us – including getting all these new satellites to their intended altitude – but we have completed enough launches for initial service this year, and future missions only add coverage and capacity.”

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But Liu is starting a marathon that Starlink began in 2019 with its first launch. Trillionaire Elon Musk’s company has about 10,000 satellites in orbit and provides internet coverage More than 150 countries. Starlink also has or will have internet service More than 200 airlinesincluding United Airlines, Air France, Alaska Airlines and British Airways.

By comparison, Leo will only have limited service available to U.S. customers later this year — coverage and price to be determined — and is contracted to two airlines, JetBlue Airways in 2027 and Delta Air Lines in 2028. It will take several years and the launch of thousands of additional satellites for Leo to be able to offer widespread coverage in the U.S. and elsewhere.

Of course, underestimate Jeff Bezos and his ability to compete and dominate at your own peril.

Satellite Internet is a big pie. Estimates from Grand View Research The market will grow at a rate of 15% between now and 2033, from $13.3 billion in 2026 to $35.7 billion by 2033.

Starlink and its competitors pose a major threat to fixed Internet providers like Xfinity, Verizon Home Internet and T-Mobile 5G Home Internet, said Hans Gerdes, a strategist at research and development firm CableLabs. “I think all fixed broadband operators should be very concerned.” Gerdes said earlier this year. “It’s basically the second coming of fixed wireless, but with much better economics and a very aggressive competitive behavior.”

Liu is looking forward to deploying satellites faster

Thursday’s Leo launch was the last of eight launches of the Atlas V rocket, which has achieved a 100 percent success rate. Leo will conduct future launches using the heavier Vulcan rocket, which can carry more satellites at a faster deployment rate.

Melissa Wuerl, Leo’s director of launch systems, said in a statement that the company has “hundreds of satellites ready to fly” at Cape Canaveral in Florida. The company reportedly has approx 100 launches scheduled At a cost of $82 billion. The goal is to be 7,727 satellites by 2035.

The Leo and Starlink satellites operate approximately 350 to 500 miles above the Earth’s surface, in a region known as Low Earth orbit (Hence the name Amazon for them, taken from the abbreviation LEO). This lower altitude allows the satellites to provide faster internet speeds and also keeps the cost of installing satellites in orbit less expensive.

Amazon also hopes to capture a significant share of the direct-to-device Internet market. Direct-to-device Internet basically means that a person’s cell phone or other device connects directly to the satellite. He was the key to that strategy The company’s $11.6 billion purchase in April of Globalstarwhose low-Earth orbit satellites provide coverage in more than 120 countries.