Amazon’s satellite network got a rebrand — and dropped affordability

Amazon’s fledgling satellite internet program is no longer called Project Kuiper. He is now known simply as “The Lion”. The name change comes as the company appears to be shifting its focus from “underserved or underserved” communities to securing larger commercial contracts.

We have been working on a satellite network Since 2019 As Amazon says, the name Project Kuiper was only meant to be temporary. LEO is a reference to the network’s location in what is known as Low Earth Orbit, commonly referred to in the space industry as “LEO”.

While Amazon worked to launch the first Kuiper satellites earlier this year, the company splurge That the project was “an initiative to increase global access to broadband” with a “noble mission to provide fast, affordable broadband” to communities not well served by traditional internet providers.

But, as TechCrunch previously notedThe company has changed the language it uses to describe the service in recent months as it inked deals with Airbus and JetBlue, putting the network in more direct competition with SpaceX’s Starlink service.

Amazon did not respond to requests for comment.

that Archived A release of Kuiper’s main FAQ page — published in late 2024 — puts the aforementioned “mission” to serve those communities right at the top of the post. Affordability is mentioned three times throughout, and Amazon describes it as “the core principle of Project Kuiper.”

“Amazon has a long-standing commitment to low prices, and has a lot of experience building popular, low-cost devices like the Echo Dot and Fire TV Stick,” it said in response to a question in the archived post about the cost of Kuiper’s service. “We are applying a similar approach with Project Kuiper.”

This question and answer about cost has now disappeared Frequently asked questions about Leoand there is no mention of “affordability” anywhere on the page.

The language at the top of the new FAQ is also different. It states that Leo is “Amazon’s low-Earth orbit satellite network, designed to provide fast, reliable internet to customers and communities beyond existing networks.”

While Leo’s FAQ notes that poor connectivity can “create economic harm for people, businesses, and other organizations operating in unserved and underserved parts of the world,” the company is less specific than it used to be about putting these communities front and center in the customer pipeline.

New Amazon Leo Website It is even more clear about how to prioritize home and business Internet service. It promotes the ability to make “seamless video calls, stream 4K video,” and “handle the Internet needs of your entire family,” as well as the fact that Leo is “(and) flexible, scalable, and enterprise-ready.”

The idea of ​​Leo being used “even in rural and remote areas” is thrown around almost as an afterthought on the main site, and there is no mention of cost or affordability.

Despite all this, Amazon posted on Thursday Flashy video About the name change on X. Among other things, the film shows a child using her computer to do her homework, professional drift racing, ambulance workers on a remote road, a farmer using a tablet, and a couple dancing in a laundry room. “New name, same mission,” he wrote along with the video.