Amazon unveiled a new name for the satellite network that can provide opportunities for technology advisors (TAs).

What was known as “Project Kuiper” is now Leo, which stands for low Earth orbit. Leo is the satellite constellation that powers Amazon’s network. Amazon said Leo will have limited service by the end of this year but will likely not be available for mainstream adoption before the end of next April.

Satellite networks will bring reliable fast broadband to people and businesses in areas without high-speed internet access. The satellites send data to and from a user on the ground as they fly overhead, making it possible to reach remote locations. Amazon Leo satellites will orbit between around 367 and 392 miles at a speed up to 16,000 miles per hour. Leo will have terminals with three connectivity speed options. Amazon said the fastest will have enterprise-grade antennas on the satellites with speeds up to 1 gigabit per second (Gbps). The other speed options will be 100 Mbps and 400 Mbps.

“We now operate one of the largest satellite production lines on the planet. We’ve invented some of the most advanced customer terminals ever built, including the first commercial phased array antenna to support gigabit speeds,” Amazon Leo VP Rajeev Badyal wrote in a blog post on the name change.

Leo will compete directly with SpaceX’s Starlink, which has had the space mostly to itself while Amazon was gearing up. Leo is designed for businesses from SMB to enterprise. Starlink has offered satellite broadband since 2021 and claims more than 8 million customers.

While Starlink is sold mostly by resellers and aggregators, Leo will be sold through TAs and agents. Amazon will bill customers directly.

Amazon has more than 150 satellites in orbit and counts JetBlue, L3Harris, DIRECTV Latin America, Sky Brasil, and Australia’s National Broadband Network (ABN) as partners or customers already signed on for Leo. But that is just the start, as Amazon plans to build a constellation of 3,000 satellites working together in its broadband network. Starlink already has more than 8,000 satellites.

It’s worth pointing out that Leo is neither part of AWS nor the Blue Origin space exploration enterprise. While Leo will connect customers with the AWS cloud, it is part of Amazon’s Devices and Services division that sells Kindle, Echo, Fire TV, eero, Ring, etc. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is also the founder and chairman of Blue Origin, but they are separate companies.

This is an area we will watch closely in the coming months.