Amazon is making its satellite communications network a little more official with a rebrand. The company has announced that Project Kuiper will now be called “Amazon LEO”, a nod to the fact that its network is made up of satellites in low Earth orbit.
Project Kuiper’s journey to becoming a proper Amazon brand has been a long one. The company launched the project in 2019 with the goal of offering internet to areas without reliable connections through a proposed constellation of more than 3,000 satellites that could provide high-speed internet to 95 percent of the global population. However, that constellation has still not fully taken shape. In the years following the Project Kuiper revelations, Amazon launched prototype satellites, detailed plans for a space laser mesh network and demonstrated that customers would use antennas to connect to its network, but it didn’t actually launch the first 27 satellites in its constellation until April 2025.
In comparison, its rival Starlink has expanded much faster. SpaceX launched Starlink satellite internet service in beta in 2020 and has since expanded it rapidly. Now SpaceX has a deal with T-Mobile for satellite-enabled texting, and has partnered with airlines to test or offer Internet connections on flights. Rebranding Project Kuiper to LEO shows that Amazon is finally ready to think of its satellite network as a product in its own right, but the company still has some work to do.
Amazon hasn’t shared a date for when its satellite internet service will be widely available for personal and business use, but you can sign up on the Amazon LEO website to receive updates as the company works toward launch.