"Seven-year-old Project Kuiper, Amazon's foray into the low-earth orbit (LEO) sector, has changed its name to Amazon Leo. It's a more down-to-earth name for two reasons. First, it includes the LEO technology it is hoping to harness. Second, the original name was taken from the Kuiper Belt, a ring of asteroids in the far reaches of the solar system. The Amazon post announcing the name change also provided an update on the progress the company says it has made so far."
"The dominant player in the LEO sector undoubtedly is Starlink, which had 39 winning BEAD bids. In June, the company had 6,750 satellites in orbit. Telecompetitor looked at the competitive balance at that point. A Strand Consulting analyst said that Starlink was "light years ahead of their competitors" - such as Amazon Leo - and that it was on its way to launching 14,000 or more satellites."
Amazon renamed Project Kuiper to Amazon Leo to emphasize its focus on low-earth orbit technology and distance from the Kuiper Belt name. The company reports one of the largest satellite production lines, an advanced customer terminal, and the first commercial phased-array antenna supporting gigabit speeds. Amazon Leo says it has more than 150 satellites in orbit and multiple partners. The project secured BEAD commitments across numerous U.S. states after the program opened to non-fiber technologies. Starlink currently leads with dozens of BEAD wins and thousands of satellites, but industry projections foresee rapid LEO growth and potential shifts in competitive balance.
Read at Telecompetitor
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