Starlink rival, Amazon Leo launches a waitlist for many countries, including Nigeria, to collect details of would-be early users of its satellite Internet service when it eventually rolls out.
Recall that the company recently began its first public testing with select enterprise customers ahead of an anticipated wider commercial rollout in 2026.
The list provides for three broad categories of users:
- Government: Government agencies and service providers like schools, hospitals, etc.
- Personal: individual users like you
- Business: corporate users and business owners
It also provides three different router types:
- Ultra: It will support download speeds of up to 1Gbps and upload speeds of 400Mbps. Amazon boasts that it will be the world’s fastest satellite Internet antenna.
- Nano: the smallest and lightest antenna, and most likely going to be the most affordable. The antenna weighs around 1kg. It will have a square dish panel that measures less than 18cm from side to side. It supports download speeds of up to 100Mbps.
- Pro: Bulkier and heavier, measuring approximately 28cm across and weighing 2.4kg. It will offer download speeds of up to 400Mbps.
Recall that Amazon has partnered with Vanu, a US-based company, to deploy cellular towers in far-flung and rural parts of Southern Africa. There isn’t an announcement for a distribution structure for West Africa yet.
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What you need to know about Amazon Leo
Previously known as Project Kuiper, Leo launched its first operational batch of internet satellites into low Earth orbit (LEO) last year.
The mission, dubbed “KA-01” (Kuiper Atlas 1), saw 27 satellites lifted off aboard a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida in September.
The project now has a fleet of 153 production satellites in orbit and aims to expand to 1,618 satellites by 30 July 2026. Although this pales when compared with Starlink’s 10,000 satellites, the Amazon-owned company claims that its top-end product will offer speeds of up to 1Gbps.
Amazon’s ambitious initiative to provide global broadband access has been at least 10 years in the making. The company aims to deploy a constellation of more than 3,200 LEO satellites to deliver fast, reliable internet to customers worldwide, including underserved regions.
The first phase of the deployment will consist of 578 satellites orbiting around 630km above the Earth’s surface, slightly higher than Starlink’s fleet. Using these satellites, Amazon is rolling out 12 ground stations to provide backhaul connectivity to the Internet.
While SpaceX’s Starlink has a head start with its reusable Falcon 9 rockets and a licensed capacity for 12,000 first-generation satellites (plus 7,500 more for its second generation), Amazon is betting on its technological prowess and global reach to carve out a competitive niche.
The company has secured 80 launch missions with multiple providers, including ULA, Arianespace, and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin, to build out its initial constellation.
Experts believe that the setup process is likely to take at least one more year, with the earliest optimistic global launch date being late 2026 or early 2027.
Source: Technext
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