Amazon's satellite internet service Leo will go live in mid-2026, with the company having secured revenue commitments from enterprises and governments. Delta Air Lines has named Leo as its future onboard wifi provider and will begin using it on 500 planes in 2028. Leo currently has 200 low-orbit satellites in space, and Amazon plans to launch a few thousand more in the years to come, positioning it as the second commercial satellite presence in space.
Leo will seamlessly integrate with AWS to enable enterprises and governments to move data for storage, analytics, and AI. Other customers include JetBlue, AT&T, Vodafone, DIRECTV Latin America, Australia's national broadband network, and NASA. The competitive landscape is dominated by SpaceX's Starlink, which has nearly 10,000 satellites in space and aims for up to 42,000 operational in the future.
The rivalry between Amazon and SpaceX is expected to shape the coming decades of the commercial space industry, with Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk both eager to set up datacentres in orbit and normalize commercial space travel. Amazon's efforts to join the internet space race have been hampered by having to rely on competitors' rockets for launches, but Blue Origin, owned by Jeff Bezos, will take primary responsibility for launching Leo satellites from 2027 onwards. Blue Origin currently has the edge in commercial space travel.