Amazon Leo Preps Gigabit Broadband for Aviation from LEO Satellites

The Amazon Leo (formerly Project Kuiper) service, which is in the process of launching a new mega constellation of ultrafast broadband satellites into Low Earth Orbit (LEO) for the UK and globally, has launched a new Aviation Antenna that it says will deliver reliable internet connectivity to airline passengers and crew with up to 1Gbps download and 400Mbps upload speeds.

The new Amazon service is currently still in its commercial beta phase and will start to launch properly through 2026. The service currently has approval to deploy and operate their own initial constellation of 3,236 LEO broadband satellites (altitudes of between 590km to 630km). A total of c.239 Kuiper satellites have already been placed into orbit (they need at least 500 for basic global coverage) and many more are due to follow.

One of the areas expected to benefit from this is aviation, which naturally requires the development of a purpose-built antenna. The new Amazon Leo Aviation Antenna (uses some of the same core tech as the Leo Ultra antenna for enterprise users), which was just unveiled, is said to have “numerous design features to increase aircraft and airline operational efficiency” and will be able to deliver speeds of 1000Mbps (400Mbps upload).

The full-duplex phased array antenna is said to be appropriate for a range of aviation use cases, from wide-body commercial aircraft to regional jets. As well as sharing out this 1Gbps capacity to passengers via onboard Wi-Fi, airline crew will also be able to use it to improve the passenger experience and operations using near-real-time information.

The antenna is also electronically steered with no moving parts (to reduce maintenance downtime) and capable of withstanding harsh weather and temperature. The hardware has a low profile — measuring 58 inches long, 30 inches wide, and 2.6 inches high (147 by 76 by 6.6 cm) — in order to minimise aircraft drag and fuel consumption. It’s a simple design with an integrated modem and streamlined mounting, which is said to allow for single-day installation.

Trevor Vieweg, Director of Global Business for Amazon Leo, said:

“Amazon Leo can connect a full plane of passengers and crew with speeds that handle any activity seamlessly, whether passengers want to game, watch a movie, listen to music, or collaborate with colleagues on a project. We expect our service to be so fast and reliable that passengers will seek out flights featuring Leo connectivity.

We’ve thought through every aspect of aviation operations to build an antenna and a service that deliver performance, reliability, and efficiency—and that shows in the Amazon Leo Aviation Antenna and the industry’s response to our technology.

We’re thrilled to have agreements in place already with Delta and JetBlue based on the strength of our initial offering, and it’s only going to get better from here as we innovate together with our customers.”

Amazon Leo confirmed they’re currently building more than 300 ground gateways around the world to reduce network latency and enhance resilience. “In-flight connectivity has historically degraded over oceans, polar routes, and remote places that are far from gateways, and in those areas, our satellites will use laser links to transmit data between each other and relay user data to and from the most logical nearby ground gateways,” said Amazon.

The company plans to share more details of their in-flight connectivity solution in the “coming months“, although it’s worth remembering that they’ve still got a long way to go to catch up with Starlink (SpaceX) and other satellite operators in this field.