Amazon Leo Ultra brings gigabit satellite links and direct AWS connectivity

A new enterprise satellite service takes shape

Amazon has taken a major step toward commercial satellite broadband by unveiling Leo Ultra, a high throughput ground terminal for its rebranded Amazon Leo network. Formerly known as Project Kuiper, the effort now enters an enterprise preview, with Ultra terminals shipping to select businesses while Amazon scales its constellation. Full commercial availability is expected to broaden in 2026 after initial deployments begin in 2025. The strategy is clear. Launch a resilient, fast terminal designed for business and government needs. Tie it directly into Amazon Web Services so data can flow from remote assets to cloud workloads with fewer hops. And build a multi terminal portfolio that can serve fixed sites, mobile platforms, and compact setups.

Leo Ultra is the flagship terminal in that lineup. It is aimed at fixed installations that demand high capacity and low latency. The unit supports up to 1 gigabit per second downlink and up to 400 megabits per second uplink, figures that place it at the top of current low Earth orbit hardware aimed at enterprise use. The network is engineered to connect remote operations, from energy fields and mines to farms, logistics hubs, and in flight Wi Fi on aircraft, while linking directly to AWS or to private networks without traversing the public internet.

To sustain those ambitions, Amazon is building a large low Earth orbit constellation. The company has launched more than 150 satellites and plans thousands more to reach global coverage. It faces a regulatory deadline to deploy roughly half of its planned 3,236 satellites by mid 2026. Partners already span aviation, energy, agriculture, logistics, and national infrastructure, pointing to a go to market that focuses on high value, distributed operations rather than mass consumer broadband at the outset.

What the Leo Ultra hardware offers

Leo Ultra is built for permanent installation at fixed sites. The flat phased array measures roughly 20 inches by 30 inches, with a chassis depth near 1.9 inches, and mounts outdoors on poles or building fixtures. The design has no moving parts. That reduces maintenance and supports reliable performance in harsh conditions, including heat, cold, rain, and strong winds. Eliminating mechanical tracking also means faster acquisition and steadier links in variable weather.

Inside the enclosure, a custom Amazon designed chip drives a full duplex phased array, which means it can transmit and receive at the same time. Full duplex operation matters for interactive applications where uploads are as important as downloads, such as two way video, industrial control, and cloud synchronization. Amazon pairs that silicon with a proprietary radio frequency design and signal processing stack that tunes throughput and latency while keeping power needs manageable for outdoor installations.

Amazon says the terminal supports download speeds up to 1 gigabit per second and uploads up to 400 megabits per second. Internal testing has reached higher peaks, with downlink speeds reported up to 1.8 gigabits per second and uplinks around 450 megabits per second under ideal conditions. Actual user speeds will vary with satellite capacity, link conditions, and network congestion, the same variables that govern performance across all satellite broadband systems.

The Ultra antenna sits at the top of a three terminal lineup. Leo Pro is a smaller primary terminal that targets portable or vehicle mounted use and is rated up to 400 megabits per second. Leo Nano is a compact seven inch square unit rated up to 100 megabits per second for bandwidth sensitive but space constrained deployments. To shrink Pro and Nano, Amazon overlays transmit and receive arrays. Ultra, by contrast, places them side by side to enable full duplex operation at higher sustained rates.

In company materials, Amazon characterizes the new terminal with a straightforward claim about its place in the current market.

Amazon describes Leo Ultra as “the fastest commercial phased array antenna in production.”

Beyond radio performance, Amazon is packaging enterprise grade features around the hardware. These include advanced encryption, network management tools, and round the clock priority support that align with the needs of industrial and public sector customers with sites in remote or contested terrain.

Direct links to AWS and private networks

A key differentiator for Amazon Leo is native integration with cloud and private networking. Direct to AWS (D2A) links route satellite traffic straight into cloud workloads without touching the public internet. In practical terms, a company can stream sensor data from a pipeline, transmit video from a rural construction site, or synchronize databases from a ship at sea directly into its virtual private cloud. The Amazon Leo console supports point and click integration with services such as AWS Transit Gateway and AWS Direct Connect Gateway, so teams can attach satellite sites to existing architectures with familiar tools.

Amazon also offers a Private Network Interconnect solution that lets enterprises or telecom providers connect remote locations to their own data centers through large colocation facilities. That can compress deployment timelines from weeks or months down to days. For operators that must keep data on private infrastructure for compliance or performance reasons, this path provides a direct spine between field sites and core networks without relying on the open internet.

These network options allow businesses to treat satellite links as extensions of their internal networks. They can apply the same routing, security policies, and monitoring that they already use in their data centers and cloud environments. That alignment is especially useful for regulated workloads, real time machine telemetry, broadcast contribution, and emergency response where traffic flow, latency, and privacy are tightly controlled.

Who is testing Leo Ultra and why these use cases are first

Amazon has begun shipping Leo Ultra and Leo Pro to selected companies in an enterprise preview. Early participants include JetBlue, Vanu Inc., Hunt Energy Network, Connected Farms, and Crane Worldwide Logistics. Additional alliances span national broadband providers, defense and aerospace firms, and major telecom groups, including NBN Co in Australia, Verizon, Vodafone, Vodacom, L3Harris, NTT, SKY Perfect JSAT, DIRECTV Latin America, and Sky Brasil. The mix reflects where satellite links can quickly unlock value, especially where fiber and microwave are hard to build or maintain.

Airlines want more consistent bandwidth to improve in flight Wi Fi. Energy firms need resilient backhaul for remote assets like wellheads, batteries, and pipelines. Farms and mining operations require sensor networks and video monitoring far from fiber. Logistics companies benefit from coverage across ports, depots, and cross border routes. The Ultra terminal’s stronger uplink performance is well suited to pushing high volumes of data back into cloud analytics, computer vision pipelines, and remote control systems.

Launch cadence, coverage and the regulatory clock

Amazon has launched 153 production satellites as it transitions from test payloads to network buildout. The next series of missions includes United Launch Alliance flights, with additional launches scheduled on Arianespace Ariane 6 and Blue Origin New Glenn vehicles. Each new tranche should widen coverage and add capacity, moving the network toward continuous service windows across more regions.

Federal rules require Amazon to deploy half of its planned constellation by mid 2026. Meeting that milestone will demand a sustained launch cadence through 2025 and 2026. Round the clock coverage across large geographies comes only after a critical mass of satellites is in place, and Amazon says the pace will accelerate as heavy lift rockets join the fleet and ground infrastructure scales to match.

How Leo Ultra stacks up against Starlink and other rivals

SpaceX’s Starlink dominates consumer satellite broadband today, with more than 9,000 satellites in orbit and over 8 million customers worldwide. Starlink’s Performance Kit advertises peak downlink around 475 megabits per second and uplink around 75 megabits per second for many users, and the company says it plans to deliver gigabit class service after it upgrades parts of its space segment. Amazon is entering a mature market, but it is focusing first on enterprise and public sector users rather than home subscribers.

Performance comparisons must be framed by different design goals. Leo Ultra targets up to 1 gigabit per second down and up to 400 megabits per second up, paired with built in routes to AWS and to private networks. The hardware is engineered for fixed sites and industrial workflows that backhaul large volumes of data. Amazon also plans to offer smaller terminals for mobile and compact use cases. While Amazon has not shared pricing, it has indicated the mid sized Leo Pro terminal is expected to cost less than 400 dollars to produce, which hints at a cost structure that could support a broad device portfolio once service ramps up.

For enterprises deciding between systems, the deeper cloud integration and management controls in Amazon Leo may carry as much weight as raw speed. The demand for direct cloud on ramps, private routing, and consistent encryption is strongest in industries that already rely on AWS and tightly managed networks. Starlink’s scale, consumer reach, and growing business features remain strong advantages in its own right, and both providers are likely to compete and coexist across different segments.

Security, latency and reliability for critical operations

Low Earth orbit satellites fly closer to the planet than traditional geostationary craft. That shorter path reduces round trip delay to tens of milliseconds in many cases, a level suitable for video conferencing, voice calls, interactive control, and cloud backed applications. Combined with full duplex operation in the Ultra terminal, the link can handle high rate uplink tasks alongside heavy downloads without waiting for time slots to switch roles.

Amazon underscores encryption and network visibility as baseline features. Enterprises can monitor link health, shape traffic, and enforce policies using tools that resemble cloud and data center workflows. The antenna’s weather resistance and lack of moving parts improve reliability for challenging sites where maintenance windows are rare. Those engineering choices aim to keep links stable across temperature swings, snow and rain, and prolonged wind exposure.

Pricing, timing and how to learn more

Amazon has not disclosed pricing for terminals or service tiers. The company is prioritizing businesses and public sector partners during the enterprise preview, then plans a broader rollout as satellite coverage and capacity grow through 2026. Leo Ultra and Leo Pro units are shipping to selected customers now, and the compact Nano model is slated to follow for bandwidth sensitive deployments that prioritize size and power over peak throughput.

Companies interested in the preview and technical details can consult the Amazon Leo overview and program updates on the company’s site at this official page. That resource outlines terminal specifications, networking options, and examples from early partners in aviation, energy, agriculture, and logistics.

The Bottom Line

• Amazon rebranded Project Kuiper as Amazon Leo and introduced the Leo Ultra terminal for enterprise and public sector use.
• Leo Ultra targets up to 1 gigabit per second down and up to 400 megabits per second up, powered by a full duplex phased array and custom Amazon silicon.
• Amazon is shipping Ultra and Pro units to selected customers in an enterprise preview, with broader availability expected in 2026.
• The network integrates directly with AWS via Direct to AWS and supports Private Network Interconnect for data center routing.
• More than 150 satellites are in orbit today, with thousands planned and a mid 2026 regulatory deadline to deploy half of the constellation.
• Early partners include JetBlue, Vanu Inc., Hunt Energy Network, Connected Farms, Crane Worldwide Logistics, and national and global telecom groups.
• Amazon positions Leo Ultra for fixed sites and data intensive workflows, while Leo Pro and Leo Nano target portable and compact deployments.
• Pricing has not been disclosed. Amazon says the mid sized Pro terminal is expected to cost less than 400 dollars to produce.