Amazon satellite network gets a rebrand — and drops its affordability pitch

Amazon’s budding outer net programme is nary longer called Project Kuiper. It is present known simply arsenic “Leo.” The sanction alteration comes arsenic the institution appears to beryllium shifting its absorption from “unserved oregon underserved” communities to securing larger commercialized contracts.

The outer web has been successful the works since 2019 and, arsenic Amazon tells it, the sanction Project Kuiper was lone ever expected to beryllium temporary. Leo is simply a motion to the network’s determination successful what’s known arsenic low-Earth orbit, commonly referred to successful the abstraction manufacture arsenic “LEO.”

As Amazon worked toward launching the archetypal Kuiper satellites earlier this year, the institution boasted that the task was an “initiative to summation planetary broadband access” with a noble-sounding “mission to bring fast, affordable broadband” to communities that aren’t well-served by accepted net providers.

But, arsenic TechCrunch antecedently noted, the institution has changed the connection it uses to picture the work successful caller months arsenic it inked deals with Airbus and JetBlue, putting the web much squarely successful contention with SpaceX’s Starlink service.

Amazon didn’t respond to requests for comment.

An archived mentation of the main FAQ leafage for Kuiper — published successful precocious 2024 — puts the aforementioned “mission” to service those communities close astatine the apical of the post. Affordability is mentioned 3 times throughout, with Amazon calling it a “key rule of Project Kuiper.”

“Amazon has a longstanding committedness to debased prices, and tons of acquisition gathering popular, low-cost devices similar Echo Dot and Fire TV Stick,” reads the reply to a question connected the archived station astir however overmuch Kuiper work volition cost. “We’re applying a akin attack with Project Kuiper.”

That question-and-answer astir outgo is present gone from the Leo FAQ, and determination is nary notation of “affordability” anyplace connected the page.

The connection astatine the apical of the caller FAQ is besides different. It states that Leo is “Amazon’s debased Earth orbit outer network, designed to supply fast, reliable net to customers and communities beyond the scope of existing networks.”

While the Leo FAQ mentions that mediocre connectivity tin “create an economical disadvantage for people, businesses, and different organizations operating successful unserved and underserved parts of the world,” the institution is little circumstantial than it utilized to beryllium astir putting those communities beforehand and halfway successful the lawsuit pipeline.

Amazon Leo’s caller website is adjacent much blatant astir however it is prioritizing location and commercialized net service. It promotes the quality to marque “seamless video calls, watercourse 4K videos,” and “handle your full family’s net needs,” arsenic good arsenic the information that Leo is “[f]lexible, scalable, enterprise-ready.”

The thought of utilizing Leo “even successful agrarian and distant locations” is brought up arsenic astir an afterthought connected the main website, and determination is nary notation of outgo oregon affordability.

Despite each this, connected Thursday, Amazon posted a flashy video astir the sanction alteration connected X. Among different things, it shows a kid utilizing her machine to bash homework, nonrecreational drift racing, ambulance workers connected a distant road, a husbandman utilizing a tablet, and a mates dancing successful a laundromat. Along with the video, it wrote: “New name, aforesaid mission.”