Amazon has signaled its interest in allowing trusted government and third-party customers to use their own antenna hardware to integrate its Ka-band Low Earth Orbit (LEO) connectivity — Amazon LEO — into existing systems, in a move that would greatly enhance optionality including ostensibly for enterprise customers in aviation, while hastening market entry for the service.
The news also bodes well for antenna-makers that meet or exceed Amazon LEO’s authorized technical specifications. ThinKom Solutions, for one, has expressed optimism, as its modem- and network-agnostic Ka-band VICTS antenna hardware enjoys strong content placement in the world fleet and across government platforms, and is linefit offerable at Airbus and Boeing.
“We are indeed excited that Amazon’s interest in hosting third-party antennas/terminals on ‘LEO’ has now been made public,” ThinKom chairman and CTO Bill Milroy told Runway Girl Network after Amazon revealed via a filing with the Federal Communications Commission that it has developed a compact, high-performance Amazon LEO modem module (ALMM) that embeds Amazon LEO network intelligence into antennas built by trusted government and third-party vendors, and that the ALMM will support service “without compromising performance.”
A flexible approach
First highlighted in a report by PCMag, Amazon’s filing with the FCC has been shared by SCRIBD and is being championed on LinkedIn by various industry consultants who espouse “non-siloed” products and celebrate the “greater flexibility” of an “eco-system friendly approach.”
Says Milroy:
As we mentioned some months back, the multi-orbit/multi-constellation Ka2517 and Ka1717 (together with their Government variants, the GT2517 and GT1717) are already GEO, HEO, MEO, and LEO compliant (more details forthcoming soon!) and we are genuinely excited at the prospect of welcoming Amazon LEO to ‘the family,’ and much to the benefit of both our commercial IFC and government satcom customers!
In the LEO satcom sphere, ThinKom VICTS has already proven compatibility with Telesat’s forthcoming Lightspeed LEO network.
Amazon and aero
With over 200 satellites in Low Earth Orbit — the latest tranche launched by Arianespace’s Ariane 64 heavy-lift vehicle — Amazon is in the midst of building out the Amazon LEO network and plans to offer connectivity in 2027. JetBlue Airways has already signed on as a customer for Amazon LEO-powered IFC for a portion of its fleet (elsewhere it will offer Viasat’s multi-orbit Amara solution on new aircraft, as powered by Ka-band GEO and Telesat’s Lightspeed LEO service.)
Airbus, meanwhile, has an MOU with Amazon to offer the LEO service as part of its supplier-furnished HBCplus IFC program, which is supported by Ka2517 hardware contained within a terminal from RAVE Aerospace (formerly SPI).
Amazon’s own enterprise-grade terminal has already shown itself capable of delivering impressive speeds of 1-plus Gbps in ground testing. But Amazon is also focused on being “Earth’s most customer-centric company,” according to its application to the FCC for blanket-licensed fixed earth stations. The ALMM, which provides the modem and control functions necessary for operation on Amazon LEO, will advance that mission, it says, adding:
By supporting operation both under the authority of the Federal Communications Commission and in support of assignments that the National Telecommunications and Information Administration may authorize, the ALMM promises to make satellite connectivity faster to deploy, more interoperable, and more cost-efficient for government and enterprise users.
Should approval be granted by the FCC, and should Amazon deem that certain aero terminals meet Amazon LEO’s specs, aircraft operators would have fresh IFC choices to consider, including the possible option to retain existing hardware and add Amazon LEO service, if the requisite service agreements can be brokered.
In commercial aviation alone, roughly 1,500 aircraft are fitted with multi-orbit Ka2517 antenna hardware, as supported by multiple integrators including but not limited to RAVE Aerospace via Airbus and Boeing linefit and retrofit programs, SES through its Open Orbits ecosystem, Thales with its FlytLIVE product, Inmarsat-now-Viasat (for the former company’s nextgen GX offering) and TCI Aircraft Interiors.
The smaller Ka1717 kit is fitted to Delta’s regional jet fleet, as supported by aero ISP Hughes Network Systems. Hughes is also in line to bring its Hughes Fusion product to Delta’s Boeing 717s plus select A321neos and A350-1000s; the Fusion architecture pairs Ka2517, in support of GEO connectivity, with a Hughes LEO-only ESA talking to Eutelsat OneWeb LEO.
It is compelling to consider that Amazon LEO service could be quickly catapulted into the aviation ecosystem with a more open model — than, say, SpaceX Starlink — if the tech giant ultimately supports such a move, and the FCC grants its blessing.
Such an event might even transpire at a time when aviation is on the cusp of following the cruise industry by adopting multiple different service providers on the same aircraft, as Quvia, the first AI-powered Quality of Experience (QoE) platform for ships, planes and remote sites, predicted last year at the APEX TECH conference in Los Angeles. “[I]t’s happening everywhere else in the world except aviation,” Quvia senior vice president, aviation Mike Moeller said at the time.
Perhaps, as the proverb says, where there’s a will, there’s a way.
Related Articles:
- Eutelsat reports ‘strong progress’ in IFC as LEO revenues take off
- Viasat sees future opportunities to reengage with Starlink adopters
- How Telesat plans to differentiate in LEO with Lightspeed
- Connected seatback at the fore as RAVE Aerospace enters new era
- JetBlue is first airline to sign for Amazon Kuiper inflight Wi-Fi
- Quvia sees aero following cruise with multiple connectivity providers
- #PaxEx Podcast: ThinKom tackles the tough questions as IFC evolves
Featured image credited to Arianespace
