AT&T Business, the enterprise arm of the US telecoms operator, has selected Amazon Leo — Amazon’s low Earth orbit satellite broadband network — for a new enterprise broadband service, describing it as a business-grade alternative to Starlink. The decision was set out by Shawn Hakl, senior vice president and head of product at AT&T Business, in an interview published on 13 October by Mobile World Live.
Key facts
- Mobile World Live describes AT&T Business as Amazon Leo’s sole US telecoms launch partner.
- Hakl said AT&T tested the product extensively, recorded sub-50 millisecond latency and is extremely happy with the throughput — though he gave no throughput figure.
- Satellite is positioned as a third connectivity option alongside AT&T’s fibre and 5G, including in areas beyond the reach of its terrestrial networks.
- The service is expected next year, with timing tied to Amazon Leo’s satellite launch schedule.
- Amazon says it has 396 satellites in orbit and has built over 1,000 at its plant in Kirkland, Washington.
Why it matters
Starlink, SpaceX’s satellite broadband network, has spent years signing carriers and enterprises with little direct competition in low Earth orbit. A major US operator publicly choosing a rival for its business broadband product — and calling that rival business-grade — breaks that pattern. Mobile World Live’s framing is that AT&T is Amazon Leo’s sole US telecoms launch partner; whether it is the constellation’s biggest carrier deal anywhere is not something the report establishes, and no market-wide tally of Amazon Leo’s carrier agreements has been published.
SpaceX has not responded publicly to being passed over. The Mobile World Live interview carries no comment from SpaceX or Starlink, and the company had issued no statement on the AT&T decision at the time of writing.
The choice also sharpens the position AT&T has been taking in public, including AT&T chief executive John Stankey’s insistence that nothing beats fibre, and analyst arguments about where Starlink actually threatens AT&T. On this product, satellite is the complement, not the core.
What buyers can and cannot compare yet
The interview gives no price, speed tier or throughput figure, which leaves the decisive question for anyone weighing satellite internet options unanswered. Starlink publishes retail pricing and address-level availability on its own site; AT&T and Amazon have published neither for this service, nor any licensing or availability terms for markets outside the United States, including Zimbabwe and the rest of Africa. A like-for-like comparison on cost or committed speeds is therefore not possible today. The only performance number on the record is Hakl’s sub-50 millisecond latency claim, measured by AT&T itself rather than by an independent tester.
What AT&T said it tested
“We’ve tested the product out pretty extensively and we’ve seen sub-50 millisecond latency,” Hakl told Mobile World Live. He said AT&T has done a lot of integration with Amazon, is working with the company at different levels, and that Amazon has been extremely willing to help fine-tune how the two networks interact.
How the partnership is split
AT&T Business is providing the last-mile connectivity and the local customer equipment, Mobile World Live reports, while working with Amazon on how AT&T’s terrestrial network interacts with Amazon Leo’s ground stations and on harmonising the in-air component of that link.
Hakl said AT&T is trying to make the connection between its network and the cloud a software consumable element that can be combined with satellite, wireless and wireline connectivity in an end-to-end architecture, rather than sold as a series of point-to-point products.
Customer control and service levels
Combining fibre, 5G and satellite will let AT&T Business offer different services, service-level agreements and business outcomes per customer, Hakl said, giving customers more granular control over how applications balance performance, cost and security — decisions some will want to manage in detail and others could leave to AI models. On hardware, he said some customers will want traditional active-passive setups, others active configurations and some multiple-box arrangements, and that a single box is not achievable in the first iteration.
Amazon Leo’s launch bottleneck
The service date depends on how fast the constellation grows, and getting built satellites into orbit is the constraint. Mobile World Live notes that in July, Blue Origin chief executive Dave Limp outlined a plan to rebuild the company’s Florida launch pad with a new configuration after a failed attempt, as Blue Origin works toward returning its New Glenn rocket to flight before the end of the year.
Separately, the report says Amazon Leo applied in July to the US Federal Communications Commission, the country’s telecoms regulator, to deploy up to 5,105 satellites for direct-to-device services to mobile phones.
Background: AT&T has sold satellite for a decade
Hakl said AT&T has sold satellite services for ten years, particularly in agriculture, manufacturing and retail, with public safety through FirstNet another area of focus. If the price point comes down, he said, satellite becomes more of an option for different market segments, and AT&T is impressed with Amazon’s technology.
Elsewhere in low Earth orbit the field remains unsettled: PCMag UK reported the same day that Russia’s latest Starlink rival satellites are falling out of orbit — the subject of our earlier report on Russia’s Rassvet constellation losing satellites.
Frequently Asked Questions
When will AT&T’s Amazon Leo service be available?
AT&T Business expects to offer it next year, Shawn Hakl told Mobile World Live, with the date tied to how quickly Amazon Leo’s constellation grows.
How much will AT&T’s Amazon Leo broadband cost?
Neither company has published a price, a speed tier or a throughput figure for the service.
Will customers get a single box combining fibre, 5G and satellite?
No — Hakl said a single box is not achievable in the first iteration.
Is Amazon Leo planning to connect mobile phones directly?
Amazon Leo asked the US Federal Communications Commission in July to deploy up to 5,105 satellites for direct-to-device service, Mobile World Live reports, with no approval date or launch timeline given.
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