10 February 2026 In 2018, the American company Amazon announced its first agreements with resellers of broadband communication in low Earth orbit (LEO) for the maritime sector, preparing to launch another batch of satellites this week on the maiden flight of Europe's Ariane rocket 64. The partnership was concluded with the American company MTN and the Emirati ELCOME, which also have international reseller agreements with SpaceX's competing Starlink operational service.
For reference: MTN (MTN Satellite Communications) - This is an American company, specializing in providing satellite communications and integrated connectivity solutions for the maritime industry, offshore operations, energy industry, government structures and remote enterprises.
Elcome International LLC is one of the world's largest marine technology and electronics companies, Founded in 1970 year and is based in Dubai, UAE. It provides sales, service maintenance, integration of navigation systems, communication and automation for the military, energy, marine and yacht sectors.
Amazon Leo's initial services are slated to launch later this year after testing with potential customers. As in the case of connecting on board airplanes, marine services, probably, will require more satellite coverage, than for other industries, before the service can start. According to the company, marine clients will be able to connect to the constellation using one of the two antennas: Amazon Leo Pro, which provides speeds up to 400 megabits per second, or Leo Ultra terminal, calculated at download speed up to 1 gigabit per second.
For reference: Amazon Leo is a satellite Internet network from Amazon, which operates in low Earth orbit. It is designed to provide fast, reliable broadband Internet in any corner of the world, especially in rural areas, remote, hard-to-reach regions, where traditional networks (cable internet, 5G etc) unavailable or very expensive.
Amazon launched approx 180 from the planned 3232 satellites. which were launched on SpaceX Falcon rockets 9 ta Atlas 5 from United Launch Alliance as part of a multi-vendor program, announced in 2022 year. The company entered into a contract for 18 launches from Arianespace, which in 2024 presented the Ariane version 6 with a lower load capacity. Ariane variant 64, equipped with four solid-fuel boosters instead of two, should bring 12 February 32 Amazon Leo satellites from the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana.
For reference: Arianespace is a French company, which is the world's first commercial operator of space launches. It was founded in March 1980 year and specializes in launching satellites and other spacecraft into various orbits.
In advance, Arianespace predicts up to eight Ariane launches 6 during this year. Several of them are specifically for their biggest customer, Amazon.
Source: https://spacenews.com