AT&T is adding Amazon Leo satellite internet to its connectivity services for businesses and government customers, expanding the ways organizations can stay online when traditional fiber or wireless connections are unavailable or impractical.
The agreement will allow AT&T to incorporate Amazon Leo’s low-Earth-orbit satellite network into enterprise networking solutions alongside fiber, 5G and other connectivity options. The companies are targeting operations in remote locations as well as organizations that need backup connections when terrestrial networks are disrupted.
Amazon Leo, formerly known as Project Kuiper, is Amazon’s answer to the rapidly expanding market for satellite broadband. Its satellites orbit much closer to Earth than traditional communications satellites, allowing the network to provide faster response times while delivering broadband connectivity to locations that may be difficult or expensive to reach with conventional infrastructure.
For AT&T customers, the satellite connection could become another layer in a broader network rather than a completely separate service. A business with offices, warehouses or field operations across multiple locations could potentially combine fiber and wireless connections with satellite coverage, giving network managers more options for keeping critical systems connected.
The partnership also illustrates how quickly satellite broadband is moving beyond its original image as an internet solution primarily for rural homes. Telecommunications companies are increasingly looking at satellites as part of a larger communications infrastructure that can support businesses, emergency operations, transportation and government services.
The Readovia Lens
The next generation of internet connectivity may not depend on choosing between fiber, wireless or satellites. AT&T’s move toward integrating all three shows how communications networks are evolving toward a model in which the best available connection can increasingly come from the ground, a nearby cell tower—or hundreds of miles above it.
