New partnership will make AT&T the first wireless company to leverage technology from the Amazon Leo satellite unit
Amazon has far fewer satellites in space than SpaceX does.
AT&T on Tuesday said it would work with Amazon to deliver satellite internet to business customers as the telecommunications industry looks to keep SpaceX on its toes.
The company has signed an agreement that would make AT&T (T) the first U.S. telecom provider to leverage connectivity enabled by Amazon.com's (AMZN) Leo division. Although Amazon Leo is still in the early stages of development, AT&T said it was confident in the company's low-Earth-orbit satellite services.
"Customers have no shortage of connectivity options. What enterprise and public sector customers need is a connectivity platform that delivers greater reliability," Shawn Hakl, head of product for AT&T Business, said in a statement.
Amazon last November began offering enterprise previews for Leo and plans to begin commercial service this year. It's secured several contracts across industries, including partnerships with Delta Air Lines $(DAL)$ and JetBlue Airways $(JBLU)$.
Amazon deployed enough satellites to begin "initial service" in July, according to Chris Weber, an executive at Amazon Leo, following a mission with United Launch Alliance. In a statement on Tuesday, Weber touted Amazon's "fast, reliable satellite broadband" that is meant to meet the demands of "enterprise, public sector, and government customers."
While Amazon has 392 satellites in space, according to data from the astronomer Jonathan McDowell, only 315 are in the proper operational orbit. Wedbush Securities has estimated that Amazon needs 578 satellites in orbit to begin commercial services. The company last launched satellites in July, though it has future missions booked with ULA and others.
That leaves Amazon trailing SpaceX (SPCX), which currently dominates with its Starlink service and has 11,124 working satellites, according to McDowell. It plans to ramp up its launches with Starship, a massive rocket expected to deploy next-generation satellites to orbit.
Starlink has been popular with enterprise customers, especially those in the aviation and maritime industries. It also has international reach. Last month, Deutsche Telekom became one of the latest companies offering access to Starlink to enterprise and public sector customers.
"Starlink had a standout quarter, driven by continued growth across our consumer, enterprise and government businesses," Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX's COO, told investors last month. Enterprise and government revenue hit $1.8 billion in the June quarter, up 108% compared to a year earlier.
Amazon has been approved to operate a 3,232-satellite constellation and to deploy another 4,500 satellites. It has requested regulatory approval to deploy up to 5,105 satellites to enable a direct-to-device service and is also set to take control of GlobalStar's $(GSAT)$ satellites.
Those plans could set Amazon up as an alternative to Starlink, which has more than 13 million consumer subscribers. Investors have been worried that U.S. telecoms like AT&T, Verizon Communications (VZ) and T-Mobile $(TMUS)$ are being threatened by Starlink, though the companies and some analysts say that fear is overblown, at least in the short term.
-William Gavin