NBN Co and Amazon’s planned low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite-powered internet service is still a while away, with the latest update indicating a 2027 launch.
It comes a year after the initial announcement confirming NBN Co’s partnership with Amazon. At the time, mid-2026 was the estimated start of the Amazon Leo (then known as Project Kuiper) satellite rollout.
Now, the rollout is set to start “around mid-2027”, according to an online update attributed to Gavin Williams, NBN Co’s Chief Development Officer, Regional and Remote. Accompanying the announcement were more details about the NBN LEO service.
As the rollout commences, NBN’s new satellite service “will be progressively available to homes and businesses across the NBN satellite footprint”. To begin with, eligible Australians will be able to access LEO internet “through participating Australian internet providers”.
NBN Co also confirmed wholesale speed options of either 50Mbps downloads and 10Mbps uploads, or 100Mbps/20Mbps. Although those speeds aren’t higher than NBN’s existing satellite internet technology, the soon-to-be-retired Sky Muster array encounters notable speed drops during peak usage times, according to the ACCC’s Measuring Broadband Australia report.
Sky Muster relies on geostationary (GEO) satellites, which orbit roughly 36,000km above Earth. LEO satellites operate much closer, with Amazon’s technology set to orbit at around 600 km. With less distance to travel, NBN’s upcoming service should improve latency and overall internet speeds for those reliant on satellite connectivity.
By transitioning to the new satellite technology, NBN aims to compete more strongly alongside Starlink for rural Australians. ACCC’s reporting measured Starlink’s average download speed at 230.4Mbps on its premium $150 monthly Residential Max plan.
For now, NBN Co plans to start testing the LEO service “later this year”, followed by customer trials before the intended mid-2027 launch.
The post NBN and Amazon’s LEO satellite internet service pushed to 2027 appeared first on GadgetGuy.
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