Amazon Leo has revealed the antennas that will bring its high speed, low latency internet onboard aircraft.
Amazon Leo has revealed the antennas that will bring its high speed, low latency internet onboard aircraft.
Featuring the core technology of the Leo Ultra Antenna, the Amazon Leo Aviation Antenna is designed to be installed on the exterior of aircraft – from the regional jets to wide-body commercial aircraft – to deliver internet speeds of up to 1Gbps (gigabit per seconds) download and 400Mbps (megabits per second) upload while inflight.
Featuring an integrated modem and streamlined mounting for an aircraft exterior, the installation of the antenna – measuring at 58 inches long, 30 inches wide, and 2.6 inches high (147x76x6.6 centimeters) – will use aviation-grade connectors to link to aircraft power systems and communicate with interior systems.
Image Credit: Amazon Leo
Image: Amazon Leo Aviation Antenna interior, Credit: Amazon Leo
The antennas on the aircraft will connect to Amazon Leo's network, passing a link to a low-Earth orbit satellite before handing off the link to another as aircraft and satellites move relative to each other. The satellite communicates with the network of ground-based gateway antennas to reach the nearest AWS edge location, a customer’s resources on AWS or another cloud provider, or a customer’s private network.
To reduce network latency and enhance resilience, Amazon Leo is building more than 300 ground gateways around the world. Laser links will be used by satellites to transmit data to cover remote areas such as over oceans or polar routes.
“We’ve thought through every aspect of aviation operations to build an antenna and a service that deliver performance, reliability, and efficiency—and that shows in the Amazon Leo Aviation Antenna and the industry’s response to our technology,” said Trevor Vieweg, director of global business for Amazon Leo.
Amazon Leo currently has partnerships with two airlines – Delta and JetBlue – to enhance their inflight internet services.
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