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The central constraint in low Earth orbit internet is coverage geometry: a satellite network becomes commercially viable only when its nodes span enough orbital planes to guarantee continuous line-of-sight from any served location to at least one satellite overhead.
That threshold marks when a constellation transitions from development to commercial service, and Amazon has now crossed it for Leo, its broadband satellite service.
The company says commercial operations will begin later this year. Where Starlink's lead lives Leo enters a market with one established competitor.
SpaceX's Starlink had a four-year head start on Amazon and now operates more than 10,000 satellites. Constellation size is the primary operational variable in LEO internet.
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