Photo: Timo Bauer (right) speaks with Robert DeMarzo of Channel Partners.
Timo Bauer, global head of commercial partner channels for Amazon Leo, revealed seven new partners for the new low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite network Wednesday at Channel Partners Conference.
Speaking with Channel Partners VP of channel events Robert DeMarzo on the keynote stage, Bauer listed five new Technology Services Distributors (TSDs) and two direct-selling agent partners. He added that Amazon wants to be the most channel-friendly player in the LEO space.
“We’re announcing today that we are officially part of this channel, and we’ve signed seven agreements,” Bauer said. “We worked a long time on this.”
Bauer disclosed TSDs Avant, Telarus, Intelisys, Bridgepointe, and Innovative Business Solutions and direct selling agents Advantage and Amplix as new partners.
Amazon Leo (formerly Project Kuiper) is a high-speed, low-latency satellite broadband network. LEO satellites will bring high-speed internet to areas without reliable connectivity. Leo brings Amazon into a market dominated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX Starlink satellites. Starlink already has 10,000 satellites that offer internet and mobile phone services compared to 240 Leo launches.
While Leo is not scheduled for general availability until mid-2026, Bauer said Amazon already has customers through partners.
“Now that it's official that this is part of our core go-to-market strategy, especially in North America, we are engaged already with partners,” he said. “We are working on building up funnel with some of the TSDs and the core agents, and we have a pre-general availability process where we can also close deals. And we're closing deals today with customers.”
Bauer’s channel announcement came after Amazon CEO Andy Jassy last week outlined in a letter to shareholders plans to launch thousands of satellites in the coming years. Delta Airlines has committed to Amazon Leo for future Wi-Fi service, and Jassy told shareholders JetBlue, AT&T, Vodafone, DIRECTV Latin America, Australia’s National Broadband Network, and NASA are also on board with Leo
Wants No Channel Conflict
Bauer said that by creating a channel program for Leo, Amazon has set up channel-friendly approach from the start.
“One thing that I'm super excited about, is, is that we are building this up from scratch internally,” he said. “We don't have a lot of baggage from a systems point of view or processes that are in place. So I'm really pushing hard internally to fully integrate this with our sales force as well. I think one of our big advantages will be that we want to be the most channel friendly partner there. I know we're setting the bar high there, but why not? We’re working to make sure that we leverage all the agents and have zero channel conflict. Avoid this from the start. So that's actually fun to work on, because you have a blank sheet of paper. Figure out what's the best possible experience for the end customer.”
Amazon experienced delays with satellite launches, but Bauer said 20 more launches are set for this year. Another well-funded competitor is Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin, which plans to have at least 5,400 of its TerraWave satellites by the end of 2027.
“The satellite count is not really the important one,” Bauer said. “It's more about the capabilities of the satellites.”
When asked about competitive advantages, Bauer cited Leo’s speed (1 Gbps download and 400 Mbps upload) and security that encrypts traffic from the terminal level all the way to the network. While Leo is new, it is built on proven AWS technology.
“We have fully built on top of AWS, so all the security and everything that comes with AWS from a ground infrastructure is built in,” he said. “And in general, it’s enterprise-grade with all the tools you expect. The APIs right from enterprise grade service will bring that and all this under an Amazon umbrella.”