Amazon has announced that it now has enough satellites in low-Earth orbit to begin offering its Starlink competitor, Amazon Leo, to the public. With last night’s launch, the company has deployed 396 satellites, which Chris Weber, VP of business and product for Amazon Leo, says is “enough to support continuous service across initial latitudes.” Amazon is targeting “mid-2026” for commercial availability, but warns that early adopters should not expect miracles on day one.

SpaceX, by contrast, launched its “Better than nothing beta” in 2020 with nearly 900 satellites, serving a narrow band of users in the upper US and Canada. Those early users complained of frequent service interruptions and high sensitivity to obstructions, with speeds between 50Mbps and 150Mbps and latency from 20ms to 40ms. By 2022, the service had improved dramatically.

Amazon’s early adopters can expect a similarly bumpy ride, with future satellite launches gradually improving performance, capacity, and coverage. SpaceX currently operates over 10,000 Starlink satellites, providing internet in over 160 countries with median download speeds of 200Mbps, uploads of 10Mbps to 40Mbps, and latency around 25ms.

It will take years for Amazon to match those numbers, as it plans to launch a total of 3,232 Leo satellites. The company is already behind schedule, partly because Jeff Bezos has struggled to get Blue Origin’s reusable New Glenn rocket into regular operation. But hey, at least Amazon has a plan. And 396 satellites.