SEATTLE, July 15, 2026, 12:04 PDT
- Herotel is aiming to launch its evry service, powered by Amazon Leo, in 2027. The company wants to reach customers outside fiber and fixed-wireless areas, tapping 120 offices.
- Amazon now has 394 Leo satellites up, or about 12% of the group it plans for its first-generation network. Starlink, by comparison, runs close to 10,000.
Amazon.com, Inc. landed a countrywide sales and service partner in South Africa for its Leo satellite broadband network even though about 88% of its first-gen constellation is still not in orbit. The agreement lines up distribution before most capacity is ready, testing if Amazon can claw back ground from Starlink without needing a one-to-one satellite match.
Herotel, the biggest fixed internet operator in South Africa, plans to put its residential internet business under the evry name starting in 2027. The company serves more than 350,000 customers in more than 550 towns, and runs 120 local offices for installation and service. Those customer numbers don’t mean automatic adoption, but Amazon gets a straight path to market with this network.
Timing is key here as Leo remains a cash drain while commercial revenue isn’t showing yet. Amazon had 394 satellites up as of July 2, with a target fleet of over 3,200. The company has about 100 launches booked, carrying a minimum value of $82 billion. Amazon also raised $25 billion in bonds last week for various corporate needs, including future capital spend, but didn’t earmark the money specifically for Leo.
| Network comparison | Amazon Leo | SpaceX NASDAQ:SPCX Starlink |
|---|---|---|
| Satellites in orbit | 394 | Roughly 10,000 |
| Relative fleet scale | About 12% of Amazon’s planned network up now | Starlink has about 25 times the number Leo’s running |
| South Africa route | Herotel targeting a 2027 launch | Starlink wants in, waiting on regulatory updates |
| Current distribution reach | Herotel says over 350,000 customers, 550+ towns, 120 offices | Starlink is live in 160+ countries, around 24 African markets |
Sources: Amazon, Reuters, AP. The satellite fleet figures are based on reported numbers for each company.
The 25-to-one gap in fleet size is why the deal looks like this. Amazon isn’t setting up its own consumer sales or service ops. Instead, it’s handing the local customer connection to an existing player. Herotel got the exclusive residential distributor tag and will use its teams and offices for terminal installs and support.
Amazon’s head of legal and global affairs, David Zapolsky, called the deal a way to “break down barriers and unlock opportunity.” Herotel boss Van Zyl Botha said evry aims to “reach the customers that even fiber and fixed wireless cannot serve.” Both used language that suggests evry is meant to plug rural gaps instead of replacing Herotel’s current network. Amazon News
Amazon doesn’t break out Leo in its financials, so tracking its expense and revenue isn’t straightforward. The latest filings show why that matters: free cash flow for the last 12 months dropped to $1.2 billion from $25.9 billion after property and equipment spending jumped $59.3 billion, largely to build artificial intelligence infrastructure. AWS delivered $14.2 billion, accounting for 59% of Amazon’s Q1 operating income.
| Amazon financial comparison | Latest figure | Reference point |
|---|---|---|
| Trailing 12-month free cash flow | $1.2 billion | $25.9 billion last year |
| First-quarter operating income | $23.9 billion | $18.4 billion last year |
| AWS operating income | $14.2 billion | 59% of Amazon’s total |
| July bond sale | $25 billion | $37 billion raised in March |
| Leo launch bookings | At least $82 billion | Roughly 3.4 times Amazon’s operating income for a quarter |
Launch contracts cover several years, not just one quarter. The math is based on Amazon’s filings and the disclosed offering details.
Leo CEO Chris Weber said earlier this month Amazon has enough launches to begin initial service later this year. More launches will add coverage and capacity. South Africa’s planned 2027 rollout gives time to improve coverage near the equator. But because of the late start, the Herotel deal probably won’t bring in much revenue soon.
Bottom line, Amazon already has installers, support teams, and a ready sales channel before its satellite system fills out. This setup could let the company move faster from having coverage to making money once service launches, without having to build up extra local operations.
But details on the financials are missing. Neither Amazon nor Herotel gave pricing, revenue share, or subscriber goals. There’s no minimum volume revealed either. Delays to launch could tighten capacity, while Starlink already has about 10,000 satellites and broad service. Signing a distributor cuts some risk, but it isn’t proof that rural users will pay enough to support the network.
Amazon shares added 2.8% to $254.39 as of 14:49 EDT during the U.S. session. SpaceX slipped 0.9% to $134.85. The diverging trades aren’t a judgment on the South African contract, but highlight the split: Amazon has backing from cloud and retail profits to support Leo, but both firms still must figure out how to make their big space investments pay off.
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