Amazon has signed a satellite deal with Thai telco Thaicom.

Thaicom Public Company Limited has announced that its subsidiary TC 142 Company Limited has made an agreement with Amazon Leo (formerly Project Kuiper) to serve as the authorized distributor and landing rights holder for the low-Earth orbit (LEO) broadband supplier in Thailand, connecting consumer and business customers in the nation.

“With more than 34 years of experience in the satellite industry, Thaicom is well-positioned to integrate Amazon Leo’s advanced LEO network with our service architecture to deliver reliable and high-quality connectivity,” said Patompob (Nile) Suwansiri, Thaicom’s chief executive officer. “This collaboration enables us to address the increasingly complex and evolving connectivity needs, particularly in underserved and remote areas.”

Thaicom did not specify when service availability would begin in their announcement, though local press has reported service is expected in 2027.

Last year, the Government of Thailand’s National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) rejected SpaceX’s requests for permission to launch Starlink services in Thailand, falling afoul of local regulations by refusing to budge on telecommunications ownership rules. SpaceX walked away from negotiations, perhaps hoping the allure of big tech LEO would soften the NBTC’s resolve. Instead, Amazon has come in and sidestepped the ruling by agreeing to sell its offering through a partner, Thaicom.

Thaicom’s existing fleet of four geostationary satellites serving Southeast Asia and the Middle East, with broadcast, communications, and Internet services through C- and Ku-band, also stands to benefit from a multi-orbit complement from Amazon Leo.

Amazon began launching its constellation in April 2025, with nine launch missions completed to date, establishing over 200 Amazon Leo satellites. The company has mentioned plans to install more than 300 ground stations to accelerate downlink availability around the world, with an intention to manufacture millions of antennas offering 100Mbps, 400Mbps, and 1Gbps, the Leo Nano, Leo Pro, and Leo Ultra antenna models, respectively.

The cloud and satellite company recently announced a multi-year deal to connect Delta Airlines flights “from gate to gate,” while rumors abound that the tech giant is in talks to purchase satellite firm Globalstar.

The Starlink constellation recently surpassed the milestone of 10,000 operational satellites, having launched more than 11,500. Its constellation alone accounts for more than 65 percent of all active satellites around the planet, a fact which is attracting greater geopolitical attention.

Art of the deal

Starlink’s insistence on comprehensive ownership laws has also been a pitfall the company fell into in South Africa, which requires 30 percent equity in local subsidiaries to be owned by historically disadvantaged groups in the country. This prompted owner Elon Musk to proclaim Starlink was not allowed to operate in the region because he wasn’t black early last year, a position the South African national reiterated this January, explaining, “South Africa now has more anti-White laws than there were anti-Black laws under Apartheid."

Starlink’s website features an extensive support article detailing a set of “common myths and facts” about the company’s exploits in South Africa in far less hyperbolic terms.

Since early 2025, South Africa has introduced “equity equivalent” investment programs, which would bypass the traditional equity requirement, perhaps in a bid to lure the LEO giant back to the table, though Starlink has continued to request amendments to the nation’s licensing regulations.