Amazon Leo is heading to Uzbekistan. Amazon announced a new agreement with Uztelecom, the country’s leading telecom operator, to bring satellite internet to remote and hard-to-reach regions. Under the deal, Uztelecom subsidiary UZ-SAT will act as an authorized distributor of Amazon Leo.
In practice, UZ-SAT plans to build its own connectivity products on top of Leo for customers where traditional networks are hard to deploy. The companies also announced the agreement at the Tashkent International Investment Forum, on the first day of ICT Week Uzbekistan 2026.
Why Uzbekistan needs satellites
Uztelecom already has wide reach. According to Amazon, for example, it connects 96% of communities, runs more than 378,000 kilometers of fiber, and serves over 13 million users. Still, the country’s mountains and remote desert towns make some areas costly to reach with ground networks alone.
That is the gap Leo is meant to fill. Amazon says the service will complement Uztelecom’s network rather than replace it. “Next-generation satellite connectivity will complement Uztelecom’s existing infrastructure,” said Bakhrom Azimov, general director of UZ-SAT.
How Amazon Leo works, and when it arrives
First, Amazon Leo relies on low Earth orbit satellites linked to ground gateway antennas and dedicated fiber. The initial constellation will include more than 3,000 satellites. In addition, customers will choose from three terminals, called Leo Nano, Pro, and Ultra.
However, there is no launch date for Uzbekistan yet. Amazon has launched nearly 400 satellites so far, and Leo is still in a private preview with employees and select enterprise customers. The company expects to start initial service in certain locations later this year. After that, coverage will grow as more satellites reach orbit.
We tracked that progress when Amazon Leo crossed 394 satellites in July. Meanwhile, SpaceX’s Starlink already operates a far larger network, so Leo has ground to make up. Deals with local carriers, like this one, give Amazon a faster path into new countries.
Amazon is not the only challenger, either. Europe is pushing its own IRIS2 constellation into deployment. For Uzbekistan, though, the key question is timing, and Amazon has not shared one.
