AT&T expands AWS partnership in network modernization, cloud migration push

AT&T is forging closer ties with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Amazon Leo – the company's low Earth orbit satellite network – to offer fixed broadband services to businesses.

As part of the deal, AT&T revealed it will migrate workloads to AWS infrastructure and will work closely with Amazon Leo to extend networking capabilities for customers across the US

AWS is also set to benefit from the extended partnership, according to Jan Hofmeyr, AWS VP for telecommunications. The move will see AT&T provide high-capacity fiber connectivity for the cloud computing giant's data centers across the country.

"AWS is working with AT&T to advance their goal of expanding connectivity across the United States," Hofmeyr said.

“AT&T gains access to AWS's cloud capabilities and AI tools to accelerate their infrastructure modernization, while AWS benefits from AT&T's expertise in high-capacity fiber networking,” he added.

“By combining AT&T's leadership in advanced fiber networking with AWS's cloud and AI capabilities, we're creating new opportunities to deliver innovative services to customers nationwide.”

Mutually beneficial for AWS and AT&T

In a statement confirming the deal, AT&T revealed it will migrate workloads from several of its current on-premises technologies to AWS on-prem services as well as the firm’s managed hybrid cloud offering, AWS Outposts.

With the help of AWS Professional Services, the telecoms provider will also use Amazon Q Developer and other AWS Agentic Services to accelerate migration of network service enablement.

According to AT&T, the collaboration with Amazon Leo has dual objectives: bolstering data center connectivity as well as networking capabilities for US-based customers.

Under the terms of the partnership, Amazon Leo will offer internet connectivity services to AT&T, enabling it to broaden connectivity capabilities and deliver fixed broadband services to business customers in areas where such services are needed.

Shawn Hakl, senior vice president for product at AT&T Business, said the partnership marks a “pivotal step forward in shaping the future of connectivity in the United States”.

"Fiber is the foundation of that future – it delivers the speed, capacity, and reliability that modern networks demand,” he said.

“By pairing our expanding fiber infrastructure with AWS’s cloud capabilities, and through our collaboration to deliver the infrastructure of the future by connecting data centers, we’re creating a more resilient, scalable, and intelligent connectivity ecosystem.

What is Amazon Leo?

Launched last November and operating as a separate business, Amazon Leo's mission is to deliver fast, reliable internet beyond the reach of existing networks.

The company aims to provide networking services for an array of customers, ranging from individual households and small businesses to large enterprise and government customers.

Amazon Leo is powered by an initial constellation of more than 3,000 satellites, connected to a global network of ground gateway antennas and dedicated fiber.

This includes a series of compact, high-performance antennas –Leo Nano, Leo Pro, and Leo Ultra – that communicate with satellites passing overhead. The entire system is designed, built, and operated in-house at Amazon.

The project is still in its early stages, with only 180 of the planned 3,200 satellites currently in orbit. However, the long-term aim is to connect tens of millions of customers globally.

Amazon said it plans to start offering services to business customers later this year ahead of a full rollout.

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