- Blue Origin will compete with Starlink and Amazon Leo to provide satellite internet to businesses/governments
- The TeraWave network will offer much higher speeds with optical support
- Amazon continues to work with Blue Origin as a launch partner
Blue Origin has announced plans for TeraWave, a new satellite internet network that aims to improve global connectivity for businesses, data centers and government customers.
Although it’s not a consumer-focused proposition (yet), Jeff Bezos’ TeraWave is set to take on rival company and Elon Musk rival SpaceX, which operates a similar low-Earth orbit network Starlink.
TeraWave is set to promise up to 6 Tbps via optical links and up to 144 Gbps per customer using radio frequency, as well as symmetrical upload and download speeds.
LEO TeraWave network
This marks a significant improvement over the current LEO average, which offers asymmetric speeds of 1 Gbps download and 400 Mbps upload via radio frequency.
The difference is that existing LEO-based networks serve “many millions” (per Blue Origin), whereas TeraWave will target around 100,000 customers.
TeraWave will include 5,408 satellites, including 5,280 in low-Earth orbit for high-speed radio frequency access and 128 in medium-Earth orbit for ultra-high-capacity optical (light-based) links.
“It complements fiber backhaul with a unique architecture that delivers both high-performance RF and optical connectivity,” the company wrote.
The constellation is set to begin deployment in the final months of 2027, years after Stalink went mainstream with its now 9,000+ satellites. It is also set to enter the market alongside Amazon’s Leo (formerly Project Kuiper), which currently has 180 satellites in orbit but plans over 3,200.
Separately, Amazon will continue to use Blue Origin as a launch partner for the expansion of its Leo network, which takes advantage of Bezos’ New Glenn rocket.
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