Blue Origin has unveiled plans for a new satellite network called TeraWave. With this network, Jeff Bezos’ (photo) space company aims to make data available worldwide at speeds of up to 6 terabits per second.
The focus is not on consumers, but on business customers, data centers, and governments that need very fast, scalable, and reliable connections.
TeraWave will consist of a large satellite constellation spanning multiple orbits around Earth. According to additional information, the network will consist of 5,280 satellites in low Earth orbit and 128 satellites in medium Earth orbit. Low-orbit satellites will use radio-frequency connections and be capable of data speeds up to 144 Gbps.
The satellites in medium orbit use optical connections and provide a much higher throughput of 6 Tbps. The first satellites are scheduled to be launched at the end of 2027, although it is not yet known how long it will take for the entire network to become operational, TechCrunch writes.
Symmetrical upload and download speeds
With TeraWave, Blue Origin aims to add an extra network layer on top of existing infrastructures. The system is intended for locations where traditional connections, such as fiber optics, are difficult, expensive, or practically unfeasible. The emphasis is on symmetrical upload and download speeds, extra redundancy, and the ability to scale up quickly as demand grows.
TechCrunch places TeraWave’s announcement in the broader context of founder Jeff Bezos’ activities. In addition to Blue Origin, he is also involved in a separate satellite project, Leo, through Amazon, which focuses on consumers and offers more traditional broadband speeds. The two networks are not intended to be direct competitors, but complement each other by serving different target groups and use cases.
This puts Blue Origin in the same playing field as existing satellite internet providers, including Starlink, but with a clearly different positioning. While Starlink targets consumers, commercial parties, and governments with speeds in the hundreds of megabits per second, TeraWave aims to enable large-scale data connections for enterprise environments.
The introduction of TeraWave underscores Blue Origin’s broader development into a versatile commercial space player. Following recent successes with heavy rocket launches and commercial missions, the company is now expanding its activities to include the design, construction, and operation of its own satellite network.