Jeff Bezos-backed rocket business Blue Origin is to build TeraWave, a huge laser-linked satellite network with more than 5,200 low Earth orbiting satellites and another 128 in mid-Earth, delivering a 6 Tb/s space-based network.

The system is over and above the already announced Amazon Leo system which is currently being launched. TeraWave is not targeting consumers but is designed to serve major users of data and government. The first launches should take place in Q4 2027.

TeraWave’s LEO satellites are designed to deliver blazing-fast speeds (up to 144 Gbps) using advanced radio links, while the MEO satellites use lasers for massive data transfers between clouds and centres. The whole system is built to be tough, flexible, and works where fibre can’t reach.

“The TeraWave architecture consists of 5,408 optically interconnected satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO) and medium Earth orbit (MEO). This multi-orbit design enables ultra-high-throughput links between global hubs and distributed, multigigabit user connections, particularly in remote, rural, and suburban areas where diverse fiber paths are costly, technically infeasible, or slow to deploy. TeraWave enterprise-grade user and gateway terminals can be rapidly deployed worldwide and interface with existing high-capacity infrastructure, providing additional route diversity and strengthening overall network resilience,” said a Blue Origin press release.

“TeraWave addresses the unmet needs of customers who are seeking higher throughput, symmetrical upload/download speeds, more redundancy, and rapid scalability. It complements fibre backhaul with a unique architecture that delivers both high performance RF and optical connectivity. Globally distributed customers can each access speeds of up to 144 Gbps delivered using Q/V-band links from a constellation of 5,280 LEO satellites, while up to 6 Tb/s can be accessed via optical links from 128 MEO satellites,” added Blue Origin.

It is not yet clear how the ‘Blue Origin’ ownership is differentiated from that of Amazon’s Leo other than Bezos is involved in both. However, the low Earth orbiting fleet will orbit close to those of Starlink. The TeraWave constellation requires major development, not least in their planned use of Q and V-band frequencies.

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Categories: Articles, Broadband, Satellite

Tags: amazon leo, Jeff Bezos, Low Earth Orbit, TeraWave