Aerospace firm Blue Origin, owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, has unveiled intentions to establish a satellite communications network by the culmination of 2027, aiming to directly challenge Elon Musk’s Starlink constellation.
To bring this novel network to fruition, Blue Origin plans to deploy 5,400 satellites. Dubbed TeraWave, the system promises unbroken global internet access, facilitating the transmission of vast datasets at speeds significantly surpassing those offered by rival services. Blue Origin asserts that at peak throughput, their network will enable data uploads and downloads reaching up to 6 terabits per second.
Despite launching thousands of satellites, Blue Origin’s deployment will still lag behind Starlink, which currently commands the leading position in the satellite internet sector, boasting an operational fleet exceeding 6,750 satellites.
Starlink, a division of Musk’s rocketry enterprise SpaceX, extends internet and telephony services to private consumers. Conversely, Blue Origin specifies that TeraWave will concentrate its offerings on data centers, corporate entities, and governmental organizations.
An additional competitor to TeraWave is Amazon itself, the tech behemoth that propelled Bezos to multi-billionaire status. Bezos continues to serve as the Executive Chairman of Amazon’s board, having stepped down as CEO in 2021.
Amazon’s satellite initiative is named Kuiper (Leo in the original text, referring to Project Kuiper, which is often abbreviated LEO but here translated to Leo as per the context often used for this project in Russian sources, though Project Kuiper is the standard). The company currently has roughly 180 satellites in orbit, with scores more launched just last week, but their future roadmap encompasses over 3,000 satellites.
Similar to Starlink, Amazon appears to be prioritizing the general public over institutional clients like businesses and governments. The company has not yet furnished a timeline for when the complete deployment of the Leo constellation will be finalized.
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