Blue Origin has announced TeraWave, a planned satellite communications constellation network with over 5,000 satellites designed to provide high-speed internet connectivity to enterprise, data center, and government customers. The network is scheduled to begin deployment in the fourth quarter of 2027.
TeraWave will consist of satellites operating in two orbital configurations includes 5,280 satellites in low Earth orbit and 128 satellites in medium Earth orbit. The satellites will be optically interconnected to enable data transfer between orbital layers. The multi-orbit design aims to provide connectivity in areas where traditional fiber infrastructure is costly or difficult to deploy, including remote, rural and suburban locations, and is designed to integrate with existing infrastructure to provide additional network routing options.
TeraWave offers two types of connectivity based on the orbital layer. Individual customers can access speeds up to 144 Gbps through Q/V-band radio frequency links from the low Earth orbit satellites. The medium Earth orbit satellites provide optical links capable of delivering up to 6 Tbps of throughput.
Current low Earth orbit satellite networks typically offer speeds ranging from hundreds of megabits to several gigabits per second for individual users. TeraWave’s advertised speeds of up to 144 Gbps per user represent a significant increase over these existing services.
The network supports both symmetrical upload and download speeds, which differs from some existing satellite internet services that allocate more bandwidth to downloads than uploads. This symmetrical capability is designed for applications that require significant upstream data transfer, such as cloud backups, video conferencing, and data center operations.
Blue Origin is positioning TeraWave as an enterprise-grade service rather than a consumer product for a customer base including businesses requiring high-bandwidth connections, data centers needing network redundancy, and government agencies operating in locations without reliable terrestrial connectivity. Terminals can be deployed at customer locations and connect to existing network infrastructure.
The company indicates the network will serve tens of thousands of users rather than millions, suggesting a focus on high-value customers with substantial bandwidth requirements.
The inclusion of medium Earth orbit satellites with optical connectivity is a distinguishing feature of the TeraWave architecture. Medium Earth orbit satellites operate at higher altitudes than low Earth orbit satellites, which can provide different coverage characteristics and may reduce the number of handoffs required as satellites move across the sky.
Blue Origin has set a target date of the last quarter of 2027 for beginning deployment, but no timeline on completion of the full constellation or when commercial service will begin.
Launching and deploying over 5,000 satellites represents a substantial undertaking that will require multiple launch campaigns, but Blue Origin manufactures its own launch vehicles which could provide some advantages in terms of launch scheduling and cost for the constellation deployment.
TeraWave enters a market that includes established satellite internet providers as well as newer low Earth orbit constellation operators. The enterprise focus and high-bandwidth capabilities represent Blue Origin’s approach to differentiating its offering in this competitive space.
The satellite internet market has expanded significantly in recent years, with several companies deploying or planning large constellations in low Earth orbit. These networks aim to provide global connectivity, particularly in underserved areas where terrestrial infrastructure is limited.
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