Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ aerospace company, Blue Origin, announced on Wednesday (January 21) its plan to deploy 5,408 satellites into space to establish a new high-speed satellite constellation network, which will pose more competition to Elon Musk’s Starlink network.
In a statement released on Wednesday, Blue Origin revealed that the new satellite constellation network, named TeraWave, will initially consist of 5,280 satellites in low Earth orbit and 128 satellites in medium Earth orbit. The first batch of satellites is scheduled to begin deployment in the fourth quarter of 2027. The company didn’t specify how long it would take to launch all the satellites into orbit.
The statement stated that this satellite communication network is “designed to provide up to 6 terabits per second (Tbps) of symmetrical data transmission rate anywhere on Earth.”
The company added that this new network “will serve tens of thousands of businesses, data centers, and government users that require reliable connectivity for critical operations.”
According to the statement, TeraWave will offer both point-to-point connections and enterprise-grade internet access services, allowing customers to flexibly select throughput and physical deployment locations based on their varying needs.
Most of the satellites in lower orbits will utilize radio frequency (RF) connection technology and support a maximum data transmission rate of 144 gigabits per second (Gbps), while the 128 satellites in medium Earth orbit will operate much faster, reaching up to 6 terabits per second. Both will outpace SpaceX’s Starlink technology, which currently has a maximum speed of 400 megabits per second (Mbps). Musk has stated his plans to launch upgraded versions of Starlink satellites in the future, enabling the service to support data transmission speeds of up to 1 gigabit per second.
Bezos is entering an increasingly crowded satellite internet market, which is currently dominated by Musk’s Starlink satellite network. Starlink currently has over 9,000 satellites in orbit and approximately 9 million users.
The launch of TeraWave has garnered attention as Bezos already operates a satellite constellation named Amazon Leo, previously referred to as Project Kuiper. Bezos has stated that Leo will ultimately consist of 3,000 satellites in low Earth orbit, primarily targeting consumers and business users who require more standard network speeds.