SpaceX rival Blue Origin has announced its own competitor to Starlink that promises to offer even faster speeds, but it’s only for enterprise and government customers.
On Wednesday, Blue Origin introduced TeraWave, a satellite internet system designed to deliver symmetrical data speeds of up to 6 Tbps anywhere on Earth.
“This network will service tens of thousands of enterprise, data center, and government users who require reliable connectivity for critical operations,” the Jeff Bezos-owned company said.
The system looks poised to rival SpaceX’s Starshield, which uses Starlink technology for military and government customers. In a regulatory filing, Blue Origin noted: “TeraWave is developed to offer secure, high-capacity services for government users—civil, defense, and national security—wherever they operate. These users face some of the most acute consequences from connectivity loss.”
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But unlike Starlink, the TeraWave system is designed for a smaller customer base. Blue Origin has published a graphic that shows it’s targeting about 100,000 customers. In contrast, Starlink already has over 9 million users worldwide.
(Credit: Blue Origin)
TeraWave will span 5,408 satellites that will orbit in both low and medium orbits. Interestingly, the company plans to deliver terabit-level speeds not via radio signals but with “optical links,” suggesting the use of lasers.
Of those, 128 will deliver speeds up to 6Tbps in medium Earth orbit. The remaining 5,280 low-Earth orbit satellites promise speeds up to 144Gbps through next-generation Q/V-band links.
(Credit: Blue Origin/FCC)
The announcement is surprising since Amazon, the e-commerce giant that Bezos also founded, is close to launching its own Starlink competitor called Leo. It, too, has been designed to serve enterprise and government customers, as well as consumers. But for now, Leo plans on offering speeds ranging from 100Mbps to 400Mbps and up to 1Gbps. In addition, Amazon only has 180 satellites in orbit, although over 3,200 are planned for the first-generation constellation. The company must launch half of the constellation by July 2026 under its regulatory application, but is expected to file for an extension.
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TeraWave arrives as a seemingly more advanced, but longer-term project. Blue Origin notes: “Deployment of the TeraWave constellation will begin in Q4 2027.”
When asked about Amazon Leo, the company also told PCMag: “This is a separate project. We identified an unmet need with customers who were seeking enterprise-grade internet access with higher speeds, symmetrical upload/download speeds, more redundancy, and rapid scalability for their networks. TeraWave solves for these problems.”
Meanwhile, satellite industry analyst Tim Farrar said the TeraWave project raises questions about how it’ll work with Amazon Leo. Although the satellite designs appear different, both constellations overlap in their targeted customers.
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“Is this all part of an ongoing negotiation with Amazon?” Farrar asked about the possibility of Bezos pressuring Amazon’s current CEO, Andy Jassy, to keep investing in Leo or spin it off to Blue Origin.
“One takeaway is that everyone recognizes the value of vertical integration where rocket makers create their own launch demand by building a constellation, as SpaceX has done,” Farrar added. “Amazon doesn’t have that right now, and it is a problem when you want to develop a mass market satellite system with good enough economics to meet consumer price points, because you end up paying the full retail price for your launches.”
In the meantime, Blue Origin has also made a formal request to the US Federal Communications Commission to launch and operate the TeraWave constellation. The filing notes 5,280 of the satellites will orbit the Earth between 520 and 540 kilometers, while the remaining 128 will occupy “five altitude shells between 8,000 and 24,200 km.”
(Credit: Blue Origin/FCC)
“TeraWave enables high-capacity service in remote, rural, and suburban areas where fiber deployment may be infeasible,” the filing adds. “By offering an additional layer of global connectivity, TeraWave will increase route diversity, reduce single failure risks, and strengthen the overall resilience and capacity of US and international data transfer networks.”
About Our Expert
Michael Kan
Senior Reporter
Experience
I’ve been a journalist for over 15 years. I got my start as a schools and cities reporter in Kansas City and joined PCMag in 2017, where I cover satellite internet services, cybersecurity, PC hardware, and more. I’m currently based in San Francisco, but previously spent over five years in China, covering the country’s technology sector.
Since 2020, I’ve covered the launch and explosive growth of SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service, writing 600+ stories on availability and feature launches, but also the regulatory battles over the expansion of satellite constellations, fights with rival providers like AST SpaceMobile and Amazon, and the effort to expand into satellite-based mobile service. I’ve combed through FCC filings for the latest news and driven to remote corners of California to test Starlink’s cellular service.
I also cover cyber threats, from ransomware gangs to the emergence of AI-based malware. Earlier this year, the FTC forced Avast to pay consumers $16.5 million for secretly harvesting and selling their personal information to third-party clients, as revealed in my joint investigation with Motherboard.
I also cover the PC graphics card market. Pandemic-era shortages led me to camp out in front of a Best Buy to get an RTX 3000. I’m now following how President Trump’s tariffs will affect the industry. I’m always eager to learn more, so please jump in the comments with feedback and send me tips.
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