Jeff Bezos’ space company, Blue Origin Enterprises LP, has announced plans to launch a new, ultra-high-speed satellite constellation network called **TeraWave**, positioning itself as a strong competitor to Elon Musk’s Starlink.
With data speeds of up to six terabytes per second, TeraWave promises to be significantly faster than any existing satellite-based Wi-Fi network. This speed makes it ideally suited for enterprises, data center operators, and government customers who demand exceptionally high bandwidth.
### TeraWave Satellite Constellation Details
Blue Origin revealed that TeraWave’s initial constellation will consist of **5,280 satellites in low-Earth orbit (LEO)**, along with another **128 satellites in medium-Earth orbit (MEO)**. The first batch of satellites is scheduled for deployment in late 2027. However, the company has not disclosed how long it will take to fully populate the entire fleet.
Most of the satellites in lower orbit will utilize radio frequency (RF) connectivity, supporting maximum data transfer rates of 144 gigabytes per second. Meanwhile, the 128 satellites destined for medium-Earth orbit will offer much higher speeds, reaching up to 6 terabytes per second.
### How TeraWave Compares to Starlink
For comparison, SpaceX’s Starlink currently provides a maximum speed of 400 megabytes per second. Elon Musk has indicated plans to release upgraded Starlink satellites in the future, which could support speeds up to 1 gigabyte per second. Even so, TeraWave’s performance would far outpace these capabilities.
On its official website, TeraWave describes its mission as “adding a space-based layer to your existing network infrastructure, providing connectivity to locations unreachable by traditional methods.”
### Relationship to Amazon Leo Constellation
The announcement of TeraWave has sparked interest because Jeff Bezos already operates another satellite constellation known as **Amazon Leo** (formerly “Project Kuiper”). Amazon Leo is expected to ultimately comprise around 3,000 satellites in low-Earth orbit, but it primarily targets consumers and businesses with more typical network speed requirements.
Blue Origin emphasized that TeraWave and Amazon Leo will function as **distinct networks**, catering to different market needs. “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 these problems,” the company explained in a formal statement.
### Blue Origin’s Broader Ambitions
Best known for its space tourism ventures offering short trips into low-Earth orbit aboard the New Shepard rocket, Blue Origin harbors ambitions to become a major player in the spaceflight industry.
In addition to the Leo and TeraWave constellations, Blue Origin is developing a heavy-lift rocket called **New Glenn**. The rocket completed its first successful launch just over a year ago. On its second mission a few months later, Blue Origin successfully landed New Glenn’s booster stage—matching Starlink’s reusable rocket innovation aimed at reducing launch costs.
Ultimately, Blue Origin aims to serve NASA similarly to how SpaceX currently does, by transporting cargo and astronauts into space.
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*Image: Blue Origin*
https://siliconangle.com/2026/01/21/blue-origin-take-starlink-ultra-high-speed-satellite-network-terawave/
