The announcement came out of the blue, from Blue, on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The space company founded by Jeff Bezos, Blue Origin, said it was developing a new megaconstellation named TeraWave to deliver data speeds of up to 6Tbps anywhere on Earth. The constellation will consist of 5,408 optically interconnected satellites, with a majority in low-Earth orbit and the remainder in medium-Earth orbit.<\/p>\n
The satellites in low-Earth orbit will provide up to 144Gbps through radio spectrum, whereas those in medium-Earth orbit will provide higher data rates through optical links.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis provides the reliability and resilience needed for real-time operations and massive data movement,\u201d Blue Origin\u2019s chief executive, Dave Limp, said on social media<\/a>. \u201cIt also provides backup connectivity during outages, keeping critical operations running. Plus, the ability to scale on demand and rapidly deploy globally while maintaining performance.\u201d<\/p>\n Going for the enterprise market<\/p>\n Unlike other megaconstellations, including SpaceX\u2019s Starlink, Blue Origin\u2019s new constellation will not serve consumers or try to provide direct-to-cell communications. Rather, TeraWave will seek to serve \u201ctens of thousands\u201d of enterprise, data center, and government users who require reliable connectivity for critical operations.<\/p>\n The announcement was surprising for several reasons, but it may also represent a shrewd business decision.<\/p>\n