Jeff Bezo’s Blue Origin unveils 'TeraWave' satellite internet to challenge Starlink’s monopoly
- Marijan Hassan - Tech Journalist
- 1 day ago
- 2 min read
Jeff Bezos announces ultra-fast, 6 Tbps Space Network for Enterprises, competing with both SpaceX and Amazon’s own 'Leo'.
Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin has officially unveiled TeraWave, a high-performance satellite constellation designed to deliver speeds thousands of times faster than current consumer broadband. The announcement, made on Wednesday, January 21, 2026, positions Blue Origin as a direct competitor to Elon Musk’s Starlink, though with a radically different strategy.
While Starlink dominates the consumer market, TeraWave is a "surgical strike" aimed exclusively at the highest-paying tiers of the global economy: data centers, government defense agencies, and large-scale enterprises.
Speed beyond sight: The 6 Tbps ambition
The technical specifications of TeraWave are designed to dwarf existing satellite performance, utilizing a unique multi-orbit architecture.
Unlike standard radio-frequency satellites, TeraWave will rely heavily on optical (laser) communication. While Starlink targets 1 Gbps for its next-generation satellites, TeraWave is promising symmetrical speeds of up to 6 terabits per second (Tbps).
The constellation will consist of 5,408 satellites: 5,280 LEO satellites, providing widespread access at up to 144 Gbps, and 128 MEO (Medium Earth Orbit) satellites, acting as high-altitude "data hubs" to deliver the headline 6 Tbps speeds for inter-continental data transfers.
The target: B2B, not the backyard
Blue Origin is making it clear that TeraWave is not for your home. The company has published a graphic showing a cap of roughly 100,000 global customers, a tiny fraction of Starlink’s 9 million+ users, but one that represents far higher revenue per user.
TeraWave is being pitched as a "space-based layer" for existing terrestrial networks, providing an unhackable, high-speed backup to subsea fiber cables. Moreover, a regulatory filing with the FCC notes that TeraWave is built for "civil, defense, and national security" users who face acute consequences from connectivity loss.
Deployment is scheduled to begin in Q4 2027, utilizing Blue Origin’s own New Glenn reusable rockets.
Looking forward
The launch of TeraWave creates a fascinating internal dynamic within Jeff Bezos’ empire. TeraWave will now exist alongside Amazon Leo (formerly Project Kuiper), the satellite venture Bezos founded while at Amazon. Some analysts speculate this could eventually lead to Blue Origin acquiring or spinning off Amazon’s satellite division to create a single, vertically integrated space giant.
