With laser internet against Starlink: Alphabet spins off Taara from X division
Alphabet's X is developing projects to make the world a better place. The one for laser internet connections is now set to stand on its own two feet.
A laser terminal being installed in India.
(Image: Taara)
The Google group Alphabet is spinning off its laser-based internet connectivity division from its risky ideas department in the hope that Taara can emulate robotaxi start-up Waymo. This was reported by the Financial Times, citing Eric Teller, the managing director of X, as the department is now known. According to him, the move should enable Taara to raise capital quickly, attract strategic investments and grow faster. Taara is currently active in twelve countries, with its flagship project still being a laser internet connection over the Congo in West Africa. According to the report, one aim is to establish a competitor to SpaceX's Starlink.
Strengthening existing infrastructure
Taara emerged from the long-since defunct Google company Loon, which aimed to connect remote regions to the internet using stratospheric balloons. The idea was to use lasers to transmit large amounts of data between the balloons, but Taara uses them much deeper down. Taara's transmitters and receivers are comparatively easy to install and can transmit a maximum of 20 GBit/s at low altitudes over distances of up to 20 kilometers, writes Taara. This makes it easy to expand existing infrastructure or increase the capacity of the mobile network during major events, for example.
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According to the Financial Times, the terminals can simply be attached to existing masts, trees or buildings, which only takes hours. While Starlink can play to its strengths for capacity reasons, especially in remote areas –, for example on cruise ships –, Taara's technology can quickly strengthen the network infrastructure, especially in densely populated areas. Because Taara transmits data by laser, it also bypasses the increasingly crowded conventional frequencies. A new chip unveiled a few days ago should now ensure that the company's own terminals have far fewer moving parts, can be smaller and are less prone to errors.
(mho)
