Taara, the new laser internet technology – will it be able to challenge Musk's satellites?

Light-based internet project Taara is becoming an independent company.

Taara's technology uses lasers to transmit data and is envisioned as a rival to Elon Musk's Starlink when it comes to connecting rural areas to the internet.

Financial Times reports that Alphabet will hold a minority stake in Taara, which has also secured funding from Series X Capital.

It is reported that the company currently has two dozen employees and operates in 12 countries, working on everything from connecting the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo to boosting the overloaded network at the 2024 Coachella festival, they write. foreign media, the Telegraph reports.

Taara's current technology involves shining a narrow beam of light from one traffic light-sized terminal to another, transmitting at up to 20 gigabits per second over distances of 20 kilometers.

Terminals can be mounted on towers and are faster and cheaper to install than deploying fiber – especially when you need a signal to reach an island, cross a river, or arrive in an otherwise hard-to-reach location.

Last month the company announced that it has condensed its technology into a much more compact chip, which it expects to launch in a product in 2026.

While Taara's tower-based optical technology works differently from Starlink's satellites, its founder, Mahesh Krishnaswamy, positions it as a rival in the rural connectivity business. /Telegraph/