Billionaire Jeff Bezos’ space company, Blue Origin, has announced plans to launch its own satellite communications network, TeraWave.
This positions the company as a new competitor to Elon Musk’s Starlink in the fast-growing satellite internet market.
The announcement, made on Wednesday, signals Blue Origin’s expansion beyond launch vehicles and space tourism into satellite-based connectivity, a sector increasingly seen as critical to global digital infrastructure, national security, and enterprise communications.
What they are saying
According to Blue Origin, TeraWave will consist of 5,408 interconnected satellites operating in low Earth orbit (LEO).
‘’TeraWave addresses the unmet needs of customers who are seeking higher throughput, symmetrical upload/download speeds, more redundancy, and rapid scalability. It complements fiber backhaul with a unique architecture that delivers both high performance RF and optical connectivity. Globally distributed customers can each access speeds of up to 144 Gbps delivered using Q/V-band links from a constellation of 5,280 LEO satellites, while up to 6 Tbps can be accessed via optical links from 128 MEO satellites.’’
The move places Blue Origin in direct competition with Starlink, SpaceX’s satellite internet service that has rapidly become the dominant player in the sector.
What you should know
Starlink had about nine million users globally as of December 2025 and had deployed roughly 9,300 satellites into orbit by the end of last year. In contrast, TeraWave is expected to serve tens of thousands of users at launch, reflecting its focus on high-value institutional clients rather than households.
As it seems TeraWave’s satellite architecture will be significantly smaller than Starlink’s constellation, suggesting a different commercial strategy that prioritises performance and reliability for specific users over widespread consumer access.
Blue Origin’s announcement also comes amid broader moves by Amazon-linked entities to expand into satellite communications. Amazon recently rebranded its own satellite broadband initiative from Project Kuiper to Amazon Leo. The first batch of Amazon Leo satellites is scheduled for launch next month, with 32 satellites planned for orbit.
Nairametrics had earlier reported that the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) granted Amazon’s Project Kuiper both an Internet Service Provider (ISP) licence and an International Data Access (IDA) licence, clearing the way for the company to roll out satellite broadband services in the country.
The ISP licence is valid for five years, while the IDA licence runs for 10 years, positioning Amazon Kuiper as a direct challenger to SpaceX’s Starlink, which has largely dominated Nigeria’s LEO satellite broadband market since its entry.
