Jeff Bezos announces satellite network to compete with Musk’s Starlink

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Jeff Bezos is launching a massive new satellite network to compete with Elon Musk’s Starlink. 

The Amazon founder’s rocket company, Blue Origin, announced on Wednesday that it will deploy 5,408 satellites to create a global communications system called TeraWave.

This move places Bezos in direct competition with Musk’s Starlink, which currently dominates the satellite internet market with roughly 10,000 satellites already in orbit.

TeraWave will operate using a “multi-orbit” design. Most of the fleet—5,280 satellites—will sit in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), while 128 larger satellites will occupy a higher Medium Earth Orbit (MEO).

This unique architecture allows the system to move immense amounts of data at speeds of up to 6 terabits per second, roughly 6,000 times faster than current consumer satellite services.

While Starlink and Amazon’s own consumer network, Leo, focus on providing internet to the general public, TeraWave is strictly built for high-end users. Blue Origin says the service will target data centres, government agencies and large-scale enterprises that require secure, “symmetrical” upload and download speeds.

The network is expected to serve as a critical backbone for artificial intelligence processing in space. By placing data centres in orbit, companies can use infinite solar energy and avoid the immense resource strain associated with Earth-based facilities.

Bezos has predicted that such orbital data hubs will be “commonplace” within the next two decades.

Blue Origin plans to begin launching TeraWave satellites in late 2027 using its heavy-lift New Glenn rocket. The rocket recently reached a major milestone in November by successfully landing its booster on a floating platform, a feat previously only achieved by SpaceX.

The announcement creates a complicated dynamic for Bezos, who is now backing two separate satellite ventures. While Amazon Leo serves individual households, TeraWave will offer a specialized “enterprise-grade” alternative.

Analysts suggest the new system is designed to provide “route diversity,” acting as a space-based backup for terrestrial fibre-optic cables.

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