Over the last few years, an ambitious moonshot project spun out of Google has been developing fascinating technologies to deliver connectivity across communities without the need for underground cables. For its latest trick, Taara is now providing high-speed internet access across cities using invisible beams of light.
The company's new Beam device uses an optical phased array mounted on a silicon board with more than a thousand tiny miniature light emitters. The system shapes and steers beams of light between devices that are in line of sight of each other, and up to 6.2 miles (10 km) apart.
Roughly the size of a shoebox and weighing 17.6 lb (8 kg), the Beam is meant to be mounted high up on poles and atop tall buildings for use in densely populated urban areas. Taara says it's capable of fiber-like bidirectional data transfer speeds of up to 25 Gbps, with ultra-low latency.
The firm envisions Beam devices being deployed in cities and small communities, supported by its larger Lightbridge devices that can enable connectivity over greater distances of up to 12 miles (20 km) across natural or man-made barriers that can't easily be bridged with fiber, like difficult terrain or water bodies. The company says Beam allows for far quicker setup than fiber, because you don't need to secure permits to dig up streets and install cabling underground. A Beam-equipped system can be up and running in a matter of hours.
Beam follows the company's previous breakthrough from 2025, when it unveiled its software-controlled chip that can steer light to enable connectivity without the need for many other mechanical moving parts. Its older Lightbridge infrastructure for data transfer across remote areas is now in use in 20 countries, and the company recently unveiled its Lightbridge Pro system for carrier-grade throughput.
This suite of products should see Taara compete with the likes of satellite-based connectivity services like Starlink and Amazon's upcoming Leo. The company might have an edge over those with its lower latency and quick setup, which it believes will additionally come in handy to scale AI infrastructure around the world.
Source: Taara
