Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has unveiled ambitious plans for a new satellite megaconstellation that will directly challenge rival billionaire Elon Musk's SpaceX Starlink network. The announcement marks a significant escalation in the space internet race between two of the world's wealthiest entrepreneurs.
Blue Origin's TeraWave Network
Mr Bezos's rocket company Blue Origin will operate the TeraWave network, which will consist of 5,408 optically interconnected satellites deployed in both low Earth orbit (LEO) and medium Earth orbit (MEO). The company claims this architecture will deliver unprecedented speeds of up to 6 terabits per second (Tbps) for business users.
This proposed speed significantly exceeds what Starlink currently offers residential customers, though Mr Musk quickly responded to the announcement by asserting that Starlink's capabilities "will exceed this" in future developments.
Enterprise-Focused Approach
Unlike Starlink's broader consumer focus, the TeraWave network has been specifically designed for moving large volumes of data for institutional clients rather than individual households. Blue Origin stated in an official announcement that the system will "service tens of thousands of enterprise, data centre, and government users who require reliable connectivity for critical operations."
The company emphasised that TeraWave will reach "remote, rural, and suburban areas where diverse fiber paths are costly, technically infeasible, or slow to deploy, while providing additional route diversity and strengthening overall network resilience."
The Current Satellite Landscape
SpaceX's Starlink currently dominates low Earth orbit with approximately two-thirds of all active satellites and a reported customer base of 9 million users worldwide. This gives Mr Musk's company a substantial head start in both network infrastructure and market penetration.
SpaceX recently received regulatory approval from the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to launch an additional 7,500 satellites, with Mr Musk aiming to eventually expand the Starlink constellation to 34,400 satellites by the 2030s, pending further authorisations.
Timeline and Competition
Blue Origin plans to begin construction of its TeraWave satellite constellation at the end of 2027. This places the company in a growing field of satellite-internet megaconstellations currently under development worldwide.
Other major projects include two Chinese initiatives – Guowang and Qianfan – along with Amazon's own satellite venture. Previously known as Project Kuiper, Amazon Leo was revealed last year with intentions to launch over 3,000 satellites into orbit.
The Bezos-Musk Rivalry
The announcement represents the latest chapter in the ongoing competition between the two billionaires, who have exchanged places several times as the world's richest person. Their rivalry extends beyond space ventures into artificial intelligence, with Mr Bezos recently launching Project Prometheus, an AI startup that could compete with Mr Musk's xAI venture.
Mr Musk has previously referred to Mr Bezos as a "copycat" for his space and AI initiatives, while Blue Origin has filed legal challenges against multi-billion dollar NASA contracts awarded to SpaceX for developing spacecraft for the Artemis Moon missions.
Mr Bezos stepped down as Amazon CEO in 2021, 27 years after founding the e-commerce giant, but continues to serve as executive chairman while increasingly focusing his attention on Blue Origin and other technological ventures.
