Musk’s Starlink faces new competition from Bezos’ Blue Origin satellite network

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' rocket company Blue Origin plans to launch more than 5,400 satellites to build a new global internet network named TeraWave, intensifying competition in the satellite internet market dominated by Elon Musk's Starlink.

The network aims to provide continuous worldwide internet coverage and enable high-capacity data transfer at speeds significantly faster than existing satellite services. Blue Origin said TeraWave will primarily target businesses, data centres and governments, unlike Starlink, which mainly serves individual consumers.

At peak performance, TeraWave is expected to offer upload and download speeds of up to 6 terabits per second, far exceeding current commercial satellite internet capabilities.

Blue Origin plans to begin launching the satellites by the end of 2027. The company has previously demonstrated advanced spaceflight capabilities, including a successful rocket booster landing on a floating platform and an 11-minute all-female spaceflight mission.

Amazon is also operating a separate satellite initiative called Leo, which currently has around 180 satellites in orbit. The Leo project focuses on public internet access and plans to deploy more than 3,000 satellites in the future.

With TeraWave's launch, Blue Origin is set to compete directly with Starlink and Amazon's own Leo project in the rapidly expanding satellite internet sector.