Alphabet has created a terrestrial competitor to Starlink, Taara, which covers hard-to-reach places with the Internet using lasers

Alphabet holding has spun off a division of the so-called “X disruptive technology factory,” which specializes in developing laser-based data transmission technologies, into an independent company called Taara, The Financial Times reported. The new company is considered a competitor to SpaceX’s Starlink satellite service in providing internet to hard-to-reach and rural areas.

Image source: Moonshot/Taara

Taara, based on the work of startup Loon, currently enables data transfer at 20 Gbps between terminals located 20 km away. It uses a system of sensors, optics and mirrors, replacing fiber optic lines to provide connectivity in remote areas at a lower cost.

Taara is based in Sunnyvale, near Google’s headquarters in Mountain View, California. The company has 20 employees but is expanding rapidly. According to The Financial Times, Alphabet will retain a minority stake in Taara, which has also received Series X Capital funding. However, the company declined to disclose details of its initial funding or funding targets.

Taara currently operates in 12 countries, including India and parts of Africa. For example, the company has created a 5-kilometer laser bridge over the Congo River between Brazzaville and Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, where internet connections are much more expensive. Taara also supplements congested mobile networks at events like the Coachella music festival in California.

Taara says it has many technological advantages over Starlink. Its terminals can be attached to poles, trees, or buildings in just a few hours, without the need to launch equipment into space on rockets. There is also no need for auctions of radio spectrum. And laser beams can intersect without the interference that plagues radio frequencies.

While Starlink sells subscriptions directly to consumers, Taara partners with major telecom companies like Bharti Airtel and T-Mobile to supplement their core fiber networks in remote or densely populated areas where traditional lines are impossible or too expensive to install.

Last month, Taara unveiled a compact 13mm photonic chip that will replace bulky terminals with optics and mirrors, enabling multiple connections at once. The chip can transmit data up to 1km at 10Gbps, slower than Taara’s existing equipment but more cost-effective.