Alphabet’s Taara Unveils Light-Based Beam Technology for City-Wide High-Speed Connectivity

By Tanveer Ahmed :

A company that emerged from Alphabet’s experimental “moonshot” division has introduced a new device capable of delivering 25Gbps internet connectivity across cities using invisible light beams, potentially revolutionising how businesses and telecommunications providers build network infrastructure.

Taara, which spun out of X Development last year, unveiled Taara Beam ahead of next week’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, where the technology will make its public debut.

How It Works

The shoebox-sized device mounts onto street poles and rooftops, transmitting data through focused beams of light between locations up to ten kilometres apart, provided a clear line of sight exists between the two points. Weighing just eight kilograms and consuming approximately ninety watts of power, the system can be deployed in hours rather than the weeks or months required for traditional infrastructure projects.

This contrasts with last year’s Taara Lightbridge, which connects communities separated by challenging terrain such as water bodies and mountain ranges at distances up to twenty kilometres.

Speed and Latency Advantages

Taara’s technology offers throughput comparable to fibre optic cables while delivering ultra-low latency of less than one hundred microseconds, significantly outperforming satellite-based solutions like Starlink. The absence of radio frequency requirements eliminates the need to secure spectrum licences, removing a major regulatory hurdle that often delays network expansion projects.

Target Market and Applications

The service is not intended for individual consumers but rather targets enterprises and telecommunications companies requiring middle-mile infrastructure—the critical links between core networks and end users.

Taara has already deployed Lightbridge technology in more than twenty countries through partnerships with major carriers including T-Mobile and Airtel. The company reports strong interest in several specific applications for the new Beam system.

One promising use case involves offloading massive amounts of lidar and sensor data from electric delivery vehicles and robotaxis while they charge. Another application envisions creating high-speed mesh networks connecting city intersections to support Vehicle-to-Everything communications, which require extremely low latency for safety-critical functions.

Market Position

The technology positions Taara as a competitor to both fibre deployment and satellite internet services, offering a middle ground that combines rapid deployment with fibre-like performance. The ability to establish high-bandwidth connections without trenching cables or negotiating spectrum access could prove particularly valuable in dense urban environments where traditional infrastructure projects face significant logistical challenges.

Taara’s Beam system will be demonstrated at Mobile World Congress next week, with industry observers keen to see how telecommunications providers respond to this new approach to urban connectivity.