Today, Amazon announced it has successfully tested 100 Gbps internet between satellites as part of its new internet service for homes and businesses.
To achieve these speeds, Amazon is using lasers to transmit the data between satellites. These speeds will allow the satellites to share massive amounts of data between satellites and down to ground stations. With this test, Amazon was able to maintain its 100 Gbps speeds over a distance of nearly 621 miles.
“With optical inter-satellite links across our satellite constellation, Project Kuiper will effectively operate as a mesh network in space,” said Rajeev Badyal, Project Kuiper’s vice president of technology. “This system is designed fully in-house to optimize for speed, cost, and reliability, and the entire architecture has worked flawlessly from the very start. These immediate results are only possible because we approached our OISL architecture as one part of a fully integrated system design, and it’s a testament to this team’s willingness to invent on behalf of customers. We’re excited to be able to support these next-generation OISL capabilities on every Kuiper satellite from day one.”
Amazon says this was the final test of its new internet service before they start mass launches of the satellites in the first half of 2024.
Amazon is promoting some impressive speeds for satellite-based internet as an important step in offering fast internet to its customers. According to Amazon the following three internet speed options will be available from Amazon Internet customers:
Standard This standard version will come with an 11″ square antenna that will offer speeds up to 400 Mbps down. This will be perfect for most households.
Pro Version If you need a lot of speed, Amazon has an 11″ by 30″ pro antenna that can offer speeds up to 1 Gbps. This will be perfect for companies or large households.
Portable Version If speed is not that important, and you want something you can easily travel with, you may want Amazon’s ultra-portable version that is just 7″ square and offers speeds up to 100 Mbps.
These speeds are considerably faster than older satellite internet services.
Amazon also says by using lasers for the data transmission between satellites its new system will be more secure and harder to jam.
“Amazon’s optical mesh network will provide multiple paths to route data through space, creating resiliency and redundancy for customers who need to securely transport information around the world,” said Ricky Freeman, vice president of Kuiper Government Solutions, a dedicated division within Project Kuiper focused on serving public sector customers. “This is especially important for those looking to avoid communications architectures that can be intercepted or jammed, and we look forward to making these capabilities available to public sector customers looking to move and land data from remote locations to their desired destination.”
Amazon says it has begun manufacturing the new satellites ahead of its mass launches in the first half of 2024.