Alphabet announced a new development for Taara technology, which could lead to low-cost, high-speed internet connections, even in remote locations. Mahesh Krishnaswamy, general manager of Taara, has launched the Taara chip, a silicon photonic chip that uses light to transmit high-speed data over the air. The taara chip matches the size of the nails, much smaller than the technology that the alphabetists have always used. Taara Lightbridge is what its first generation technology calls the size of traffic lights and uses mirrors and sensor systems to direct light where it needs to go. The new chip is switched to software.
Taara is a project under X, Alphabet’s Moonshot factory X. The project’s high-speed wireless optical linking technology was originally developed for X’s Project Loon Internet Broadcasting Balloon. Alphabet pulled the plug of Loon in 2021, instead focusing on Taara, using its technology to flash broadband across the streets of the Congo River and Nairobi. Even a few years before Loon was closed, Alphabet’s X was already playing with the idea of light internet and testing the technology in India.
Taara’s technology uses “very narrow, invisible beams to transmit data at 20 gigabits per second until speeds of 20 kilometers (12.1 miles).” Just like traditional fibers, in a sense, it uses light to carry data, just that light does not travel through the cable. Instead, Taara’s hardware emits a beam of light. The beams of the two units must be aligned to each other to form a secure link that can transmit data, which is why the Lightbridge is equipped with parts needed to be able to physically turn light. Taara’s new chip doesn’t require these components: it contains hundreds of micro-transmitters controlled by automatically steering software
Krishnaswamy said the lightweight unit of Taara only takes a few days to install, rather than the months or years it takes to lay the fiber. During the lab test, the Taara team was able to transfer data at 10 Gbps using two new chips. They are now seeking to improve the capabilities and scope of chips by creating thousands of iterations [light] The team expects the chip to be available in 2026.
