Taara Lightbridge and StarTouch Partner to Revolutionise U.S. Enterprise Connectivity Through Free Space Optics - Wireless Optical Technology of up to 20 Gbps over 20 km using only 40 watts of power
Image Credit to Light Communications Alliance (LCA)
At NetworkX event, Sanjay Nagpal delivered a compelling presentation titled "Future-proofing the Broadband Network with Taara Lightbridge: Next-generation Free Space Optics," showcasing breakthrough capabilities in light-based communications. The presentation highlighted an impressive technical achievement: 20 Gbps data transmission over 20 km distances while consuming just 40 watts of power, a testament to the efficiency and potential of light communication technology. Nagpal also teased the development of a next-generation chip-scale device, indicating continued innovation on the horizon, while noting an impressive lineup of customers embracing this abundant spectrum resource.
A Mission Born from Global Connectivity Challenges
Taara was founded with a clear mission: bringing affordable high-speed internet to the most remote and underserved locations on Earth. The company has demonstrated that fibre-like speeds don't always require fibre in the ground, delivering connectivity in some of the world's most challenging circumstances, from restoring communications in Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria to bridging communities separated by rivers, railroads, and mountains across India and Africa. The goal has remained consistent: connecting communities left behind by traditional infrastructure.
Taara Lightbridge has proven its capabilities in diverse and demanding environments, dense forests, wide rivers, and urban centres that have waited years for reliable internet access. The technology has been deployed to restore connectivity after fibre cuts, support mobile operators struggling to meet capacity demands, and provide emergency communications following disasters. By transmitting data as beams of light through the air, the technology transforms geography from an obstacle into a surmountable challenge.
Bringing Proven Technology to U.S. Enterprises
Building on this global success, Taara is now delivering its solution to enterprise and carrier customers in the United States through a strategic partnership with StarTouch, a subsidiary of Declaration Networks Group. StarTouch provides connectivity solutions for enterprise, public sector, and carrier customers, and this collaboration extends Taara Lightbridge into manufacturing facilities, corporate campuses, retail hubs, and data-intensive enterprise sites, environments where speed, resilience, and redundancy are essential to daily operations.
Modern enterprises require network connectivity that goes beyond raw speed. Lower latency, greater resilience, higher quality of service, and deployment flexibility are critical for business growth. Manufacturing plants, automotive facilities, retail centres, and educational campuses must minimise downtime and frequently need to bring new sites online in days rather than months.
A Strategic Complement to Established Networks
StarTouch brings more than two decades of experience building carrier-grade connectivity solutions across the United States. The company's hybrid networks of fibre and licensed microwave already serve carriers, large enterprises, and public sector customers. By incorporating wireless optical communication, StarTouch can now offer customers true route diversity, accelerated deployments, and cost-effective expansion without waiting for new fibre construction.
With Taara Lightbridge, StarTouch can deliver 20 Gbps speeds across distances up to 20 km with ultra-low latency suitable for critical applications. Installation takes just hours and can be completed by a single technician at each end of the link, enabling rapid response to customer requirements.
Technical Innovation Meets Practical Deployment
Taara's wireless optical communication links use beams of light to deliver high-speed, high-capacity connectivity over long distances. Just as traditional fibre optics transmit data through underground cables using light, Taara Lightbridge transmits information at speeds up to 20 Gbps through very narrow, invisible beams sent between two compact terminals.
The terminals are remarkably lightweight at approximately 13 kilograms and operate on unlicensed spectrum. This eliminates lengthy licensing processes and recurring spectrum fees, while the compact footprint reduces tower rental costs and energy consumption. For enterprise customers, this translates to lower total cost of ownership and faster access to needed bandwidth. For StarTouch, it enables market expansion and the ability to serve customers in disruption-prone or difficult-to-access locations.
Reimagining the Connectivity Landscape
This collaboration represents more than adding another technology option to StarTouch's portfolio, it fundamentally changes how industries approach connectivity challenges. Infrastructure projects that once required months of trenching and permitting can now be completed in a fraction of the time using beams of light. For StarTouch's enterprise and carrier customers, this means new possibilities for rapid deployment, route diversity, and service continuity. For Taara, it demonstrates how wireless optical communication serves not only to connect the unconnected but also to help organisations build stronger, more agile networks.
By combining StarTouch's expertise in managed services with Taara's advances in wireless optical communication, the partnership is creating networks that deploy faster, resist disruption more effectively, and remain accessible to the communities and businesses that depend on them. This collaboration represents another significant milestone in extending and amplifying the global communications network by harnessing the power of light, proving that the future of connectivity may not always run through cables, but can travel through the air itself.
Image credit to Taara
