Taara - X, The Moonshot Factory

Taara

Fast, affordable connectivity using beams of light

Reimagining the future of connectivity

Nearly 3 billion people remain unconnected to the internet, and billions more struggle with slow, unreliable, or expensive connectivity. Fiber-optic cable can support high speeds, but rolling out an extensive fiber network through urban areas or difficult terrain can be time-consuming and costly. Where fiber fails to reach, operators and service providers often look to wireless technologies using radio frequency. But with global internet traffic projected to grow ~25% annually, radio spectrum alone cannot support the world’s growing data demand.

Taara is working to bring fast, affordable connectivity to the world using a new approach to wireless optical communication (WOC) technology. Taara uses beams of light to deliver high-speed, high-capacity connectivity over long distances. In the same way traditional fiber uses light to carry data through cables in the ground, Taara uses light to transmit information as very narrow, invisible beams. This beam is sent between two small Taara terminals to create a link.

By extending our partner’s fiber optic networks, Taara brings fiber-like speeds to areas where it’s not economically viable, or too difficult to install fiber. These include over rivers and sea straits, across rugged terrains and national parks, or in areas where it is unsafe to dig trenches for cables.

Meet Taara’s founder and the Taara team who are on a mission to bring abundant and affordable internet to the world.

The speed of fiber, the flexibility of wireless

Taara’s wireless technology can transmit information at high speeds of up to 20 gigabits per second and distances up to 20 km. Each Taara link consists of two terminals containing mirrors and sensors that point, acquire, and track beams of light, ensuring they remain on target. It’s important that the signal between Taara’s terminals isn't interrupted, so they’re placed up high, on towers, poles, or rooftops. Even if a tower sways due to wind, or a bird flies through the beam’s path, our technology ensures uninterrupted communication. As Taara operates in the light-based optical spectrum, it unlocks 30 times more data capacity than radio frequency.

Network operators and service providers can rapidly deploy and redeploy Taara links to bring connectivity to new areas, provide back-up to existing infrastructure, or deliver one-time bandwidth to crowded events and even cities.

HOW TAARA CAN BE UTILIZED

Provide high bandwidth backhaul
Urban last-mile extension
Bridge challenging terrain
Improve network resilience

FEATURES

20 Gbps bidirectional throughput
Up to 20 km operating range
Energy efficient (40W power consumption per unit)

BENEFITS

Low environmental impact
Low total cost of ownership
Fast, light and easy to deploy and redeploy
Secure data transmission

Taara's pointing and tracking system finding optical alignment.

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Delivering connectivity with partners around the world

The Taara team is currently delivering high speed connectivity to people in more than a dozen countries with partners worldwide. These include the United States, India, Sub-Saharan Africa, New Zealand, as well as the Pacific Islands, Latin America, the Caribbean, and the Middle East.

AFRICA

“Taara’s wireless optical communications technology has been a game changer for Liquid delivering fiber-like speeds with the flexibility of wireless. I’m excited about the continued potential of Taara’s technology and I believe it will play a key role in driving internet access and opportunity for the people of Africa in the years ahead.”

Strive Masiyiwa

Founder and Executive Chairman
Econet Group & Cassava Technologies

GHANA

“Taara's innovative approach is pivotal in bridging the digital divide in Ghana, enabling us to provide affordable, high-speed internet through Wi-Fi hotspots and Fiber to the Home networks.”

Gregory Eid

Managing Director
Teledata ICT

LATIN AMERICA

“We are thrilled to partner with Taara in deploying their innovative state-of-the-art technology. We can now provide our customers with a more reliable and robust network infrastructure. Their technology has proven to be a game-changer for Liberty Networks, and we look forward to continuing this successful collaboration across Latin America and the Caribbean.”

Ray Collins

SVP of Infrastructure and Corporate Strategy
Liberty Latin America

Mahesh Krishnaswamy

General Manager of Taara

Mahesh leads the Taara team in their mission to deliver fast, affordable connectivity to people everywhere using beams of light. He has been passionate about connectivity since he first used a 28.8 kbps dial-up modem at an internet cafe in Chennai to research graduate schools in the United States. Before founding Taara, Mahesh led the Manufacturing and Supply Chain efforts for Project Loon, which used a network of stratospheric balloons to deliver connectivity to rural and remote areas. Prior to joining Alphabet, Mahesh led product teams at Apple and Motorola. Mahesh holds a Masters of Science in Electrical Engineering from Michigan State University, and an MBA from Northwestern Kellogg Graduate School of Management.

Devin Brinkley

Engineering Lead

Devin is the engineering lead for Taara. Devin has been active in developing advanced optical communication technologies and products for nearly two decades. He previously led multiple Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) programs, a high production Multiple Integrated Laser Engagement Systems (MILES) program, and the Wireless Optical Communication hardware development on Project Loon.

Thangali Seshadri

Operations Lead

Thangali is Taara’s Operations Lead responsible for supply chain, manufacturing, field deployment and network monitoring. Prior to joining Google in 2019, Thangali was at Apple for 10 years where he was responsible for the production of many Apple products, including the MacBook and MacBook Pro, iPhone, and Apple TV. Prior to Apple, Thangali spent fifteen plus years in the semiconductor equipment industry. Thangali holds a BS Mechanical Engineering degree from Bangalore Institute of Technology, India and an MS Mechanical Engineering degree from Texas Tech University.

Sanjay Nagpal

Go-to-Market Lead

Sanjay is responsible for leading all sales, business development, and channel development activities for Taara. Sanjay has over 30 years of global sales and market development experience in wireless access and backhaul technologies including 2G/3G/4G, microwave & millimeter wave backhaul, and satellite communications. Prior to joining Taara, Sanjay was Senior Vice President of Global Sales and Business Development at Comtech Telecommunications Corp where he helped capture some of the largest commercial and military satcom programs. Sanjay holds a MSEE degree in electrical engineering from Virginia Tech and an MBA in marketing and finance from The University of Chicago.

Ellie Joo

Senior Program Manager

Ellie joined Taara in 2017, helping operationalize the project in India and Africa while building strategic global partnerships and driving marketing with telcos and internet service providers. Prior to X, Ellie worked at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Medical Center, in lean process improvement across the university healthcare system and conducting public health research in the field of hyperbaric medicine. Ellie has a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry at UCLA and a Master of Applied Science in Spatial Analysis for Public Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Jean-Laurent Plateau

Head of Algorithms, Networking & Communications

Jean-Laurent is the Head of Algorithms, Networking & Communications at Taara. He leads the exploration of high-capacity wireless technologies for 5G/6G backhaul, fronthaul, and indoor connectivity. Before joining Taara, Jean-Laurent was head of LTE/5G/RF hardware for Loon LLC, delivering connectivity via stratospheric balloons. Previous to X, as the Lead FPGA Architect, Jean-Laurent was in charge of modem development for Tarana Wireless’s massive MIMO solution. Jean-Laurent received his Engineering Degree in Electronics, with a specialization in telecom, VLSI design and avionics, from the Ecole Nationale de l’Aviation Civile (ENAC), Toulouse, France in 1996.

Sanam Mozaffari

System Integration Hardware Engineer

Sanam is a System Integration Hardware Engineer focusing on photonics integration. Sanam designs infrastructure for the next generation developments ranging from testing individual components within photonic integrated circuits or optomechanical device investigations, to full system prototypes and proof of concepts for the next generation designs. Sanam has a background in biomedical engineering at UC San Diego with experience in bioinstrumentation and retinal prosthesis. Sanam received her PhD from UC Berkeley with a focus in adaptive optics, scanning laser ophthalmoscopy, and optical coherence tomography.

Bhavani Ganesan

Product Manager

Bhavani is a Product Manager at Taara responsible for product planning, definition, and the roadmap of Taara’s OWC product line as well as the Taara Share platform. Previously, Bhavani was an Engineering Lead at Google Station, a Google platform and service to enable partners to provide Wi-Fi hotspot services for SMBs in emerging markets. Prior to Google, Bhavani was Director of Engineering at Netgear, where she developed and expanded the Commercial Wireless Business Group from ground up to a 60 person global team, delivering high-end commercial wireless controllers, wireless access points, and cloud-based wireless management solutions. Bhavani has 20+ years of experience building wireless connectivity products and holds a BS in Computer Science from PSG College of Technology in India.

Bhavesh Mistry

Regional Lead, EMEA

Bhavesh Mistry is the Head of Taara in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Bhavesh has nearly two decades of experience in telecommunications. Prior to joining Taara, Bhavesh co-founded and led Project Link, Google’s first fiber infrastructure project in Africa. Project Link was spun out into an independent company called CSquared, where Bhavesh was the CTO and interim CEO. Bhavesh holds a BSC in Computing from the University of Greenwich, an MSC in Networks and Distributed Systems from the University of Kent, and an MBA from the Edinburgh Business School.

Mustafa Golam

Regional Lead, APAC

Mustafa joined Taara in 2018 with a deep understanding of the APAC connectivity space and a passion for bringing people online. Prior to joining Taara, Mustafa worked in Telenor, Ericsson, MTN Group and NOKIA in emerging markets, in various technical, operation management, governance and leadership roles spanning a decade. Mustafa holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical and Electronics degree from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) and an executive MBA from Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIMA), India.

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Beaming light-speed connectivity to the world

News, stories, and insights from Taara. Follow our journey to connect the globe with wireless optical communication technology.

Taara and T-Mobile

Enabling reliable 5G connectivity for hundreds of thousands of festival attendees

Helping Bridge the digital divide in India

Taara and Airtel partner to bring fast, affordable internet to more people

Bringing light-speed internet to Sub-Saharan Africa

Project Taara is working with Econet Group and its subsidiaries to roll out wireless optical communication links across their network starting in Kenya

Beaming broadband across the Congo River

Taara’s wireless optical communications links are now beaming light-speed connectivity from Brazzaville to Kinshasa across the Congo River

Alphabet bets on lasers to deliver internet in remote areas

Taara is delivering internet service to remote areas by using beams of light.

Alphabet’s Project Taara laser tech beamed 700TB of data across nearly 5km

The 20Gbps Free Space Optical Communications tech for Project Taara was originally part of Project Loon.

Google's parent company uses lasers to bring internet service to villages

Taara has already been deployed in 13 countries and is now moving toward larger-scale deployment in India.

Let’s connect

Taara is working with telcos, internet service providers (ISPs), and governments around the world to accelerate the deployment of fast, abundant and affordable connectivity.

Contact Taara