Alphabet’s Project Taara transmitted 700TB of data across the Congo River in 20 days

In a remarkable achievement, Alphabet’s Project Taara transmitted nearly 700TB of data across the Congo River in 20 days. Developed at X, Alphabet’s moonshot factory, Project Taara uses light beams to deliver a high-speed internet connection. Taara’s latest test transmitted data across the Congo River between Brazzaville and Kinshasa. The tech was previously tested in India and Kenya.

Project Taara 101: Taara uses Free Space Optical Communications (FSOC) links, akin to fiber-optic cables without the cable, to create a 20Gbps+ broadband link from two points that have a clear line of sight. The technology was initially developed as part of Alphabet’s Project Loon, an initiative exploring the use of stratospheric helium balloons to provide internet connectivity for remote areas, which was shut down in January. The idea was to connect the high-flying balloons, now that tech is being actively used to provide a high-speed broadband link for people in Africa.