Google X spin-out Taara and Digicomm International partner to offer high speed wireless communications
Taara, a Google X “Moonshot Factory” spinoff, has chosen Colorado-based Digicomm International, a leading telecommunications distributor and manufacturer, to stock and expand the deployment of Taara’s innovative wireless optical (speeds) communication technology which is generically called Free Space Optics (FSO). Taara has been successful in FSO deployments with fiber and mobile operators in more than a dozen countries (see use cases below). The company has focused on the middle-mile market and intends also to pursue the last-mile connectivity arena, hopes to scale up its reach with operators even further following a new value-added reseller deal with Digicomm which will primarily focus on the North America market.
Taara Lightbridge is a wireless terminal that’s about the size of a traffic light and weights 14 kilograms. It uses beams of light to deliver fiber optic-like speeds through the air, providing an ideal solution for middle-mile connectivity, network resilience, and rapid service restoration. Taara’s core technology traces back to Project Loon, a one-time Google X initiative that explored how to create floating cell towers via the deployment of stratospheric balloons hovering at about 66,000 feet that connected with FSO technology. Taara CEO Mahesh Krishnaswamy, who worked on Project Loon, later decided that Loon’s core connectivity technology could be applied to terrestrial use cases. That idea spawned Taara which was spun off from Google X (Alphabet’s innovation hub) on March 17, 2025.
Taara uses free space optics technology in the unlicensed infrared band (193THz) and eye-safe 1535-1565 nanometer wavelength to deliver low-latency, bidirectional speeds of up to 20 Gbit/s across distances up to 20 kilometers. “It’s almost like a fiber, but it’s in the air,” Krishnaswamy told Light Reading.
By adding Taara Lightbridge to its portfolio, Digicomm says it will strengthen its commitment to provide customers with innovative and scalable products that address today’s growing broadband demands. Digicomm and Taara first connected at last year’s Fiber Connect show, according to Digicomm CEO Rob Donziger.
“Partnering with Taara marks an exciting milestone for Digicomm and our customers,” said Jennifer Nelson, FTTx and Wireless Sales Leader at Digicomm International. “Taara’s Wireless Optical Communication technology is a perfect complement to our extensive wireless, HFC, and FTTx offerings, empowering service providers to expand faster, more efficiently, and at a lower cost.”
“We’re excited to welcome Digicomm as our Master Value-Added Reseller in the Americas region,” said Sanjay Nagpal, Senior Vice President of Global Sales and Partnerships at Taara. “Digicomm’s deep regional expertise and strong ecosystem of relationships will accelerate the deployment of Taara’s high-speed wireless optical technology where it’s needed most. This partnership marks a significant milestone in our mission to expand affordable, reliable internet access with partners seeking innovative, fiber-equivalent solutions.”
FSO has been around for decades, but its success in the market has been limited by weather issues, such as rain, fog and vibration-inducing winds, that can cause service disruptions and reduce overall reliability. Krishnaswamy said Taara isn’t immune to those conditions. However, he said that the company has developed ways to compensate for them, including a pointing-and-tracking system that keeps the beam between terminals centered despite movement and vibrations.
Taara also boosts reliability with the use of automatic repeat request (ARQ) techniques that quickly resend data when, for example, a bird flies in front of the beam or connectivity is impacted by rain droplets. Fog presents a more difficult scenario, but Taara can use a “hybrid” approach – such as creating a redundant path via a different frequency and the use of microwave technology as a failover – to compensate, Krishnaswamy said.
Taara also has developed a planning tool based on years of weather data to help partners predict when weather-related issues might surface. Weather is not the only FSO culprit. In earlier deployment days in India, for example, outages were caused by monkeys jumping on towers and making them sway. The new pointing-and-tracking system resolved that issue by compensating for that movement and keeping the connection stable, Krishnaswamy added. He likened Taara’s technical and operational approach as a “second coming” for free space optics, believing it’s now “primed and ready for the real world.”
Taara was spun out from Google X after there was a “clear signal” that the company’s technology had matured to a certain level and that there was enough traction to support a sustainable business. Taara is now “ready to scale and go to the next stage,” Krishnaswamy said.
Taara currently employs fewer than 100 people and is not yet profitable. However, it has been racking up deployments in more than a dozen countries for a wide range of use cases in both rural and urban areas. Those use cases include bringing fiber-like speeds where fiber can’t (because of factors such as cost and difficult terrain), enterprise connectivity – for portable, redundant connectivity when a service provider experiences a fiber cut – and disaster recovery.
Taara’s technology “has been very versatile and we’ve been very surprised at how customers have been teaching us on how best to use this product,” Krishnaswamy noted. Examples of Taara’s early deployment partners include Liberty Latin America (redundancy and island-to-island connectivity), Airtel (connecting multiple dwelling units and 4G/5G tower backhaul), T-Mobile (portable 5G connectivity), Liquid Telecom in Nairobi (connecting surrounding towns from existing fiber) and Digicel (service failovers).
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With decades of experience delivering advanced broadband technologies, Digicomm’s logistical capabilities and customer reach make it an ideal partner to scale deployment quickly and effectively. Digicomm will stock and support Taara Lightbridge wireless optical solutions, offering link planning services, rapid order fulfillment, and customer service to meet the unique needs of broadband network operators.
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About Digicomm International:
Founded in 1993, Digicomm is an industry-leading, value-added broadband distributor and manufacturer – and a key strategic partner to its customers helping them meet the rigorous demands of broadband network operations. Service providers around the world depend on Digicomm’s extensive inventory of Wireless, HFC, and FTTx products, representing trusted manufacturers such as AOI, PPC, Commscope, Tarana Wireless, and many others. Digicomm also designs and manufactures products including EDFAs, optical passives and more.
For further information, visit www.digicomm.com
About Taara:
Taara is a moonshot for connectivity, with a mission to extend and amplify the global communications network with beams of light. Born at X, Google’s Moonshot Factory, the team combines expertise across disciplines to tackle the world’s toughest connectivity challenges. Taara is now deploying wireless optical communications with industry partners in over a dozen countries, expanding access to fast, reliable connectivity. The company is located in Sunnyvale, CA.
Following about seven years in the incubation phase, Taara spun-out of the Google X Moonshot Factory in March 2025. It has Alphabet and Series X Capital among its financial backers.
Projects such as Wing (lightweight drones to deliver goods), Project Loon, Dandelion (the use of geothermal energy to heat and cool homes) and Waymo (the autonomous vehicle company spun out in 2016) also started at Google X.
Learn more at www.taaraconnect.com
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References:
After 9 years Alphabet pulls the plug on Loon; Another Google X “moonshot” bites the dust!
