Taara Expands Wireless Optical Links to US Enterprises After Stadium Deployment

Taara, the company spun out of Google's X research unit, announced on November 12 that it is expanding its wireless optical communications business for enterprise and federal customers in the United States. The move follows a deployment with AT&T at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, where Lightbridge links connected more than 80,000 spectators during the World Cup.

The announcement was paired with a live demonstration at Texas Tech University, carried out with AT&T and Nokia Federal Solutions. Data traveled across 14 kilometers between a cell site on a university rooftop and a second site mounted on a cell on wheels in direct line of sight. Enterprise, state and federal government stakeholders attended, according to Taara.

Lightbridge looks like a pole-mounted mobile antenna but works as a backhaul link, sending data on narrow, invisible infrared beams instead of radio waves. Taara says the system carries up to 20 Gbps over distances of up to 20 km. The company argues the technology suits places where laying fiber is impractical or where an extra route is needed to reduce dependence on a single point of failure.

Stadium Test Preceded the Texas Push

At MetLife Stadium, AT&T installed the optical links in a matter of hours and they delivered up to 20 Gbps during the match. The deployment paired the optical connections with a millimeter-wave radio backup, and the combined link reached 99.999 percent availability, according to Taara. AT&T's Aldo Adriazola, a senior principal member of technical staff, said the operator valued both the performance of the links and the support provided on site during the tournament.

Mahesh Krishnaswamy, founder and CEO of Taara, said the company is showing what the flexibility of its links can mean for businesses and governments. He added that the capacity to build, serve and grow should reach beyond places where laying fiber is practical. The Texas presentation formed part of a critical infrastructure telecom incubator at the university.

Deployments Span More Than 20 Countries

Lightbridge links have been rolled out in more than 20 countries, and several early installations went into difficult environments. A demonstration took place in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2021, followed by a deployment by Bharti Airtel in urban areas of India. Liberty Global's Caribbean operation and Liquid Telecom in Kenya have also used the system, and Liquid is using it to improve data center connectivity in Lagos, Nigeria.

For workers in telecom and networking, the expansion points to demand for skills in free-space optics, radio planning and rapid field installation. Technicians who can align optical terminals, run hybrid links and commission temporary sites for events are central to such projects. Network designers also need to weigh the limits of free-space optical systems, which depend on clear lines of sight and are affected by atmospheric conditions, against the simplicity of avoiding trenching and licensed spectrum.

What to Watch Next

The main question is how quickly Taara converts government and enterprise interest in Texas into orders, and whether federal buyers treat optical links as a complement to fiber or a substitute in hard-to-reach locations. AT&T's use of the technology at a major sporting event will also be studied as a template for temporary high-density capacity. Taara has not disclosed the value of any pending contracts.