Amazon said on Thursday that one of the main speed-enhancing technologies in its upcoming Project Kuiper broadband satellites will be included.

According to Amazon, the laser link technology was successfully tested during the most recent Protoflight trip. Satellites can only transmit data between a single spacecraft and the earth in the past. Satellites are linked to one another using laser links.

Data is transmitted through space via the “optical inter-satellite links,” or OISLs, of the Kuiper satellites. Elon Musk’s SpaceX started including laser connectivity in subsequent iterations of its Starlink satellites. These networks’ latency and speed are both enhanced by the linkages.

Rajeev Badyal, vice president of technology for Amazon’s Project Kuiper, stated in a statement that “Project Kuiper will effectively operate as a mesh network in space with optical inter-satellite links across our satellite constellation.”
According to the corporation, Amazon’s two Kuiper prototype satellites “completed multiple successful” laser link trials. The Kuiper prototype satellites kept up links that allowed data to be exchanged between them at a speed of 100 gigabits per second (Gbps) over a distance of almost 621 miles during the testing.

Kuiper’s orbiting laser mesh network will be able to move data about 30% quicker than if it traveled the same distance over terrestrial fiber optic cables, according to Amazon, because light travels faster in space than it does through glass.

The company intends to build its commercial Kuiper satellites with laser links from the beginning. The network will be made up of 3,236 low-Earth orbiting satellites. As of now, Amazon has placed 97 rocket launch orders, with the goal of starting its satellite deployment in the first half of 2019. To create Kuiper, Amazon plans to invest a total of more than $10 billion.