Taara, the freespace optics startup spun out by Google parent Alphabet, has unveiled its latest networking product.

The firm claims its Lightbridge Pro beaming solution can “instantly upgrade” existing infrastructure over the air, reportedly offering 99.999 percent carrier-grade reliability.

“Operators around the world are facing a simple, urgent problem: data demand is outpacing the infrastructure built to carry it,” Taara CEO Mahesh Krishnaswamy explained in a statement. “Backhaul traffic is surging, AI-driven workloads are compounding the pressure, and laying new fiber still takes months or years. They need fiber-grade capacity now – without the trenching, permitting, and delays."

Taara’s Lightbridge Pro combines its standard 20Gbps full-duplex offering with an integrated switch capable of providing either radio frequency or fiber backup.

The offering aims to add fiber-like speeds for carrier-grade networks supporting applications including urban densification, enterprise applications, and data centers.

Taara claims its Lightbridge unit also helps to reduce network overhead as operators don’t need to re-architect their networks. Instead, it supports the fault, configuration, accounting, performance, and security (FCAPS) framework with the native integration into carrier operating support and business support systems (OSS/BSS).

“With Lightbridge Pro, we are breaking down one of the final barriers to broader carrier adoption by offering seamless operation for the most essential services,” Krishnaswamy added.

Taara was spun out of Alphabet’s X lab moonshot program last March, following in the footsteps of self-driving car brand Waymo and Amazon Prime Air rival Wings.

In the months since its spin-out, Taara has seen its Lightbridge line deployed in more than 20 countries by carriers including Airtel, SoftBank, and T-Mobile.

Last November, its tech was used to boost network capacity in Rio de Janeiro, with optical links forming a mesh network to boost connectivity across the city.

Taara said it plans to also unveil a photonics-based wireless optical system at the upcoming MWC Barcelona 2026 event that provides for “even greater density and scalability.”