Alphabet spins out Taara – Internet over lasers

Weather, Fog, and Reliability

• Many expect links to fail “at the first sign of rain,” based on bad microwave backhaul experiences; others counter that rain fade in microwave is largely engineered around today.
• Several point out that for optical links, fog and turbulence (scintillation), not just rain, are major unresolved problems; bandwidth and link quality may fluctuate heavily with conditions.
• Taara’s marketing about “adaptive rate and hybrid architecture” in poor weather is viewed skeptically until long‑term uptime data is published.

Use Cases vs Fiber, Starlink, and Microwave

• Broad agreement that buried fiber is superior on capacity, reliability, and long‑term economics wherever it’s feasible.
• Taara is seen as a niche tool: point‑to‑point backhaul between towers/rooftops, temporary events, disaster recovery, mining camps, arid or weather‑stable regions—not general last‑mile.
• Some compare it to Starlink; others argue it’s more like a backhaul supplier to terrestrial ISPs rather than a direct competitor.

Performance, Distance, Cost, and Interference

• Commenters say Taara claims roughly 10× the distance of earlier free‑space optical (FSO) kits and up to ~20 Gbps, with solid‑state beam steering as the key innovation.
• Cost estimates around $30k per link draw criticism versus ~$3–6k high‑capacity microwave PTP radios. Counterpoint: you can’t simply stack many RF links side‑by‑side due to spectrum and interference limits, while optics avoid licensing and spectrum congestion.

Line‑of‑Sight and Operational Issues

• Line‑of‑sight is both a strength (narrow beams, hard to intercept, no licensing) and weakness (blocked by buildings, birds, humans, smoke, fog). Anecdotes include people physically standing in the beam and dropping a link.
• Military and HFT uses are discussed: optical links are attractive for jam‑resistant, high‑bandwidth, directional comms, but vulnerable to obscurants (smoke, dust, clouds).

History and Terminology

• Several recall 1980s–2000s commercial infrared/laser links (and projects like RONJA) that worked over short distances but struggled in bad weather and economics. Taara is mostly seen as a scaled‑up, more refined FSO, not a brand‑new concept.
• Side debate on “invisible light”: thread consensus is that infrared and ultraviolet are still “light” in physics terms, even if not visible to humans.

Branding and Miscellany

• Multiple commenters are initially confused by “X” vs social‑network “X”; some mock modern tech naming.
• Regulatory angle: optical LOS links generally don’t require spectrum licenses, which is seen as a significant practical advantage over microwave.