--- title: Disaster Recovery & Networks in Space description: On this podcast episode, Rohit Jha, co-founder of Transcelestial, explains how his company uses laser links to bring fiber-like speeds to under-connected places. image: https://resources.telegeography.com/hubfs/Disaster%20Recovery.png --- [![TG\_LOGO](https://resources.telegeography.com/hubfs/TeleGeography%20Hub%20Theme%20Nov%202025/images/TG_LOGO.svg)](https://www2.telegeography.com/) - [About](https://www2.telegeography.com/about-us) - [Research](https://www2.telegeography.com/our-research) - [Products](https://www2.telegeography.com/products) - [Solutions](https://www2.telegeography.com/solutions) - [Resources](https://resources.telegeography.com) [Log In](https://www.telegeography.com/login/login?service=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.telegeography.com%2Faccount%2Fhome%2Findex) [Contact](https://www2.telegeography.com/contact-us) ###### Data and Analysis Tools - [Cloud and WAN Research Service](https://www2.telegeography.com/cloud-and-wan-infrastructure) - [Data Center Research Service](https://www2.telegeography.com/data-center-research-service) - [GlobalComms Database](https://www2.telegeography.com/globalcomms-database-service) - [International Voice Report](https://www2.telegeography.com/telegeography-report-and-database) - [IP Networks Research Service](https://www2.telegeography.com/ip-networks-research-service) - [ISP Navigator](https://www2.telegeography.com/isp-navigatorisp-navigator) - [Transport Networks Research Service](https://www2.telegeography.com/transport-networks) - [Network Pricing Database](https://www2.telegeography.com/telegeography-pricing-database) - [WAN Cost Benchmark](https://www2.telegeography.com/wan-cost-benchmark) - [Product Passes](https://www2.telegeography.com/product-passes) ###### Consulting - [All Consulting Services](https://www2.telegeography.com/consulting) - [Submarine Cable Consulting](https://www2.telegeography.com/submarine-cable-consulting) ###### Maps - [All Map Services](https://www2.telegeography.com/map-services) - [Sponsor a Map](https://www2.telegeography.com/sponsor-a-map) - [License Map Data](https://www2.telegeography.com/license-geocoded-map-data) - [Cite a Map](https://www2.telegeography.com/cite-telegeography-map) - [Buy a Map](https://shop.telegeography.com/collections/telecom-maps/) ###### Industry - [Education](https://www2.telegeography.com/telegeography-for-education) - [Enterprise](https://www2.telegeography.com/enterprise) - [Tech](https://www2.telegeography.com/tech) - [Telecom](https://www2.telegeography.com/telecom) ###### Case Studies - [AI + Retail Telecom Data](https://www2.telegeography.com/where-to-get-global-telecom-data) - [EXA Infrastructure](https://www2.telegeography.com/exa-infrastructure-case-study) - [Orange Wholesale](https://www2.telegeography.com/orange-wholesale-case-study) - [The European Commission](https://www2.telegeography.com/the-european-commissions-data-backed-approach-to-international-policy) [Back to Resources](https://resources.telegeography.com/) # Disaster Recovery & Networks in Space ##### By [Greg Bryan,](https://resources.telegeography.com/author/greg-bryan) Oct 22, 2026 [Networks](https://resources.telegeography.com/tag/networks) [Podcast](https://resources.telegeography.com/tag/podcast) #### Subscribe to get more episodes: [![](https://resources.telegeography.com/hubfs/TeleGeography%20Hub%20Theme%20Nov%202025/images/streamline-logos_apple-podcast-logo-solid.svg) Amazon](https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/706a488e-d4e8-45a9-99a4-c6e51c4a86ea/telegeography-explains-the-internet) [![streamline-logos\_apple-podcast-logo-solid](https://resources.telegeography.com/hubfs/TeleGeography%20Hub%20Theme%20Nov%202025/images/streamline-logos_apple-podcast-logo-solid.svg) Apple](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/telegeography-explains-the-internet/id1518397175) [![](https://resources.telegeography.com/hubfs/TeleGeography%20Hub%20Theme%20Nov%202025/images/streamline-logos_apple-podcast-logo-solid.svg) PodBean](https://telegeography.podbean.com/) [![](https://resources.telegeography.com/hubfs/TeleGeography%20Hub%20Theme%20Nov%202025/images/streamline-logos_apple-podcast-logo-solid.svg) Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/show/74XN1NIPcb34Gv1atFMGht?si=vG3SfwaVSGawNge05Opvnw) [![](https://resources.telegeography.com/hubfs/TeleGeography%20Hub%20Theme%20Nov%202025/images/streamline-logos_apple-podcast-logo-solid.svg) TuneIn](https://tunein.com/podcasts/Technology-Podcasts/The-WAN-Manager-Podcast-p1334040/?topicId=528873159) [![](https://resources.telegeography.com/hubfs/TeleGeography%20Hub%20Theme%20Nov%202025/images/streamline-logos_apple-podcast-logo-solid.svg) YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@TeleGeographyData) #### This podcast conversation covers: On this episode of TeleGeography Explains the Internet, Rohit Jha, co-founder of [Transcelestial](https://transcelestial.com/), explains how his company is using laser links to bring fiber-like speeds to places where digging trenches isn't practical, from storm-damaged Taiwanese villages to T-Mobile's chronic outage sites in the U.S. He also lays out the vision behind its planned orbital ring, a network of satellites meant to work like an undersea cable in space and to reshape connectivity for island telcos and AI data centers by the end of the decade. This conversation covers: ▪️ **The "internet distribution problem":** How Transcelestial aims to fix under-connected regions that have slow speeds, high costs, and high latency to the cloud. ▪️ **Terrestrial laser links as a fiber alternative:** The company's first product, Centauri: a shoebox-sized laser terminal that works as "wireless fiber." ▪️ **Telecom and ISP use cases:** Including greenfield deployments that relieve RF congestion on 5G towers with 10x to 100x more bandwidth and brownfield deployments that provide spectrum-free backup when fiber is cut by construction, typhoons, or earthquakes. ▪️ **Enterprise applications:** Such as on university campuses, smart factories, mining, and government and defense. ▪️ **Disaster recovery and resilience:** How Transcelestial’s laser terminals are used to quickly restore critical connectivity following natural disasters. ▪️ **The orbital ring network:** The company’s project to build an "undersea cable in space" by creating a ring around the planet to act as a global transporter network for routing laser-based connectivity. #### Key takeaways: ## Solving the "internet distribution problem" Jha describes under-connected regions as places suffering from slow speeds, high costs, and high latency to the cloud, often all at once. He traces the problem to three layers of the network: undersea cables, intercity long-haul routes, and urban last-mile connectivity. Each is built by players with different incentives, and the urban layer is often the hardest, thanks to rights-of-way issues, construction, and the sheer cost of laying fiber. ## Centauri: "wireless fiber" [Transcelestial](https://transcelestial.com/) started at that last mile. Its first product, Centauri, is a shoebox-sized laser terminal that works as wireless fiber, using the same optical technology found inside a fiber core, but through the air. Jha is clear that it won't replace fiber. It's a faster, cheaper, better substitute where fiber is unreliable, slow to deploy, or too expensive. ## Telco and ISP use cases Jha splits carrier deployments into two types. In greenfield builds, such as new 5G towers on congested RF, laser links add 10x to 100x more bandwidth, moving from 100 Mbps radios to 10 Gbps point to point. In brownfield cases, they serve as spectrum-free backup when fiber is cut by construction, typhoons, or earthquakes. Because no spectrum license is needed, Jha says the savings can sometimes cover the cost of the hardware. ## Enterprise applications Enterprises are Transcelestial's smallest customers, but often its fastest-moving. University campuses are the biggest category. At UC Santa Cruz, where buildings are scattered across a hillside, laser links from the data center to each building avoided a costly fiber quote. Other use cases include smart factories and mining, such as a copper mine project in Chile with NTT, where links connect security endpoints and self-driving diggers. Government and defense sites also use them, since tightly directed beams limit signal spillover. ## Disaster recovery and resilience Resilience may be the most compelling part of the story. After a typhoon washed out a bridge carrying fiber for every Taiwanese telco, roughly 110 villages went dark. Transcelestial and Taiwan Mobile placed a laser link across the gap between the two banks, restoring service to more than 100 villages in under half a day. Rebuilding the fiber took about six months. Similar deployments have followed in Florida with T-Mobile and in the Philippines with Globe Telecom, and Jha says the company is working with ISPs in Nepal. In his view, these links complement LEO options like Starlink rather than compete with them. ## The orbital ring The long-term vision is a ring around the planet: an "undersea cable in space" that acts as a global transporter network for routing laser-based connectivity. Phase one calls for 40 satellites around the equator, each a micro data center, with about 1 Tbps between satellites and up to 100 Gbps to the ground. Full deployment is planned by the end of 2029, with service starting in 2030. Tests are already running between orbit and ground stations in Singapore and Barcelona at about 10 Gbps. ## Explore Related Content ![Building Network Resiliency with Transparency and Smart Strategy](https://resources.telegeography.com/hubfs/Content%20Archive/2023/Blog%20Assets/AdobeStock_605620855-1.jpeg) ###### Podcast Episode Jan 13, 2026 #### [Building Network Resiliency with Transparency and Smart Strategy](https://resources.telegeography.com/building-network-resiliency-with-transparency-and-smart-strategy) [Read Full Article](https://resources.telegeography.com/building-network-resiliency-with-transparency-and-smart-strategy) ![Infrastructure, Not Compute, is the Real AI Bottleneck](https://resources.telegeography.com/hubfs/Content/Content-Graphics/2026/Resource%20Assets/Luis%20Colasante.png) ###### Podcast Episode Feb 12, 2026 #### [Infrastructure, Not Compute, is the Real AI Bottleneck](https://resources.telegeography.com/infrastructure-is-the-real-ai-bottleneck) [Read Full Article](https://resources.telegeography.com/infrastructure-is-the-real-ai-bottleneck) ![Do Human Senses Provide the Ultimate Cap on Bandwidth?](https://resources.telegeography.com/hubfs/2019/Blog%20Assets/tv-3774381_1280.jpg) ###### Blog Jun 11, 2019 #### [Do Human Senses Provide the Ultimate Cap on Bandwidth?](https://resources.telegeography.com/do-human-senses-provide-the-ultimate-cap-on-bandwidth) Our thirst for bandwidth must have a ceiling. It just must. In our first-ever user-submitted myth, Chief... [View More by Tim Stronge](https://resources.telegeography.com/author/tim-stronge) [Read Full Article](https://resources.telegeography.com/do-human-senses-provide-the-ultimate-cap-on-bandwidth) [![TG\_LOGO\_color\_horizontal\_SIMPLIFIED 1](https://resources.telegeography.com/hubfs/TeleGeography%20Hub%20Theme%20Nov%202025/images/TG_LOGO_color_horizontal_SIMPLIFIED%201.svg)](https://www2.telegeography.com/) [Login](https://www.telegeography.com/login/login?service=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.telegeography.com%2Faccount%2Fhome%2Findex) [Contact Us](https://www2.telegeography.com/contact-us) ###### [About](https://www2.telegeography.com/about-us) - [Research](https://www2.telegeography.com/our-research) - [Products](https://www2.telegeography.com/products) - [Solutions](https://www2.telegeography.com/solutions) - [Demo](https://www2.telegeography.com/demo) ###### [Press](https://www2.telegeography.com/telegeography-press) - [Events](https://www2.telegeography.com/telecom-events) - [Careers](https://www2.telegeography.com/careers) ###### [Resources](https://resources.telegeography.com/) - [Podcast](https://www2.telegeography.com/telegeography-explains-the-internet-podcast) - [Newsletter](https://www2.telegeography.com/subscribe-to-telegeography-emails) - - All Rights Reserved 2026 - [Privacy Policy](https://www2.telegeography.com/privacy-policy) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Greg Bryan", "url" : "https://resources.telegeography.com/author/greg-bryan" }, "dateModified" : "2026-10-22T13:18:52.582Z", "datePublished" : "2026-10-22T13:18:39.000Z", "headline" : "Disaster Recovery & Networks in Space", "image" : [ "https://resources.telegeography.com/hubfs/Disaster%20Recovery.png" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://resources.telegeography.com/disaster-recovery-networks-in-space", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://resources.telegeography.com/hubfs/assets/telegeography/telegeography-logo-blog.png" }, "name" : "TeleGeography" } } ``` ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org/", "@type" : "WebSite", "image" : "https://www2.telegeography.com/hubfs/Website/assets/logo/telegeography-logo.svg", "name" : "Disaster Recovery & Networks in Space", "potentialAction" : { "@type" : "SearchAction", "query-input" : "required name=search_term_string", "target" : "{search_term_string}" }, "url" : "https://resources.telegeography.com/disaster-recovery-networks-in-space" } ```