Taara unveils Lightbridge Pro for five nines backhaul

Taara has launched Lightbridge Pro, a wireless optical networking product that delivers 20 Gbps connectivity with 99.999% uptime and built-in failover to fibre or radio as conditions change.

Part of X, Google's Moonshot Factory, Taara is positioning the system for carrier networks and other operators that need high availability for backhaul and other critical links.

Lightbridge Pro uses optical communications over the air to provide a 20 Gbps full-duplex connection. It also includes an integrated switching function that changes the connection path when the optical link degrades.

The switchover supports two alternatives: a fibre connection or a radio-frequency backup link.

Taara says the system is designed to maintain continuity under adverse atmospheric conditions, such as fog or heavy rain, which can degrade optical performance. It describes the switchover as "hitless," meaning there is no interruption to traffic during the changeover.

Traditional designs can rely on external switches, with transitions that take several seconds per switchover. Taara argues that integrating the switch into the system eliminates the delay and preserves carrier-grade service continuity.

Mahesh Krishnaswamy, founder and CEO of Taara, framed the product as an option when fibre builds are slow or complex.

"Lightbridge Pro proves that we can deploy fiber-grade capacity over the air with no digging, no delays-upgrading operators' existing infrastructure in a matter of hours," said Mahesh Krishnaswamy, founder and CEO of Taara.

Carrier networks

Taara says Lightbridge Pro targets use cases that meet carrier engineering requirements, including mobile backhaul, urban densification, and city-wide network services. It also points to enterprise applications, data centres, and public-sector infrastructure.

The product follows Taara Lightbridge, which the company says is already deployed in more than 20 countries, spanning dense urban areas, remote terrain, and disaster recovery scenarios.

Taara names T-Mobile, Airtel, Digicel, Liquid Intelligent Technologies, and SoftBank as Lightbridge users. It says these deployments extend network capacity without the delays, cost, or regulatory hurdles associated with fibre builds.

Lightbridge Pro focuses on the availability threshold often required for broader carrier adoption. It is marketed around "five nines" uptime, a measure commonly used for services where outages carry operational and financial impact.

Management features

Lightbridge Pro includes in-band management and combined monitoring across its multiband configuration through the integrated switch. Taara also says it supports Fault, Configuration, Accounting, Performance, and Security network management.

These functions can run on-premise or in the cloud. Taara also points to integration with carrier Operations Support Systems and Business Support Systems used to manage network operations and customer services.

Taara says the system integrates with existing network architectures without altering the wider design, positioning Lightbridge Pro as an add-on or incremental upgrade for operators seeking additional capacity and resilience on specific routes.

Pipeline signals

Taara plans to show Lightbridge Pro and other products at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in 2026 and to announce another photonics-based system.

It describes the forthcoming product as designed for greater density, flexibility, and scalability in carrier networks, signalling an expansion of light-based connectivity beyond point-to-point links and into more distributed urban deployments.