Click Here – “Internet at the Speed of Light”

Podcast: Click Here (Recorded Future News)
Episode Date: October 10, 2025
Host: Dina Temple Raston
Guest: Mahesh Krishna Swamy

Episode Overview

This episode explores bold new attempts to bring high-speed Internet to underserved areas—not by laying cables or launching satellites, but beaming data through the air using lasers. Host Dina Temple Raston sits down with Mahesh Krishna Swamy, a trailblazer behind this technology, who recounts his personal journey from struggling to access the web in India to developing laser Internet links at Google and beyond. The conversation is a mix of technical ingenuity, entrepreneurial grit, amusing field stories (monkeys included), and a compelling vision for a more connected world.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Mahesh’s Early Internet Experiences and Motivations

• Background: Growing up in Chennai, India, Mahesh had minimal access to the Internet, which sparked his fascination and drive to innovate in connectivity.
  • “I Had to save a lot of money to kind of get a seat at this Internet cafe and get online using a very slow modem…” (03:25)
• The Internet as an Atlas: The web was a window to the world—helping him research universities and navigate his journey to the US.

2. From Arrival in America to Big Tech Innovator

• Perseverance: Mahesh’s story of losing his passport and all his luggage (including his only winter coat) immediately upon arrival in America, and how this set the stage for “learning perseverance and entrepreneurship.” (05:04)
• Google Moonshots: Discussion of Project Loon at Google X—floating stratospheric balloons to deliver Internet to remote places.
  • “So Project Loon was a Google X project which was working on using stratospheric balloons... It’s like a floating cell tower.” (05:27)

3. Genesis of Laser-Based Internet (Terra)

• Rethinking Moonshot Tech: After grappling with poor Internet on family visits back to India, Mahesh’s father challenged him to solve it.
  • “If you really are so passionate about this, why don’t you do something about it?” (06:21)
• Core Idea: Use the same technology as balloon-to-balloon links, but on the ground: laser terminals on poles rather than cables underground.
  • “What if we use some of the technology that is used between these balloons? ...All you need is a pole and a bucket of concrete and then start connecting people.” (06:43)
• Technical Principle: Laser beams “the size of a chopstick” aim at tiny receivers, enabling “Internet at the speed of light, lowest possible latency, and at the cheapest possible way.” (00:42, 07:02)

4. Real-World Proof & Adventures

• The Accidental Demo: During an Indian conference (2016), the main fiber-optic line failed. Mahesh’s team rerouted live Internet across a river using their test system, wowing government officials.
  • “We turned down the link from one side of the river and beamed Internet over to this conference room… we were able to bring this entire conference room back online.” (09:39)
• Disaster Response: After Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico’s infrastructure, these laser terminals restored connectivity to key community hubs.
  • “We were able to relay and bring connectivity to a town, to a grocery store, to a university center and the Mayor’s office.” (10:49)
• Crossing Borders: Using laser links to span the Congo River, connecting two countries that would otherwise need hundreds of miles of fiber laid. (11:04)

5. Challenges: Monkeys, Weather, and Competition

• Unlikely Obstacles: From tropical storms to animals interfering with equipment on rooftops and towers.
  • “Dozens of monkeys causing massive amounts of outages. And we couldn’t even reach and fix this terminal because these monkeys are extremely territorial.” (01:29, 11:41)
• Continuous Improvement: Each outage (animal-caused or not) leads to tech enhancements like “two stage compensation” for better tracking and stability. (12:02)
• Competitive Landscape: Competing with Starlink, fiber, and classic infrastructure—all in the race to bring reliable, affordable Internet everywhere.

6. Personal Stakes and Family Ties

• Father’s Approval: Mahesh’s father now has a Terra terminal—though he remains a demanding customer.
  • “So does he call you and say, what’s going on with my terror?”
    Mahesh: “I literally got back, yeah, this week from India and I was getting a year full from him about that.” (12:35-12:39)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Laser Internet, in a Nutshell:
  “Laser based Internet. The laser beams are the size of a chopstick and they are pointing at literally a grain of rice several kilometers away.”
  — Mahesh Krishna Swamy (00:42)

• Perseverance as Fuel:
  “That was kind of a rough ride to kind of come into the United States. But that’s basically how I started to learn perseverance and entrepreneurship.”
  — Mahesh (05:04)

• Necessity Breeds Invention:
  “Necessity is the mother of all invention.”
  — Mahesh (12:48)

• On Monkeys as Adversaries:
  “There were dozens of monkeys which were swinging on the tower where we installed our terminal, causing massive amounts of outages.”
  — Mahesh (11:41)

• Dina on the Personal Revolution:
  “Because this was never about infrastructure, it was about recreating that first moment. In a crowded Internet cafe when the world came rushing in. And about his father.”
  — Dina Temple Raston (12:10)

Important Timestamps

• 00:42 – Mahesh explains the dinner party metaphor: laser Internet and practical potential.
• 03:25 – Mahesh recalls his first Internet experience in India.
• 05:04 – Story of arriving in the US with nothing, learning perseverance.
• 05:27 – How Project Loon aimed to solve global connectivity from the sky.
• 06:43 – The “aha” moment: bring laser communication tech down to earth.
• 09:39 – The accidental proof-of-concept during a government Internet outage.
• 10:49 – Rebuilding communications after Puerto Rico’s Hurricane Maria.
• 11:41 – The monkey problem on rural towers.
• 12:35 – Mahesh’s father becomes a (demanding) customer.

Tone & Style

The conversation is approachable, humorous, and human-centered, making complex technology accessible while spotlighting the personal stakes and quirks of innovation. Mahesh’s journey is one of persistence, resourcefulness, and family ties—never far from the humble Internet café where it all began.

Conclusion

“Internet at the Speed of Light” offers a hopeful look at the future of global connectivity—a blend of AI, laser physics, and old-fashioned problem-solving (sometimes, with monkeys). For Mahesh Krishna Swamy and others in this space, the mission is clear: open the world, one invisible beam at a time.