Kizuna's schematics

Last Saturday Japan launched an experimental satellite, designed to provide high-speed internet across Asia, even when terrestrial infrastructure is down, according to Agence France-Presse.

The satellite, dubbed Kizuna, shares its name with a yaoi manga.

The $342 million satellite circulates data of up to 1.2 Gbps — 150 times the average DSL connection rate (8 Mbps) and 12 times faster than fiber optic wires. This makes it the fastest consumer-ready high-speed data purveyor on record.

Kizuna will be operational in July and can be used for at least five years.

Japan shall use the satellite for emergency communications, when ground-based networks are cut off by disaster, and to provide web access to remote regions of Asia.