Bharti Enterprises-backed OneWeb, the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite communications company, has released another 36 satellites to mark the completion of its Five to 50 mission.
The company aims to deliver connectivity across the United Kingdom, Canada, Alaska, Northern Europe, Greenland, and the Arctic Region. OneWeb intends to make global service available in 2022.
The completion of the latest launch will take OneWeb’s in-orbit constellation to 254 satellites, or 40 percent of OneWeb’s planned fleet of 648 LEO satellites that will deliver high-speed, low-latency global connectivity.
OneWeb has already announced distribution partnerships across several industries and businesses including with BT, ROCK Network, AST Group, PDI, Alaska Communications and others, as OneWeb expands its global capabilities.
The company is in talks with telecommunications providers, ISPs, and governments worldwide to offer its low-latency, high-speed connectivity services and sees growing demand for new solutions to connect the hardest to reach places.
The launch of the latest 36 satellites is conducted by Arianespace from the Vostochny Cosmodrom. Liftoff occurred on 1 July at 6:18 PM IST. OneWeb’s satellites will separate from the rocket in 9 batches over a period of 3 hours 52 minutes.
“Bharti’s doubling of its investment earlier this week is testament to the commitment to OneWeb’s mission. We look forward to the next chapter in OneWeb’s story, preparing the company for commercial service in the less than six months to deliver our global connectivity solutions,” Sunil Bharti Mittal, Founder and Chairman of Bharti Enterprises, Executive Chairman of OneWeb, said.
