The United Kingdom's communications company, OneWeb, which was bought out of bankruptcy by the British government and an Indian telecom provider, plans to start providing commercial satellite communications services in late 2021 with an incomplete satellite constellation, the company said on Monday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st September, 2020) The United Kingdom's communications company, OneWeb, which was bought out of bankruptcy by the British government and an Indian telecom provider, plans to start providing commercial satellite communications services in late 2021 with an incomplete satellite constellation, the company said on Monday.
OneWeb plans to launch up to 672 satellites into low Earth orbit with the vision to provide broadband internet access to the entire world's surface. In 2015, the company penned a contract with Roscosmos through European aerospace company Arianespace to carry out 21 launches to deliver all the satellites into space.
"OneWeb plans to commence commercial services by the end of 2021. Initial regions will include: The United Kingdom, Alaska, Northern Europe, Greenland, Iceland, the Arctic seas and Canada," the press release read.
The company also announced plans to complete the deployment of its full global constellation of low Earth orbit satellites by the end of 2022.
In March, OneWeb announced that it filed for bankruptcy in New York after failing to obtain financing amid the coronavirus disease pandemic. The UK government and Indian mobile network operator Bharti Global have agreed to pay $1 billion to acquire OneWeb and fund the restart of its projects.
"OneWeb anticipates the closing of the planned sale of the company in Q4 2020, subject to confirmation and consummation of OneWeb's restructuring plan, court approval and regulatory consents," the company said.
In 2018, it turned out that the company had problems with licensing necessary frequencies in Russia, facing the opposition of the Federal Security Service (FSB) and telecommunications watchdog Roskomnadzor. Despite this, Roscosmos chief Dmitry Rogozin said that the cooperation of his corporation with OneWeb would continue.
