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OneWeb Secures $550 Million In New Funding: Eutelsat To Take Significant Equity Stake In The Company
- Eutelsat investment brings OneWeb to $1.9 billion in total financing
- Secures 80% of total financing, as latest launch puts almost 30% of Gen 1 fleet in space
- Collaboration with Geostationary (GEO) satellite operator offers new customer opportunities
- Eutelsat joins U.K. Government, Bharti Global and SoftBank as key investors
LONDON, April 27, 2021 /PRNewswire/ OneWeb, the global communications network powered from space, announces today that it has secured $550 million in funding from Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL), bringing OneWeb s total funding to $1.9 billion in fresh equity. This investment from one of the world s most experienced and largest global operators is a vote of confidence in OneWeb and underscores the arrival of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites into mainstream long-term growth planning for major operators.
Further batch of OneWeb satellites nears constellation to service
OneWeb has added 36 further satellites to its constellation, the partly-UK government owned company has confirmed.
This brings its total in-orbit constellation to 182 satellites, part of its intended 648 Low-Earth Orbit fleet for providing broadband connectivity services.
The satellites were dispensed in nine batches, over a period of 3 hours 52 minutes, with signal acquisition on all 36 satellites confirmed.
OneWeb maintains it is on schedule to cover 50 degrees latitude and above, by June, with service ready to start by the end of the year.
“These are exciting times at OneWeb as we get ever closer to bringing our connectivity services to some of the world’s hardest to reach places,” said OneWeb CEO, Neil Masterson. “With this third successful launch in our ‘Five to 50’ programme, we are rapidly building momentum: we are launching more satellites, demonstrating the network, and announcing more distrib
Arianespace launches 36 satellites for OneWeb on April 25, 2021. Photo via Glavkosmos.
OneWeb has seen another 36 satellites successfully launched as it looks to build up its Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) constellation.
Arianespace and launch partner
Glavkosmos launched the satellites from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia on Sunday, April 25. OneWeb confirmed contact with all 36 satellites on Monday.
This successful launch brings OneWeb’s total in-orbit constellation to 182 satellites. These will form part of OneWeb’s 648 LEO satellite fleet and represents 60% of the constellation required to enable its connectivity solution to reach all regions north of 50 degrees latitude by June 2021.
“With this third successful launch in our ‘5 to 50’ program, we are rapidly building momentum: we are launching more satellites, demonstrating the network and announcing more distribution signings around the globe. We have a world class team and product, and alongside our supportive shareh
Space race with Musk heats up while Eutelsat participates in OneWeb
Eutelsat, the European satellite operator of 20 percent of the French state, is paying $ 550 million for OneWeb, a pioneering space-based Internet, at 24 percent.
The UK government and India’s Bharti Global represent a significant step forward for the team rescued from defeat last year in a satellite race against SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.
OneWeb and SpaceX Starlink aim to launch mega constellations of low-Earth orbit (Leo) satellites to deliver high-speed broadband from space.
The agreement makes it one of the largest fixed satellite operators in the world, with a large number of commercial, government and customer organizations. OneWeb may be able to purchase low-latency satellite services offered by OneWeb’s ground orbit fleets. the agreement said.