OneWeb, Bharti backed satcom company, has said that it recently launched 34 satellites to orbit and has also successfully made contact with all of them. The launch was done by Arianespace from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. It is worth noting that OneWeb plans to send over 648 Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites into space to build its global constellation. With the recent launch of the 34 new satellites, the total number of OneWeb satellites into orbit has reached 322. This is almost half the number of satellites that OneWeb is planning to send to space. All of these satellites will help the company in providing high-speed and low-latency global connectivity.
OneWeb Launch Helps Arianespace Achieve Milestone of Launching 1000+ Satellites
With the launch of these 34 satellites of OneWeb, Arianespace has reached a milestone of launching more than 1000 satellites into space. The lift-off took place on September 14, 2021, at 7:07 PM BST. The company confirmed establishing a connection with all 34 satellites.
The launch activity firms the position of OneWeb, staying on track with its goal of starting services this year. OneWeb plans to provide global connectivity by 2022, which will include the Indian market as well. The company has already raised up to $2.7 billion since November 2020, which doesn’t include any debt.
OneWeb doesn’t look like it is very interested in providing direct commercial services to consumers. Instead, the company is looking to partner with telecom operators in each country it will enter so that it can help the operator/operators in increasing the reach of their network with the help of satellite broadband connectivity.
Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman of Bharti Enterprises, made it clear that OneWeb isn’t looking to compete with the telcos. Instead, the company looks to form partnerships with them and help them in enhancing their mobile network services. OneWeb plans to enter the Indian market by mid-2022.
