Eutelsat OneWeb (formerly OneWeb) is a satellite communications company aiming to bridge the digital divide by providing high-speed, low-latency broadband internet services globally via a low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellation. As a subsidiary of Eutelsat Group, it focuses on delivering connectivity solutions to governments, enterprises, and communities in underserved areas, as well as to the maritime and aviation sectors. Key partners include distribution partners, Airbus (through OneWeb Satellites, a joint venture for satellite manufacturing), and technology providers like Microsoft Azure and AWS for network peering.
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On 2019-03-18, OneWeb closed a $1,250,000,000 funding round, increasing its total raised to $3,400,000,000.
Fred Kennedy previously led DARPA’s Blackjack effort to buy small satellites from the same vendors supplying megaconstellations like OneWeb.
SpaceX, Blue Origin, and OneWeb secured over $1,000,000,000 in investments in 2017.
OneWeb launched the first six satellites of a planned 648-satellite constellation on 2019-02-27 on an Arianespace-operated Soyuz rocket.
OneWeb Satellites, the Airbus-OneWeb joint venture, is opening an $85,000,000 factory on Florida’s Space Coast.
Ruag produces thermal insulation, mechanical ground support equipment, and dispensers that can send 32 satellites into orbit at a time for OneWeb.
Airbus designed the new single onboard computer for the OneWeb satellites and outsourced production to a supplier capable of building it at scale.
Ruag established a 2,200-square-meter manufacturing facility in Titusville, Florida in 2017 to manufacture satellite structures for OneWeb Satellites.
OneWeb and Airbus Defence and Space designed OneWeb satellites to deliver 10 gigabits per second of capacity in spacecraft the size of dishwashers.
OneWeb predicts its initial system will provide 500 megabits-per-second connections with approximately 30 milliseconds of latency once global coverage is achieved in 2021.
The $1,250,000,000 financing round brings OneWeb’s total funding to $3,400,000,000.
The first batches of Florida-built OneWeb satellites were expected to be delivered to OneWeb toward the end of the third quarter of 2019.
OneWeb anticipated launching around 150 satellites in 2019 using four or five Soyuz rockets and potentially Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne.
OneWeb satellites cost $1,000,000 each to produce according to Airbus Group leadership.
OneWeb Satellite’s Florida factory is an $85,000,000 facility scheduled to open in April 2019 to produce satellites.
OneWeb will start large-scale satellite production in the spring at a new factory in Exploration Park, Florida operated by the Airbus joint venture OneWeb Satellites.
OneWeb plans to begin offering regional service in 2020 with 300 satellites and full service in 2021 with 600 satellites.
SoftBank supplied $1,000,000,000 of a $1,200,000,000 funding round for OneWeb in 2016.
OneWeb no longer shares cost projections for the system that were originally estimated between $2,500,000,000 and $3,500,000,000.
OneWeb expected to reach about 300 satellites by 2020, enabling 24-hour coverage for Canada and other polar-adjacent regions.