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In a not particularly surprising development, the UK government has today chosen Eutelsat’s global network of OneWeb ultrafast broadband satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) to help provide “resilient, high-speed, low-latency connectivity” to their global operations – delivered through distribution partner NSSLGlobal.
OneWeb, which readers may recall was originally rescued from bankruptcy by the UK government and Bharti Global before later becoming a part of Eutelsat – with concessions (here), currently has 654 small (c.150kg) first generation (GEN1) LEO platforms in space – orbiting at an altitude of 1,200km (c.600 of them for coverage and the rest for redundancy). Plans also exist to “extend the constellation by a further 100 satellites by 2026” (here).
Crucially, the UK government last week agreed to commit a further £140m (€163.3) of public investment to help Eutelsat grow and expand this constellation, which gives them a 10.89% share in the business. Today the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) has followed that up by signing an agreement that will see OneWeb’s network delivering vital global connectivity for the government.
The new “strategic partnership” will support a broad range of critical government activities worldwide – including deploying OneWeb’s terminals to diplomatic missions (e.g. British Embassies, High Commissions, and Consulates), policing, resilience, defence and other essential operations.
Mike Astell, CEO of FCDO Services, said:
“This partnership marks an exciting new chapter in FCDO Services’ long history of providing secure satellite communications. By joining forces with NSSLGlobal and Eutelsat OneWeb, we’re enhancing our ability to deliver rapid, secure connectivity anywhere in the world. This reinforces our commitment to meeting the unique needs of our government customers.”
OneWeb’s future GEN2 satellites are widely also expected to have more data capacity (faster broadband speeds), support for 5G mobile and may, possibly, also introduce enhanced navigation and positioning features (GNSS). The satellites are expected to adopt a higher Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) of 8,500km, but we’re still awaiting the final details.