Eutelsat OneWeb is a subsidiary of the French group Eutelsat providing broadband satellite Internet services in low Earth orbit (LEO).[1][2] The company has offices in Paris (France), London (UK) and Virginia (US),[3] and satellite manufacturing facilities in Florida and Toulouse – Airbus OneWeb Satellites – that is a joint venture with Airbus Defence and Space.
The company was founded as WorldVu by Greg Wyler in 2012[4][5] and later, as OneWeb, launched its first six satellites in February 2019. It entered bankruptcy in March 2020 after failing to raise the required capital to complete the build and deployment of the remaining 90% of the network. The company emerged from the bankruptcy proceedings and reorganisation in November 2020 with a new ownership group. As of 2021, Indian multinational company Bharti Global, France-based satellite service provider Eutelsat and the Government of the United Kingdom were the company's largest shareholders, while Japan's SoftBank retained an equity holding of 12%.
In March 2023, the number of satellites reached 618, enough to provide global coverage. In September 2023, Eutelsat announced the completion of its merger with OneWeb and the creation of a new Eutelsat Group company, with subsidiaries Eutelsat and Eutelsat OneWeb.[6][7]
History
The company was founded in 2012 under the name WorldVu,[8] and was based in Britain's Channel Islands.[9]
Google participation and transfer of the spectrum
Early reports of Google entry into broadband internet services emerged in February 2014, when Greg Wyler, along with two collaborators— Michael Tseytlin, who led engineering, and Steven Fay, who oversaw finance - developed and popularised the concept of a mega-constellation with as many as 1600 satellites.[10] In May 2014, the early concept had been to have at least 20 satellites operating in each of 20 orbital planes to provide consistent internet coverage over the surface of the Earth.
By June 2014, WorldVu (later to be renamed to OneWeb) had acquired the satellite spectrum that was formerly owned by SkyBridge, a company that went bankrupt in 2000,
Intended markets
In March 2021, OneWeb stated its market would be primarily businesses, governments including defence, phone network operators and clusters of communities, rather than individual domestic customers which Starlink primarily targets.[97][98] Users wishing to connect were advised to contact their local telecom operator.[99]
OneWeb satellite constellation
Initially, the OneWeb satellite constellation was planned to have 648 small satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO) that can provide high-speed broadband internet to rural and isolated areas.[100] By January 2023 they had launched 544 satellites, with 542 being functional.[89] The constellation was reportedly "technically completed" in March 2023, with 618 launched.[101] OneWeb engineers would then take a few months to test the system before commercial service was expected to start in the fourth quarter of 2023.[102]
The satellites were built by OneWeb Satellites, a joint venture between Airbus and OneWeb.[103] The satellites are in a
Design
First generation
The satellites in the OneWeb constellation are approximately 150 kg in mass,[34] a bit smaller than the 2015 design estimate of 150 - 200 kg.[18][106] The 648 operational satellites are to operate in 12 near polar orbit planes at 1200 km altitude, at 86.4° orbital inclination. Initially 18 orbital planes with 49 satellites per plane was planned, requiring 882 satellites plus some spares, but improved satellite coverage capability allowed this to be reduced to 12 planes of 49 satellites requiring 588 satellites plus some on-orbit spares.[107][108][109]
Launches
On 27 February 2019, OneWeb successfully launched the first six of the 648 planned 1st generation satellites (600 active plus 48 on-orbit spares) into low Earth orbit from the Centre Spatial Guyanais using a Russian Soyuz ST-B rocket.[104][112]
In November 2019, OneWeb planned monthly launches to begin in January 2020,[113] although the first of these launches was delayed to early February 2020,[114] and bankruptcy and subsequent reorganisation delayed the fourth launch to 18 December 2020.[115]
Since the fourth launch, OneWeb has launched five times from Vostochny; once from Kourou; thrice from Baikonur; twice from Sriharikota and four times from Cape Canaveral
Active internet services
In May 2021, OneWeb said that its then current constellation (218 spacecraft), as well as an additional 36 satellites planned to launch on 1 July 2021, would be equipped to service northern regions, including the United Kingdom, Alaska, Northern Europe, Greenland, Iceland, the Arctic Seas, and Canada, by the end of the year.[132]
The company's 648-satellite network was planned for completion by late 2022, with OneWeb making global internet services available at that time.[132] Owing to launch delays from Roscosmos (see above) the constellation was not completed until mid 2023 following three launches in the first half of the year.[133]
By the end of June 2023, services were covering most of Europe and the United States. Global coverage is expected to be available by the end of 2023 once all satellites are in their final positions and the ground stations completed.[134] As of November 2024,
Concerns
End-of-life concerns
With such a large number of satellites being added to the already crowded low Earth orbit, plans for handling the satellites once the operational life of each satellite is completed are an important consideration. Concerns about adding to the existing space debris problem have been expressed.[12]
With OneWeb satellites having higher orbits than the competing Starlink megaconstellation satellites (which will deorbit in ~5 years without action due to atmospheric drag), OneWeb satellites will not passively deorbit in a reasonable timeframe. As such, each OneWeb satellite has fuel allocated to be able to actively deorbit at its end of life.[136] OneWeb satellites are also equipped with an Altius DogTag magnetic grappling fixture, to make it possible for another spacecraft to attach and change the orbit of satellites whose built-in deorbit functionality fails, though there does not currently exist commercial services to carry out this active debris removal service.[137]
Competition
As of November 2025, the major competitor is SpaceX's Starlink satellite network with more than 10,000 satellites (March 2026) and over 8 million customers. While OneWeb will only work with partner telephone companies,[142] SpaceX is also serving consumers directly.
Competition to OneWeb for producing smaller and lower-cost satellites, in general, is thought to come "from other makers of small satellites, thought to include companies such as Nevada-based Sierra Nevada Corp. and Britain's Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd." as of 2014.[15]
Amazon announced a large broadband internet satellite constellation proposal in April 2019, planning to launch up to 3,236 satellites in the next decade in what Amazon called "Project Kuiper" (now Amazon Leo), a satellite constellation that will work in concert[143]
See also
- Iridium satellite constellation — 82 operational satellites used to provide global satellite phone services.
- Orbcom satellite constellation — 29 operational satellites used to provide global asset monitoring and messaging services.
- Starlink satellite constellation — operational globally, with more than 10,000 satellites and more than 8 million subscribers.
- China national satellite internet project
- Lynk Global — a satellite-to-mobile-phone satellite constellation with the objective of coverage to traditional low-cost mobile devices
- Teledesic — a former (1990s) venture to accomplish broadband satellite internet services
- Viasat, Inc. — a current broadband satellite provider providing fixed, ground mobile, and airborne antennas
External links
References
- OneWeb. OneWeb Finalizes Executive Team Appointments Leading Up to the Launch of Global Constellation and Services 8 March 2018, retrieved 22 April 2019^
- £18m for OneWeb satellite constellation to deliver global communications UK Space Agency, 2019-02-18^
- Makiko Yamazaki. SoftBank to invest US$1 billion in U.S. venture OneWeb as part of US$50 billion pledge