OneWeb LLC

OneWeb LLC, formerly known as WorldVu Satellites, is a telecommunications company that was created with the goal of providing hundreds of millions of potential broadband users living in places where it does not exist.

History

2022

Eutelsat buys OneWeb

On July 25, 2022, Eutelsat Communications, which is one of the world's leading satellite operators, announced the purchase of OneWeb. The merger of satellite operators will create an international leader in satellite communications with complementary activities on GEO/LEO, Eutelsat said.

The combined company will be the first multi-orbit satellite operator to provide integrated solutions for GEO and LEO, and will take a unique position in the rapidly growing satellite communications market worth ~ $16 billion (2030). OneWeb is one of LEO's two global networks and has been growing rapidly since 2022, with a full rollout of services expected in 2023.

This agreement will be another step in the successful partnership between Eutelsat and OneWeb, which began with Eutelsat's OneWeb investment in April 2021 and strengthened with the Global Distribution Agreement announced in March 2022. Eutelsat owns a 23% stake in OneWeb, along with a consortium of high-profile public and private investors.

Under the terms of the discussed transaction, the shareholders of Eutelsat and OneWeb will control 50% of the shares of the combined group.

The deal will involve OneWeb shareholders transferring their stake in OneWeb to Eutelsat in exchange for additional issued shares in Eutelsat. The transaction must be approved by the necessary majority of Eutelsat shareholders and must obtain all relevant antitrust and regulatory approvals (including foreign investment).

There is no guarantee that these negotiations will lead to any agreement. Eutelsat will inform the market in the event of new information.^[1]

Roscosmos refuses to launch OneWeb satellites

On March 4, 2022, against the background of Russia's special operation in Ukraine and the imposition of sanctions by the United States, the head of Roscosmos Dmitry Rogozin said that the launch of Soyuz-2.1B with British OneWeb communications satellites from the Baikonur cosmodrome on March 5 was canceled. Roscosmos will also stop preparing for all next launches of OneWeb devices from the Kuru, Vostochny and Baikonur cosmodromes.

Collaboration with Marlink for onshore and offshore communications services

On February 8, 2022, OneWeb and Marlink, an intelligent networking company, joined forces to provide shipping, energy, corporate and humanitarian sectors with low-latency high-speed communications.

Marlink operates a global VSAT network, has market access, and provides remote communications to shipping, oil and gas, mining, and humanitarian organizations. The partnership with OneWeb will enable Marlink to further enhance the capabilities of its hybrid networking solutions and offer its customers truly differentiated, flexible, reliable and secure connectivity solutions optimized for a specific application scenario.

In 2022, both companies will focus their efforts on the energy sector in regions above the 50th parallel of the northern latitude, and from January 2023 on the shipping, energy, corporate and humanitarian sectors on a global scale. Together, OneWeb and Marlink will deploy, test and showcase several types of user terminals and connectivity services to customers from these market segments.

OneWeb has made significant progress in deploying its grouping. As of February 2022, there are 394 satellites in low Earth orbit (more than 60% of the planned number of satellites) that provide customer communications in remote regions of Alaska, Canada and the North Sea. The launches will continue through 2022 so the company can provide communications services to maritime carriers around the world in 2023.

2021

Roscosmos successfully launched the next 36 OneWeb satellites

On December 27, 2021, Roscosmos successfully launched the next 36 OneWeb satellites. This start was the 12th in a joint program with OneWeb, the press service of the state corporation reports.

During the flight of the Soyuz-2.1b launch vehicle, the satellites separated from the upper stage in several stages. The sequential separation of nine groups of spacecraft from the Russian upper stage took place in accordance with the cyclogram. During the autonomous flight, 11 active sections were provided: three activations of the cruise propulsion system (the latter for the purpose of delivering the upper stage to the "lead orbit") and eight activations of the stabilization, orientation and launch propulsion system necessary for the safe separation of satellites, Roskosmos said.

This is the first launch of 36 OneWeb satellites from Baikonur at once. Prior to that, 34 British communications satellites were withdrawn from the cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The launch should bring the number of spacecraft of the British company in orbit to 394.

In total, in 2021, Roscosmos launched 284 OneWeb satellites. Five launches out of eight were made from the Vostochny cosmodrome in the Amur Region.

At the end of August 2021, Roscosmos began work on optimizing flight trajectories from Baikonur, taking into account the fact that the size of OneWeb devices turned out to be slightly larger than expected. Launched in December 2021, the satellites were delivered to Baikonur at the end of November by An-124-100 aircraft.

The launch of the spacecraft was commissioned by the European launch service provider Arianespace (spacecraft launch operator OneWeb) and Starsem under contracts. Glavkosmosa It was carried out by the joint calculation of Roscosmos subsidiaries: Progress Rocket and Space Center, Ground S.A. Lavochkin Scientific and Production Association Space Infrastructure Operation Center, Russian space systems Glavkosmos, as well as foreign customers.^[2]

Raising $2.7 billion after bankruptcy filing

By November 16, 2021, OneWeb raised a total of $2.7 billion after declaring bankruptcy. The information was disclosed in the audited published statements.

OneWeb paid $49.3 million to bankers, lawyers and other consultants acting on behalf of its genuine shareholders in a deal worth $1 billion, during which the UK authorities and Indian company Bharti International saved the company from bankruptcy in 2020. Although the advisers were not named, Guggenheim Companions, the New York Financial Institute and US law agency Milbank were among those offering buyers for the deal. Shareholders disclosed in the chief executive's petition included Airbus, Hughes Community Programs, a subsidiary of EchoStar, Intelsat, Qualcomm, Virgin Group and SoftBank.

The annual report also reported that in the 12 months to the end of March 2021, OneWeb suffered losses of $58.3 million. No comparison was made with the previous year. Regarding buyers who brought OneWeb out of bankruptcy, the group noted the achievement of the value of its assets by $430.4 million compared to the price ticket.

OneWeb has struggled after a series of delays forced its largest shareholder, SoftBank, to abandon $2 billion in new funding to develop satellite television for the company's needs. In March 2020, OneWeb was declared bankrupt under Chapter 11 in the United States. However, after a $1 billion rescue by the UK government and Indian multinational conglomerate Bharti Enterprises, OneWeb received $2.7 billion in funding from buyers, including European satellite TV operator Eutelsat, South Korean conglomerate Hanwha and even SoftBank. By November 2021, investors value OneWeb at more than $3 billion.^[3]

Intention to localize production of components for OneWeb satellites in Kazakhstan

On November 10, 2021, OneWeb, an international satellite communications company, announced the signing on October 28 of the Protocol of Intent with Galam LLP for cooperation in localizing the production of components for the second generation of OneWeb satellites in the Republic of Kazakhstan. Read more here.

36 OneWeb satellites successfully launched into orbit by Russian rocket

On October 14, 2021, 36 OneWeb satellites were launched from the Vostochny cosmodrome. The spacecraft were delivered to orbit by the Soyuz-2.1b rocket.

The Raketa carrier launched from the cosmodrome at 12:40 Moscow time on Thursday, October 14, 2021. Then the flaps of the head fairing were released. At 12:45 Moscow time, the second stage of the rocket also separated.

The satellites were separated from the upper stage in several stages. They were put into a circular orbit 450 km high, then they independently settled in 12 given areas. The satellites will carry out the transition to an orbit with an altitude of 1200 km using their own engines.

As specified in the press service of Roscosmos, the sequential separation of nine groups of spacecraft from the upper stage took place in accordance with the flight cyclogram laid down by the specialists of the S. A. Lavochkin Scientific and Production Association.

The start from Vostochny [passed] normally. The separation of the head block and the first activation of the marching engine of the Fregat upper stage took place at the estimated time, - wrote the head of Roscosmos Dmitry Rogozin on his Twitter page.

The launch of the rocket was the sixth commercial launch from the Vostochny cosmodrome, which Roscosmos produces for the satellite constellation operator OneWeb by order of the European launch services provider Arianespace and the Russian-French company Starsem. It is assumed that the launched satellites will eventually create a satellite Internet network. As a result, the number of spacecraft of the British company in orbit on October 14, 2021 increased to 358.

On October 14, 2021, Dmitry Rogozin said that by the end of the year, launches of Russian missiles from the Vostochny cosmodrome are not expected.

With this launch [of the Soyuz-2.1b launch vehicle with the OneWeb satellite - approx. TAdviser], we completed a series of launches from Vostochny this year. But there is still a lot of work until the end of December: from Baikonur, Plesetsk and Kuru, - Rogozin wrote in his Telegram channel.[4]

Frequency differentiation with GPCS

Administrations svya­zi Great Britain Russia also signed agreements on the international frequency coordination which included frequency assignments of OneWeb of century. Russia Within this document OneWeb agreed FSUE "Kos­mi­ches­kaya Communications" with about mechanisms of an exception of mutual hindrances with high-elliptic group "Express-RV" which has to earn in 2025. It became known on October 11, 2021.

OneWeb has received permission from the International Telecommunication Union to use a certain radio frequency band and has already completed frequency coordination of that band with most countries, including Russia, said regional vice president for Russia Eutelsat S.A. Nikolay Orlov.

Nikolai Orlov clarified that back in August 2021, a meeting of the communications administrations of Great Britain and Russia (Ofcom and the Ministry of Digital Industry) was held, and representatives of NoLimit Electronics from both sides took part in it.

OneWeb Commercial Director in Russia Mikhail Kaigorodov clarified that the meeting of the British and Russian communications administrations was devoted to international frequency coordination and global frequency assignments of OneWeb became part of the agenda. Based on the agreement signed in August 2021 by Ofcom and the Ministry of Digital Industry, OneWeb now agrees with satellite operators in the Russian Federation who operate or plan to work in close frequency bands.

Mikhail Kaigorodov explained that OneWeb and GPKS agreed on mechanisms that would avoid mutual interference, in particular, identified sections of frequency bands to exclude radio interference. As of October 2021, OneWeb is completing similar negotiations with the second Russian owner of the orbital group, Gazprom Space Systems JSC.

By the end of 2021, the OneWeb system will begin operating in zones above 50 degrees north latitude, and by the end of 2022 it will receive global coverage. We believe that the turnover of such a grouping will be about $1 billion over three to five years, and Eutelsat will receive 10-20% of the global business of low-orbit groupings, continuing to develop the main business and receive income from geostationary satellites, reported by Nikolay Orlov.

Nikolai Orlov noted that, taking into account Eutelsat's investments, the total financing of the OneWeb project amounted to $6.3 billion, and this is enough for a full-scale deployment of the group. Eutelsat will largely determine the further development of the OneWeb^[5] grouping].

34 OneWeb satellites successfully launched into orbit by Russian rocket

On September 15, 2021, a new batch of OneWeb satellites was successfully launched into orbit by the Russian Soyuz-2.1b rocket launched from the Baikonur cosmodrome.

All 34 OneWeb communications satellites successfully separated from the Fregat upper stage and were launched into target orbits, Roscosmos said in a statement published on the state corporation's official Twitter blog.

Roscosmos clarified that a sequential separation of satellites was provided by the Fregat upper stage. This is the 100th launch of devices using this type of accelerator. After completion of the work, it will be reduced from near-earth orbit and flooded. Non-combustible elements will be flooded in the uninhabited part of the Pacific Ocean, the state corporation added.

All new satellites sent to orbit were taken into operation by the OneWeb operator - they got in touch and are at the specified points in accordance with the terms of reference. Delivering the satellites to locations required eight last-stage propulsion system inclusions to stabilize, orient, and provide the launch needed to safely separate the satellites.

The Raketa carrier launched from Baikonur at 21:07:19 Moscow time, the orbital block reached suborbital space after 9 minutes. By September 15, 2021, 322 OneWeb satellites had been launched into space.

OneWeb low-orbit spacecraft are designed to provide ground consumers with high-speed Internet directly through satellite communication. Roscosmos plans to conduct ten launches with such spacecraft in 2021. The devices will be in working orbit at a distance of 1.2 thousand km from the Earth, the service life of one satellite will be seven years.

The British non-governmental agency Ofcon expressed the opinion that constellations of satellites OneWeb, Starlink and other companies can block each other's signals. The agency plans to amend the companies' satellite licenses and will require them to coordinate the use of frequencies.^[6]

Russia launched 36 OneWeb satellites into orbit

On July 1, 2021, another 36 British communications satellites of OneWeb were launched from the Vostochny cosmodrome using the Fregat upper stage (held at 15:48 Moscow time).

About nine minutes after the launch of the rocket, the Fregat upper stage with satellites will separate from the third stage of the rocket. At the same time, the separation of satellites itself took place in nine stages of four devices - from 17:07 to 19:40 Moscow time.

All 36 spacecraft are in design orbits. The mission was completed successfully. Congratulations!, - wrote the general director of Roscosmos Dmitry Rogozin in his Telegram channel.

This is the 11th launch of the Russian space rocket in 2021, it should bring the number of spacecraft of the British company in orbit to 254. As specified earlier in the company, this launch will provide communication to all regions north of 50 degrees north latitude.

The previous launch of OneWeb satellites took place on May 28, then the Russian launch vehicle also launched 36 vehicles of the British company into space. This is the fourth launch of OneWeb satellites in 2021, before they took place at the end of March, April and May. According to Rogozin, the creation of the first generation OneWeb system will be completed in late 2022 - early 2023.

Earlier, Dmitry Rogozin reported that in 2021 at the Vostochny cosmodrome it is planned to carry out three launches under the federal space program, including the launch of Luna-25.

In early July 2021, Dmitry Baranov, General Director of the Progress Rocket and Space Center, announced at the construction of a combat crew, which provided pre-launch training and the launch of the next Soyuz-2.1b with the Fregat block, that three more similar "machines" are already at the technical complex of the cosmodrome. The next launch, according to him, is planned here at the end of September - the beginning of October 2021.^[7]

Raising $500 million from Bharti Global

At the end of June 2021, it became known that OneWeb had raised another $500 million in investments from the Indian telecommunications giant Bharti Global. Thus, the total financial support of Bharti to the British satellite operator will reach $1.5 billion (although part of the funds was also provided by the Indian government), and the total amount of funds raised by the startup will be $2.4 billion.

Under the terms of the deal, which was announced at the end of June 2021, Bharti will increase its stake in OneWeb to 39%, and the share of the UK government, French company Eutelsat and Japanese SoftBank will be slightly more than 19% each.

According to Sunil Bharti Mittal, executive chairman of OneWeb and telecoms firm Bharti Airtel, the investment will "dispel ongoing questions over the financing of the project." At the same time, he assured that Bharti's investments were "neither a necessity nor an obligation" - they should be considered simply as a chance for someone to join OneWeb shareholders.

According to the Financial Times, OneWeb's competitors doubt the viability of the OneWeb business model, given the billions of dollars in investment that companies need to deploy a grouping in low Earth orbit, and the path to profitability is still far from clear. In addition, OneWeb has to compete with the projects of billionaires Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos to provide Internet services from space.

Sunil Bharti Mittal, in turn, states that OneWeb has obvious opportunities to successfully operate in the commercial market. As an example, he cited an agreement with the British telecommunications giant BT, which involves studying the potential of Internet access for rural areas in Britain and other countries.

The company has received offers from several potential investors and is still in talks with "three very serious people," Mittal said^[8]

Successful launch of the Soyuz launch vehicle with 36 OneWeb communications satellites from the Vostochny cosmodrome

On April 26, 2021, OneWeb successfully launched 36 of its satellites. The Raketa carrier was launched from the Vostochny cosmodrome in the Amur Region.

The rocket launched the Fregat upper stage, which delivered satellites to orbits about 450 km high on a suborbital trajectory. In order to bring all satellites to design points, the Frigate needed two engine starts. The devices were separated by groups, a total of nine branches took place. The entire flight took about four hours.

All satellites are normally launched into target orbits and taken under the control of the customer. After the completion of the disengagement and separation of spacecraft, the Fregat upper stage will be removed from orbit, and non-combustible elements will be flooded in the uninhabited part of the Pacific Ocean, Roscosmos said in a statement.

The emblem of this launch of OneWeb satellites depicts Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin in honor of the 60th anniversary of his flight into space, which was celebrated in the world on April 12. This is the second launch from Vostochny in 2021 and the third launch of OneWeb vehicles from this cosmodrome. It was commissioned by the European launch services provider Arianespace (it entered into an agreement with OneWeb for 21 launches of Soyuz launch vehicles) and the Russian-French company Starsem.

Held on April 26, 2021, it increased the number of OneWeb satellites in orbit to 182. In total, the company intends to put 882 devices into space. OneWeb low-orbit spacecraft are designed to provide ground consumers with high-speed Internet directly through satellite communication.

SpaceX has the largest constellation of small communications satellites in orbit, with the total approaching 1,500. In early April 2021, Elon Musk's company sent another batch of 60 Internet satellites into space.^[9]

Creation of a subsidiary in Kazakhstan for state projects

In mid-April 2021, it became known about the creation of OneWeb Kazakhstan. This "daughter" of OneWeb will deal with state projects in Kazakhstan. Read more here.

Raising $400 million investment to launch 500 satellites

In mid-January 2021, OneWeb raised $400 million in investments, which will allow the company to complete the launch of another 500 satellites required to provide high-quality satellite Internet by 2022. SoftBank Group and Hughes Network Systems invested in OneWeb.

OneWeb's mission is to bring everyone together everywhere. We have made rapid progress in reopening the business since settling cases related to Chapter 11 [of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code] in November, "OneWeb CEO Neil Masterson said. - We welcome the investment by SoftBank and Hughes as further proof of progress toward our goal.

The deal gives SoftBank a seat on OneWeb's board.

We are excited to support OneWeb as it increases capacity and accelerates towards commercialization, "said SoftBank Chief Executive Officer Masayesha Son. - We are thrilled to continue our partnership with Bharti, the UK Government and Hughes to help OneWeb fulfill its mission to transform internet access worldwide.

The Hughes president added that the funds raised will help realize the full potential of OneWeb by connecting corporate, government and mobile customers, especially with multi-transport services that complement Hughes' own geostationary offerings to meet and accelerate broadband demand globally.

In December 2020, OneWeb has already launched 36 new satellites, the total number of satellites in orbit has increased to 110. Then, according to the company, approximately $400 million was required to launch the remaining devices, which was collected as part of the last investment round. The total investment in OneWeb is $1.4 billion.^[10]

2020

Launch of a rocket with 36 satellites from the Vostochny cosmodrome

On December 18, 2020 Vostochny cosmodrome , the Soyuz-2.1b launch vehicle was launched with the Fregat upper stage and 36 OneWeb communication satellites on board. In "" Roskosmos reported that the start and separation of the upper stage from the third stage of the carrier took place in normal mode. All satellite vehicles have been successfully launched into orbit.

Foreign partners have confirmed the successful completion of the mission and the launch of satellites into given orbits to provide users with high-speed Internet, Roscosmos reports. General Director of Glavkosmos Dmitry Loskutov noted satisfaction with the launch and the expectation of further development of the commercial segment of launches from the Amur cosmodrome.

We are talking about the first fully commercial launch of spacecraft from the Vostochny cosmodrome. It was also the first launch implemented by Arianespace for OneWeb from the first Russian civilian cosmodrome.

Roscosmos plans to carry out approximately six launches of British OneWeb communications satellites from the Vostochny cosmodrome in 2021. This was stated on December 18, 2020 by the general director of the state corporation Dmitry Rogozin.

The load on Vostochny next year will be much higher: these are the launches of OneWeb (there will be six of them approximately, maybe even more), this is a lunar mission, which is extremely important, - he noted (quote from TASS).

Due to the later start of launches and suspension of work after bankruptcy, OneWeb noticeably lagged behind its main competitor, Starlink, from SpaceX. By December 18, 2020, the company launched more than 950 satellites and began open beta testing of the service in the northern United States and southern Canada. The Internet via Starlink operates at 50-150 megabits per second and a latency of 20-40 milliseconds.^[11]

Avoiding bankruptcy, preparing for the launch of new satellites

In mid-November 2020, it became known that the British satellite operator OneWeb avoided bankruptcy in accordance with Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code.

OneWeb is now officially owned by a consortium consisting of the UK government and India's Bharti Global. Neil Masterson has been named CEO of OneWeb, replacing outgoing chief executive Adrian Steckel, who will remain on the company's board.

The company plans to conduct another launch of a group of communications satellites (36 units) into orbit on December 17 using the Soyuz-2.1b launch vehicle with the Fregat upper stage. OneWeb has already launched 74 satellites into orbit in three previous launches that occurred before the bankruptcy filing.

OneWeb also said that its joint venture with Airbus has resumed operations in Florida and will continue to produce new spacecraft for future launches. The company intends to launch additional satellites during 2021 and 2022. Commercial services based on the satellite network will begin, according to plans, to be deployed in certain regions of the world at the end of 2021, and the global launch of the system is scheduled for 2022.

The deputy commander of the headquarters of the US Space Forces, General David Thompson, said that the US Department of Defense is considering using the services of a British operator to improve the communication of the military in the Arctic. According to him, in this project, the Pentagon intends to provide financial support to OneWeb.

OneWeb filed for bankruptcy in March 2020, including due to the impact of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. The operator also negotiated investments that would finance further activities, but no agreement was reached.^[12]

OneWeb withdraws from a joint project with the Russian satellite system "Gonets"

In early October 2020, it became known about the withdrawal of the bankrupt British company OneWeb from a joint project with the Russian JSC Satellite System Gonets. Read more here.

Hughes Network Systems joins OneWeb buyer consortium

In July 2020, it was announced that the American satellite broadband service provider Hughes Network Systems will invest $50 million in a consortium to acquire the British company OneWeb, which previously filed for bankruptcy.

"Hughes today announced its participation in the auction-winning consortium led by the British government and Bharti, which will acquire OneWeb due to bankruptcy. Hughes gave his agreement in principle to invest $50 million in the consortium, "the message says.

Previously, the American company collaborated with OneWeb.

$1 billion for OneWeb: Details of stake sale to British government and India's Bharti revealed

In early July 2020, OneWeb reported that the British government and Indian mobile operator Bharti Global saved the company from bankruptcy. New investment from UK taxpayers and other commercial partners could give OneWeb a second chance.

OneWeb explained that after filing for bankruptcy protection, it received funding in the amount of $1 billion: $500 million was allocated by the UK government for the development of satellite communications, and another $500 million was provided by Bharti Global for recapitalization. In a press release, the company noted that the new funding "will ensure the full deployment of the OneWeb satellite communications system," but did not specify whether previous plans to launch 650 satellites into low Earth orbit remain in force.

The deal will allow the company to complete construction of a global satellite constellation that will provide expanded broadband and other services to countries around the world. The deal also opens up strategic opportunities for the UK in a wide range of other applications in collaboration with our international allies, OneWeb said.

The British government will lead a special consortium along with Bharti to complete the purchase. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2020, provided the U.S. Bankruptcy Court approves its terms. Bharti is expected to provide commercial and operational leadership in OneWeb, and the production itself, or at least part of it, will be moved to English land in the future as part of the new arrangements. However, a spokesperson for Airbus, a partner at OneWeb, declined to comment on the possibility that production of OneWeb satellites would move from Florida to the UK.

Before the bankruptcy, OneWeb raised a total of $3.4 billion in shares and debt receipts to finance its project, but failed to convince its largest sponsor SoftBank to invest additional capital. The company launched 74 satellites, but had to file for bankruptcy due to financial difficulties.^[13]

British government buys stake in OneWeb for $0.5 billion

At the end of June 2020, it became known that the British government is buying a stake in OneWeb for $0.5 billion and will now own 20% of the company. This decision was approved by Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Finance Minister Rishi Sunak.

Experts interviewed by The Telegraph call the authorities' plan "meaningless," since OneWeb does not even produce the type of satellites that the country needs after Brexit. The investment should help the UK maintain access to the EU's Galileo satellite navigation system, which it once participated in. However, OneWeb uses a completely different type of satellite network.

According to analyst Giles Thorne, every major positioning system currently in use - American GPS, Russian Glonass, Chinese BeiDou and Galileo, an EU project - is in medium Earth orbit. OneWeb satellites, 74 of which have already been launched, are in low Earth orbit, only at an altitude of 1200 km.

Dr Bleddyn Bowen, a space policy expert at the University of Leicester, said:

If you need GPS for military-grade systems, that is, an encrypted, secure network that transmits signals up to centimeters, I'm afraid OneWeb satellites will not work in this case.

The idea for OneWeb is similar to StarlinkElon Musk: a mega constellation of satellites in low Earth orbit that are used to connect people on earth to the Internet. Bowen believes that OneWeb's talented lobbyists simply convinced the government that they would be able to completely redesign a number of satellites for navigation load, although they were originally developed for a completely different purpose.

Thorne suggests that investment was made less on the basis of sound reflection than to assert a "nationalist agenda." OneWeb is formally a British business with British headquarters. Earlier Great Britain , she planned to create her own global navigation satellite system, which, according to independent experts, could cost £3-4 billion.^[14]

Requesting the FCC to increase the number of satellites to 48,000

On May 27, 2020, it became known that the communication company OneWeb, which aims to provide access to the network of Internet users around the world, sent a request to the Federal Commission on (communications USA FCC) to increase the number satellites in its grouping to 48,000. More satellites will allow OneWeb to provide flexibility in meeting growing connectivity needs.

The global restrictions imposed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic emphasized the importance of high-quality and uninterrupted broadband for the economy, business and society as a whole. Low Earth orbit satellite constellations are capable of providing communications in the most remote and inaccessible areas, as well as in strategically important places such as the Arctic, to ensure safety and security, meet government needs, as well as other consumer segments that need sustainable high-speed communications with low signal latency.

In 2017, OneWeb became a low-orbit satellite constellation that received approval to provide communications services in the United States as part of the FCC's first licensing phase for Ku/Ka-band systems. Since then, OneWeb has made progress in creating its system, launching 74 satellites in May 2020, and deploying a significant part of the ground infrastructure. In August 2019, the OneWeb system met the requirements of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and successfully exercised its rights to use the global priority spectrum in the Ku- and Ka-bands. This request, related in part to the FCC announcing the second processing step for Ku/Ka-band systems, is sent in order to update the existing permission issued by OneWeb by the United States and bring it in line with the latest system specifications, as well as increase the number of satellites in the constellation.

We have always believed that low-orbit satellites should be part of a convergent broadband network strategy to allow businesses and government entities to provide the connectivity they need, offer more pathways to 5G and become closer to the IoT future. This significant expansion of the OneWeb grouping will provide long-term flexibility and ensure our readiness to meet growing demand and future technological changes, said Adrian Stekel, CEO of OneWeb

In March, under the influence of the situation with the coronavirus pandemic, OneWeb was forced to file for bankruptcy in accordance with Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code. As of May 27, 2020, the company continues the restructuring and sale process.

OneWeb bankruptcy disrupts launch of 10 Russian missiles

The bankruptcy of OneWeb disrupts the launch of 10 Russian space rockets, the head of Roscosmos Dmitry Rogozin said on April 19, 2020. According to him, negotiations are underway with the British company. Read more here.

Bankruptcy filing after failure to obtain funding

At the end of March 2020, OneWeb filed for bankruptcy. The company, as she herself explains, was never able to get funding that would ensure it launched the remaining satellites and ground stations.

The reason for this, the developer of the global satellite system Internet calls the global economic crisis associated with the pandemic of the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. According to the newspaper, Financial Times OneWeb tried to invest $2 billion from,  SoftBank but the deal fell through a few hours before the launch of 34 satellites on March 21, 2020.

According to the head of OneWeb, Adrian Stekel, the company had to lay off many employees. He also noted that the startup team is still convinced of the "socio-economic value" of the project, and therefore the company will seek to sell its business at the maximum price.

Today is a very difficult day for OneWeb. We hope that at some point we can find a way forward that allows us to finish our mission. Now I am forced to announce that most of our employees will be reduced, and the rest will be engaged in maintaining the existing network, - concluded Stekel.

OneWeb has filed for voluntary bankruptcy and intends to continue selling its business. A related petition under Chapter 11 of the bankruptcy code has gone to court in the Southern District of New York.

Pavel Cherenkov, General Director of Satellite System Gonets JSC,  told TASS on March 28 that the bankruptcy and reorganization of OneWeb will not yet affect the work of the joint Russian-British enterprise. 

OneWeb lenders won't get their money. This was stated by the company itself. The largest creditor for unsecured debts of OneWeb is Arianespace with more than $238 million.^[15]

Cutting 10% of the state and being on the verge of bankruptcy

In March 2020, it became known about the layoffs in OneWeb, as well as that the company is on the verge of bankruptcy. The satellite Internet operator for inaccessible areas confirmed job cuts, but did not specify the number of job positions being liquidated.

About 10% of the total number of people working for OneWeb were laid off, according to TechCrunch. The company itself explained that staff cuts are a necessary measure that is being taken due to the economic crisis.

Unfortunately, we believe it is inevitable that we will have delays in the launch schedule and satellite production due to increased travel restrictions and disruption to supply chains around the world. Therefore, we made a difficult decision to reduce some positions in order to focus on core activities. We regret that we had to take this step, and will do everything possible to support the victims, "OneWeb said.[16]

On March 19, 2020, Bloomberg reported on the economic problems of OneWeb. According to the publication, the British company is considering filing for bankruptcy.

If OneWeb really goes bankrupt and refuses to launch new satellites, this could become a serious problem for Roscosmos, said Ivan Moiseev, scientific director of the Space Policy Institute.

This is very unpleasant for us, because according to the plan, OneWeb was supposed to purchase from us a billion services for launching these devices. And we have just begun this program, somewhere, probably, one hundred million of this billion received. If it goes bankrupt, then for us it will be the loss of the remnants of the global space market by launches that we still held. There will be very small things left. We had customers, but they all went to SpaceX. And now Khrunichev has no orders at all, so for us this bankruptcy will hit harder than OneWeb, "he said in a conversation with BFM.

The third launch brought the number of satellites to 74 pieces

On March 22, 2020, it became known that the global communication company OneWeb, which aims to provide users around the world with access to the Internet, has officially confirmed the successful launch of the next batch of 34 satellites into orbit. The launch was carried out on March 21 at 20:06 Moscow time from the Baikonur cosmodrome on the Soyuz-2.1b launch vehicle. OneWeb satellites separated from the rocket in nine groups.

The third successful launch, which brought the number of OneWeb satellites in low Earth orbit to 74.

The first test launch of 6 satellites took place on February 28, 2019 from the Kourou Cosmodrome in French Guiana. On February 7, 2020, the first launch of 2020 was carried out from the Baikonur cosmodrome, marking the beginning of the launch campaign. Each device is an integral part of the high-speed global satellite broadband network, which by the end of 2020 year will provide partial access to the Internet, and 2021 year - full 24-hour coverage of the Earth.

{{quote 'author = said OneWeb CEO Adrian Stekel' After the global outbreak of COVID-19, people around the world are trying to continue their usual way of life and work online. In the current realities, we see a greater need for OneWeb services than ever before. Access to high-speed internet is a "lifeline" that allows people to work, continue their education, keep abreast of important information and keep in touch with each other. The crisis demonstrated the urgent need for widespread connectivity and exposed important communication flaws in many organizations. Our satellite network is poised to fill many of these critical gaps in global communications infrastructure. I am very proud of our team and our Russian partners who continue to cooperate to bring our ambitious plans to life. Russia has been and remains a leading space power, it has rich experience not only in space exploration, but also in the creation of spacecraft, and today's successful launch on the Soyuz launch vehicle once again confirms this fact, }}

{{quote 'author = Dmitry Loskutov, General Director of JSC Glavkosmos, noted|We are grateful for such coordinated and effective work of Russian cooperation enterprises together with our foreign partners in such an important and ambitious project as OneWeb. The work on global projects is always encouraging, and a high level of interaction and trust allows us to confidently look to the future, }}

The OneWeb satellite network will provide a combination of high data rates, low latency, global pole-to-pole coverage, and support for a wide range of user devices for various markets.

OneWeb satellites will communicate with the Earth in the Ka and Ku bands. The Ka band will be used for communication between satellites and gateway stations that will provide communication between the OneWeb system and the Internet, and the Ku band for communication between satellites and user devices, which will provide Internet access for end users.

OneWeb - among the European companies that attracted the most investments in 5 years

Plans to launch 34 satellites on February 7 from the Baikonur cosmodrome

On January 30, 2020, it became known that the global communications company OneWeb officially confirmed that the launch of 34 satellites will take place on February 7, 2020 at 00:42 (in to Moscow time) Baikonur Cosmodrome from (). Kazakhstan

This event marks the beginning of regular launches, which will not only become a campaign to put civilian satellites into orbit, but will also allow OneWeb to quickly increase the constellation of the first phase of 548 satellites. Each device is an integral part of the high-speed global satellite broadband network, which by the end of 2020 year will provide partial access to the Internet, and 2021 year - full 24-hour coverage of the Earth.

During the first launch of 2020, 34 OneWeb satellites will be on board the Soyuz launch vehicle. Arianespace will produce a launch that will launch satellites into near-polar orbit at an initial altitude of 450 kilometers, from where they will rise to their target orbit with an altitude of 1200 kilometers and become part of the OneWeb global communications network. All satellites are manufactured by OneWeb Satellites, a joint venture between OneWeb and Airbus Defense and Space.

"Space for All" - the theme of the first launch of the 2020 OneWeb launch program, emphasizes the fact that Space is increasingly becoming a relevant source of communication for everyday life.

Memorandum with the AIFC to accelerate the provision of satellite broadband in Kazakhstan

On January 27, 2020, it became known that OneWeb, a communication company whose purpose is to provide communication to "everyone, regardless of location," announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (Memorandum) with the Astana International Financial Center (AIFC), a financial center in Central Asia, in order to accelerate the provision of universal broadband communication in Kazakhstan.

The memorandum marks the beginning of a partnership aimed at achieving two important goals in Kazakhstan and Central Asia: providing Kazakhstan with the first high-speed broadband satellite communication with low signal delay and creating a technical node in the country to provide OneWeb communication services throughout Central Asia.

The memorandum was signed by AIFC Governor Kairat Kelimbetov and OneWeb CEO Adrian Steckel. They discussed the role of OneWeb to promote the implementation of the key government program "Digital Kazakhstan" and other initiatives to expand cooperation between OneWeb and Kazakhstan.

The Digital Kazakhstan program is aimed at providing high-speed broadband Internet access throughout the Republic of Kazakhstan by 2022, thereby contributing to improving the standard of living of citizens and developing the country's economy through digital technologies. To achieve this goal, Digital Kazakhstan is designed to expand the country's telecommunications networks and attaches priority to providing broadband access to the world network through satellite communication in 6600 rural and remote settlements.

OneWeb plans to attract local telecom operators among its distribution partners to provide services for ubiquitous high-speed broadband Internet access of "such optical fiber communication" in the private and public sectors, including schools, hospitals and other enterprises and institutions in Kazakhstan.

Also, the creation of a technical hub in Kazakhstan, which will serve the entire Central Asian region, using the existing space communications infrastructure of the Republic of Kazakhstan, is being considered. OneWeb is considering creating a joint venture in the AIFC jurisdiction to ensure the operation of the Central Asian technical node.

OneWeb supports Kazakhstan's desire to digitally transform its economy and become a pioneer in the introduction of modern satellite communications technologies, contributing to the further development of Kazakhstan as an innovative state, especially in New Space technologies, which will give an additional impetus to the development of satellite communications.

I am very pleased that the AIFC and OneWeb have become strategic partners, and we see this as the basis for a broader partnership with Kazakhstan. The government of Kazakhstan, like OneWeb, sees the importance of overcoming digital inequality and ensuring the digitalization of its economy using modern innovative satellite technologies, said Adrian Steckel, CEO of OneWeb

2019

Sending the first batch of satellites to the Baikonur cosmodrome

On December 17, 2019, it became known that the first batch of satellites of the British OneWeb project was sent to the Baikonur cosmodrome.

The satellites were delivered to the site using the An-124-100 aircraft. In the near future, preparations for spacecraft will begin for launch, which is scheduled for January 30, 2020.

OneWeb (formerly known as WorldVU) is a British company whose goal is to create an international satellite mobile data network that will provide high-speed Internet access to everyone. In total, the company wants to deploy a constellation of about 600 low-orbit satellites in low-Earth orbit and begin commercial operation in 2020. By 2021, OneWeb intends to provide round-the-clock coverage of the Earth.

The launch of spacecraft of the OneWeb group is carried out by Glavkosmos (a subsidiary of Roscosmos) under contracts with the French company Arianespace.

In February 2019, six OneWeb satellites were launched from the Kourou Cosmodrome in French Guiana on the Soyuz-ST rocket.

Also in April 2020, the first commercial launch from Vostochny^[17] is planned to ^[18].

Detailed plan to deploy high-speed Internet services in the Arctic

On September 4, 2019, OneWeb announced a detailed plan to deploy high-speed, low-latency Internet services in the Arctic. OneWeb will deploy an IT infrastructure with a total bandwidth of 375 Gbps in the region north of 60 north latitude parallels. The services will be available in 2020, and the resources allocated will be enough to connect to the Internet at a speed comparable to the speed of a fiber optic connection, hundreds of thousands of families, aviation and shipping workers - millions of people in all across the Arctic.

OneWeb's dense and flexible satellites polar orbit coverage combined with high-speed channels communications and low latency will provide excellent connectivity across 48% of the Arctic, where broadband Internet is not available. More recently, OneWeb has already demonstrated the capabilities of its system in test HD video broadcasts: its first six satellites provided high connection speed and low latency of 40 milliseconds.

The global Arctic Internet coverage from OneWeb will be deployed in the early stages, and the infrastructure capacity will be 200 times the capacity of the planned systems. Access to the main package of services will be provided towards the end of 2020, and full permanent coverage will appear in early 2021, which will provide full coverage of even the most remote sections of the Arctic Circle.

{{quote 'author = says Alaska State Senator Lisa Murkowski|Access to the network in a modern economy is critical. The availability of affordable and reliable broadband as the Arctic is developed will make this process safer and more stable, and will create additional opportunities for the development of next-generation infrastructure in this dynamic region of the planet. }}

Access to communication services is a critical need and basic human right. Our satellite constellation will provide universal high-speed coverage of the entire Arctic before any other of the proposed systems, which will meet the needs for widespread Internet access throughout the region. 'noted Adrian Steckel, CEO of OneWeb '

The Arctic, where millions of people live, has become an increasingly important focus of many important industries. The full-fledged OneWeb global network will simplify intelligent cargo delivery, provide aviation with communications, help collect climate data and contribute to the development of the digital economy in the region.

Industrial technologies will accelerate the growth of the Arctic as a key economic region, significantly improving the security and communication situation, as well as promoting education, health care and the economy in the most remote corners.

The OneWeb system is already operational in Norway and Alaska, where its ground antennas will be fully operational by January 2020 and begin serving the Arctic region. The name of one of the first operating OneWeb satellites - Nanuq-Sat - is translated from Inuktitut as "polar bear." The name was invented by children, residents of Anchorage, Alaska, USA.

Raising $1.25 billion in investments for mass satellite launches

On March 18, 2019, OneWeb announced a $1.25 billion investment, the largest volume in the company's history. Taking into account these investments, the British startup received from investors a total of more than $3.4 billion.

The funding round announced on March 18, 2019 involved SoftBank, Qualcomm, the Rwandan government as well as Mexican group Grupo Salinas. Other investors also included Intelsat, Bharti Enterprises and Virgin Group.

This round of financing, which is the largest for us at the moment, is a loan of confidence of our key investors in the company's business model and its competitive advantages, "said OneWeb CEO Adrian Steckel.

OneWeb is going to spend the collected funds on the mass production of satellites. The investment will make the launch of broadband internet in 2021 "inevitable," Stekel said.

Starting in October 2019, OneWeb intends to launch 30 satellites each month to create a network of 650 satellites in low Earth orbit by 2021. Satellites should provide ubiquitous high-speed internet, from planes and cruise ships to schools, ambulance centres and homes. According to the company's plans, by 2027 an orbital constellation of about 900 satellites will be created, thanks to which fast Internet will work on the entire planet with minimal delays.

In 2019, OneWeb plans to double its production capacity at a new plant in Florida. The company abandoned plans to fund the remainder of its project by building up debt, according to Adrian Stekel. Such a model would lead to the fact that the first customers would start using the OneWeb Internet at reduced prices, and removing these discounts in the future will not be easy. This situation will greatly limit the possibilities for the development of the service, the head of the company believes.^[19]

Launch of the first 6 satellites using the Soyuz ST-B rocket

On February 28, 2019, it became known that Arianespace launched the first six devices of satellite Internet the global OneWeb system using the Soyuz ST-B rocket. If the pilot operation of these devices is recognized as successful, regular launches will begin from the end of 2019 to deploy a full-fledged orbital constellation of 650 satellites.

The OneWeb project is a global satellite internet system consisting of several hundred low-orbit satellites as well as terrestrial base stations. The initial plan calls for the deployment of 650 satellites in circular orbits with an altitude of 1,200 kilometers. It is assumed that thanks to such orbits and the number of satellites, the system will be able to provide Internet access to almost anywhere in the Earth with a throughput of 50 megabits per second and a delay of several tens of milliseconds. As the main customers, the company considers residents of hard-to-reach areas with low-quality or no Internet connection, as well as transport such as ships and airplanes.

Roscosmos played an active role in the OneWeb project. First, the corporation signed a contract for 21 launches of system satellites on Soyuz rockets from the Kuru, Baikonur and Vostochny cosmodromes. Secondly, Roscosmos owns a controlling stake in the OneVeb joint venture, which is responsible for the operation of the system in Russia. However, this work is still in question, because the State Commission on Radio Frequencies did not allocate frequencies for the operation of the system, and in addition, the company will have to obtain permission to work in Russia in accordance with the latest version of the Rules for the use of satellite communication networks in Russia under the jurisdiction of foreign states.

The Soyuz ST-B rocket with the six first OneWeb satellites launched from the Kourou cosmodrome on February 28 at 00:37 Moscow time. The first six satellites will be put into a polar orbit with an inclination of 87.77 degrees, with the satellites separating from the upper stage while in orbit with an altitude of 1000 kilometers, although the height of their working orbit is 1200 kilometers. In the event of a successful test of the first satellites and ground-based communication terminals, full deployment will begin at the end of 2019. It is assumed that up to 32 satellites will be launched in one launch of the rocket, and the constellation will begin to provide full coverage of the Earth with a signal in 2021^[20] have^[21].

€20.55 million investment from UK space agency

As reported by Advanced Television on February 18, 2019, the UK Space Agency through the European Space Agency allocated OneWeb £18 million (or €20.55 million) as "assistance to the development of the next generation satellite constellation." As you know, the launch of the first OneWeb satellites is scheduled for February 26, 2019.

The UK space agency's investment will also aim to develop new principles of automation and artificial intelligence to control the satellite constellation and its interaction with terrestrial networks for global 5G coverage.

This investment of £18 million will be used to solve serious technical problems within the framework of the project, thanks to which the UK will be at the forefront of advanced research and development, - explained the Minister for Science of Great Britain Chris Skidmore, adding that people already take high-speed Internet for granted, but for many regions of the world this type of connection is still unavailable.[22] million[23]

2018

RCC Progress manufactured six Soyuz-2 missiles for OneWeb

RCC Progress, in the framework of the contract for the launch of mobile satellite spacecraft OneWeb, manufactured six Soyuz-2 launch vehicles. Three space rockets have already been sent to the Baikonur Cosmodrome and the Guiana Space Center.

The protocol for 21 launch of Soyuz-2 launch vehicles was signed in the summer of 2015 in France. The signing of contracts to ensure the terms of the protocol began in 2016. Launches are planned from three cosmodromes: Baikonur, Vostochny, GCC.

The target load is small devices up to 150 kg with a Ku-band phased radiating grille. The contract provides for the launch of 672 spacecraft of the basic satellite constellation into a target near-polar orbit with an altitude of 1200 km as part of a complex head unit weighing up to 5.5 tons per launch. The spacecraft for the demonstration launch scheduled for the end of 2018 will be manufactured by the parent company of Airbus Defense and Space Corporation in Toulouse, and the rest - the joint venture OneWeb and Airbus Defense and Space.

A plan to reduce the size of a satellite constellation by 300 devices

In December 2018, it became known that OneWeb plans to reduce the size of its satellite constellation by 300 spacecraft. Thus, the operator returns to the initially announced number of 600 satellites.

2016

SoftBank gets 40% of the company for $1 billion

Startup OneWeb, which aims to eliminate "digital inequality" and provide the entire population of the planet, including in hard-to-reach places, with high-speed Internet, received at the end of 2016 an investment of $1 billion from SoftBank. Thus, the Japanese telecommunications corporation became the largest shareholder of OneWeb, its share was 40%. Other co-owners include companies such as Airbus, Qualcomm, Coca-Cola, Virgin Group. The total cost of the space project is $2.5 billion^[24].

In 2020, it is planned to create and launch 640 satellites. The spacecraft plant built by OneWeb and Airbus in Florida will begin operations in 2018 and will produce 15 satellites a week. The cost of one device will be approximately $1 million.

They plan to establish a space communication system with the help of 21 Soyuz family launch vehicles, which will be supplied. Russia The agreement has already been signed between OneWeb and the French Arianespace. It is planned that in the period 2017-2019 Baikonur Kazakhstan , 672 small spacecraft (each weighing about 150 kg) will be launched from cosmodromes (), Vostochny (Russia) and Kourou (French Guiana) into a near-polar orbit with an altitude of 1.2 thousand km, which should provide high-speed (up to 10 Tb/s) access to the to the Internet world. In 2018, the first 10 satellites will be launched. OneWeb will begin distributing high-speed Internet in 2019. OneWeb founder Greg Weiler said that by 2025 the company should already have 100 million subscribers, and the project will reach full capacity by 2027.

OneWeb competitor SpaceXIlon Musk announced similar plans back in January 2015. Musk then estimated the project to provide high-speed Internet to all residents of the planet at $10 billion. According to the SpaceX concept, 4.5 thousand satellites are planned to be launched into Earth orbit, the data transfer rate will be 1 Gb/s. In mid-November this year, Reuters announced Musk's plans, citing SpaceX documents filed with the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

Creation of OneWeb Satellites - joint venture with Airbus Defense and Space

Airbus Defense and Space and OneWeb in February 2015 announced the creation of a joint venture, OneWeb Satellites, which will have to develop and build 900 satellites necessary to launch a global high-speed Internet access system. Read more here.

2015: Soyuz rocket launch contract with OneWeb satellites

In 2015, Russia signed a contract to launch Soyuz missiles with OneWeb satellites between 2017 and 2019. As a result, satellite launches were repeatedly postponed, including due to their unavailability.

2012: Founding of WorldVu. 648 Satellite Launch Plan

The company was founded as WorldVu in 2012 by former Google manager Greg Wyler in the UK. Initially, OneWeb planned to create a network of 648 low-orbit satellites that will cover the entire planet and allow it to provide Internet access service in places where it has not yet existed, in particular, in some regions of Africa. Subsequently, the number of satellites was adjusted several times.

Notes