Country for PR: United States
Contributor: PR Newswire New York
Friday, July 02 2021 - 07:33
AsiaNet
OneWeb Completes its 'Five to 50' Mission to Cover Regions North of 50 degrees Latitude including UK, Canada, Alaska and Arctic Region
LONDON, July 2, 2021 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ --

    --  OneWeb confirms successful launch and contact with all 36 satellites 
        launched earlier today, bringing total in-orbit constellation to 254 
        satellites 
    --  High-speed connectivity to be available from the North Pole to the 50th 
        parallel -- includes the United Kingdom, Canada, Alaska and Arctic 
        Region 
    --  On track for full global coverage by June 2022 with a LEO constellation 
        of 648 satellites

OneWeb, the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite communications company, today 
announced the successful launch of another 36 satellites to mark the completion 
of its 'Five to 50' mission. With this major milestone, the Company is ready to 
deliver connectivity across the United Kingdom, Canada, Alaska, Northern 
Europe, Greenland, and the Arctic Region. 

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1556284/OneWeb_Launch.jpg 
Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1475016/OneWeb_Logo.jpg

The latest launch takes OneWeb's in-orbit constellation to 254 satellites, or 
40% of OneWeb's planned fleet of 648 LEO satellites that will deliver 
high-speed, low-latency global connectivity. OneWeb intends to make global 
service available in 2022.

Service demonstrations will begin this summer in several key locations -- 
including Alaska and Canada -- as OneWeb prepares for commercial service in the 
next six months. Offering enterprise-grade connectivity services, the Company 
has already announced distribution partnerships across several industries and 
businesses including with BT, ROCK Network, AST Group, PDI, Alaska 
Communications and others, as OneWeb expands its global capabilities. The 
Company continues to engage with telecommunications providers, ISPs, and 
governments worldwide to offer its low-latency, high-speed connectivity 
services and sees growing demand for new solutions to connect the hardest to 
reach places.

The launch of the latest 36 satellites was conducted by Arianespace from the 
Vostochny Cosmodrom. Liftoff occurred on 1 July at 13:48 BST. OneWeb's 
satellites separated from the rocket and were dispensed in 9 batches over a 
period of 3 hours 52 minutes with signal acquisition on all 36 satellites 
confirmed.

The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, the Rt. Hon. Boris Johnson, MP, said: 
"This latest launch of OneWeb satellites will put high-speed broadband within 
reach of the whole Northern Hemisphere later this year, including improving 
connectivity in the remotest parts of the UK.

"Backed by the British Government, OneWeb proves what is possible when public 
and private investment come together, putting the UK at the forefront of the 
latest technologies, opening up new markets, and ultimately transforming the 
lives of people around the world."

Sunil Bharti Mittal, Founder and Chairman of Bharti Enterprises, Executive 
Chairman of OneWeb, said: "Today's momentous milestone demonstrates that OneWeb 
is now a leader in LEO broadband connectivity, serving a wide range of 
stakeholders across the Northern Hemisphere. This fifth launch amid the 
unprecedented global pandemic is truly remarkable and I congratulate the 
management team and fellow shareholders on the success. 

"Bharti's doubling of its investment earlier this week is testament to the 
commitment to OneWeb's mission. We now look forward to the next chapter in 
OneWeb's story, preparing the company for commercial service in the less than 
six months to deliver our global connectivity solutions to communities around 
the world."

The Rt. Hon. Kwasi Kwarteng, MP, Secretary of State, BEIS, added: "Today's 
launch is an exciting milestone in providing some of the world's most remote 
locations with fast, UK-backed broadband less than a year since British 
government investment made this possible. With yet another successful mission, 
the people of the UK can be proud that this country is at the heart of the 
latest advances in small satellite technology.

"OneWeb's coverage across the Northern Hemisphere now puts the United Kingdom 
at the forefront of the latest developments in Low Earth Orbit technology, and 
we will capitalise on the company's unique position within this growing market 
to build a strong domestic space industry and cement our status as a global 
science and technology superpower."

Neil Masterson, OneWeb CEO, said: "This is a truly historic moment for OneWeb, 
the culmination of months of positive momentum in our 'Five to 50' programme, 
increased investment from our global partners and the rapid onboarding of new 
customers. We are incredibly excited to start delivering high-speed, 
low-latency connectivity first to the UK and the Arctic region and to see our 
network scale over the coming months as we continue building to global service. 
Thanks to all our incredible partners who have been with us on this journey and 
are instrumental to making OneWeb's mission a success." 

Webcast playback

Launch highlights available
View on OneWeb YouTube

Launch Imagery

Launch #8 Media Kit

Launch Partner

Arianespace and Glavkosmos

Launch Facility

Soyuz Launch Complex, Vostochny Cosmodrome 

About OneWeb             

OneWeb is a global communications network powered from space, headquartered in 
London, enabling connectivity for governments, businesses, and communities. It 
is implementing a constellation of Low Earth Orbit satellites with a network of 
global gateway stations and a range of user terminals to provide an affordable, 
fast, high-bandwidth and low-latency communications service, connected to the 
IoT future and a pathway to 5G for everyone, everywhere. Find out more at 
http://www.oneweb.world 

SOURCE: OneWeb

CONTACT: OneWeb Media Enquiries, Group, Chris McLaughlin, 
cmclaughlin@oneweb.net, M: + 447870 374795; UK, Europe, MENA, APAC, Tabitha 
Aldrich-Smith, Taldrich-smith@oneweb.net, M: +44 7970 44029; USA, Latin 
America, Canada, Katie Dowd, kdowd@oneweb.net, M: +1 202 415 4030; Finsbury 
Glover Hering, Humza Vanderman, Lyle Hill, OneWeb-LON@Finsbury.com 
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