OneWeb Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites to service NEOM, the Kingdom and MEA, 
transforming connectivity to businesses and rural communities

High-speed connectivity will be a vital enabler of groundbreaking ecosystem of 
cognitive technologies
 
NEOM Tech & Digital Holding Company – the first holding company to be 
established as a subsidiary of NEOM – and OneWeb, the global communications 
network powered from space, have signed a $200 million (SAR 750m) joint venture 
agreement to bring high-speed satellite connectivity to NEOM, Saudi Arabia and 
the wider Middle East and neighboring East African countries. 

The partnership will see the deployment of OneWeb's Low Earth Orbit (LEO) 
satellite constellation, which will not only provide the rapid and reliable 
connectivity to enable NEOM's ecosystem of cognitive technologies, but also 
transform businesses and rural communities in the region where access to 
fiber-like internet was previously unimaginable. The agreement also includes a 
long-term strategic partnership regarding research and development of future 
connectivity systems.

It also builds on the relationship between OneWeb and the Ministry 
Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) and Ministry of Investment of 
Saudi Arabia (MISA). Established in 2017, they are focused on unlocking Saudi 
Arabia's nascent orbital space technology sector for private investors. In 
addition, it further strengthens ties between Saudi Arabia and the UK 
Government, which is a major strategic investor in OneWeb.

NEOM Tech & Digital Hold Co. and OneWeb, the second largest LEO operator with 
358 satellites and the only licensed operator in Saudi Arabia, expect to 
complete ground infrastructure in 2022. NEOM Tech & Digital Hold Co. and the 
new JV entity will have exclusive rights to distribute OneWeb services in its 
target regions for seven years from the initiation of the LEO satellite 
network, which is expected to commence in 2023.

Joseph Bradley, CEO, NEOM Tech & Digital Hold Co., and Neil Masterson, CEO, 
OneWeb, formalized the agreement at a signing ceremony at the Kingdom's 
flagship Future Investment Initiative event. Also in attendance were: His 
Excellency Khalid Al Falih, Minister of Investment, Saudi Arabia; His 
Excellency Abdullah Alswaha, Minister for Communications & Information 
Technology, Saudi Arabia; Lord Gerry Grimstone, Minister for Investment at 
Department for International Trade and Department for Business Energy and 
Industrial Strategy, UK; Nadhmi Al Nasr, CEO, NEOM; and Sunil Bharti Mittal, 
Executive Chairman, OneWeb.

H.E. Al-Falih said: "It is a great pleasure to witness the signing of the joint 
venture between NEOM and OneWeb, which is a testament to Saudi Arabia's 
promising future in the space technology sectors. Today's agreement will 
contribute to economic growth and accelerate digital and communications 
knowledge transfer to the Kingdom through the transformative NEOM vision. As 
the Ministry of Investment works to implement the National Investment Strategy 
recently launched by HRH the Crown Prince, we will continue to provide support 
to this and other differentiated initiatives and projects and look forward to 
seeing it come to fruition in the near future."

H.E. Al Swaha said: "This ground-breaking joint venture shows the power of 
collaboration between nations, and with the private sector. By working 
together, we will bring digital connectivity to a region of more than a billion 
people, opening access to life-changing opportunities in education, healthcare 
and the job market. We are one step closer to ensuring that no child is left on 
the wrong side of the digital divide."

UK Investment Minister Gerry Grimstone said: "This joint venture brings 
together two emerging space and digital technology champions to deliver 
connectivity for the Middle East. It demonstrates that the UK Government's 
investment in OneWeb continues to be a catalyst for international 
collaboration, while securing jobs at home and driving investment into the UK 
space sector."

Mr Bradley said: "We aim to connect 100% of NEOM's territory yet we must also 
preserve the natural environment. This is what drives us to innovate with 
partners such as OneWeb to create sustainable ways to accelerate human 
progress. The partnership has the potential to transform the way governments, 
businesses and communities connect to the internet."

Mr Mittal said - "This agreement will help realize our joint vision of boosting 
connectivity in Saudi Arabia, Middle-East and East Africa. It exemplifies the 
model through which OneWeb's services will reach unconnected or poorly 
connected regions – through cooperation with international governments and 
local partners."

Mr Masterson said: "This agreement represents OneWeb's global vision to help 
bridge the digital divide through our innovative LEO satellite network. By 
working with NEOM Tech & Digital Hold Co., OneWeb will support the ambitions of 
NEOM, connecting businesses and communities and supporting the resilience of 
connectivity systems across the wider region."

Currently, OneWeb uses the latest security protection employed in advanced 
mobile networks. NEOM Tech & Digital Hold Co. will be trialing technologies to 
provide further security protection as well as testing new, more robust and 
resistant positioning and navigation solutions.

The partnership supports NEOM Tech & Digital Hold Co.'s international 
connectivity strategy, which will use connections to sub-sea and terrestrial 
communications cables, the construction of 5G and fibre networks, and now LEO 
satellites to secure access to tens of terabytes of scalable capacity for both 
urban and rural businesses and communities in NEOM by 2030.

About OneWeb
OneWeb enables 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. www.oneweb.net 
OneWeb's constellation and deployment strategy is unique in the industry:
- Truly global service and coverage: OneWeb satellites, once fully deployed, 
will uniformly cover the earth's surface, including the Arctic and northern 
latitudes. 
- Spectrum priority: OneWeb holds ITU priority rights in the Master Register 
for Ku band usage in LEO satellite systems. This means other LEO operators must 
not interfere with OneWeb signals and must co-ordinate if they wish to also 
offer services.  
- Working with local service providers: As a B2B operation, OneWeb partners 
with local service providers in each market to ensure connectivity amplifies 
what is already available, rather than offering LEO connectivity as an 
alternative, helping providers expand their services to new areas. 
- Local system ensures secure data management for countries: OneWeb's 
deployment structure means it can ensure data traffic from one place is 
securely transmitted back to that same place without the need to travel through 
neighboring satellites or geographies. 
- Sustainability in Space: OneWeb promises to leave no trace in space with its 
'Responsible Space' commitments, based on the premise that space is a shared 
natural resource, which can help transform the way we live, work, and connect.

About NEOM Tech & Digital Holding Company  
NEOM Tech & Digital Holding Company is a world-leading technology company 
powering the world's first ecosystem of cognitive technologies at NEOM. 
Evolving from its Technology & Digital sector, it was the first holding company 
to be established as a subsidiary of NEOM, a region in Saudi Arabia charting 
the course for a new future fueled by technology. NEOM Tech & Digital Hold 
Co.'s digital infrastructure will be the operating system of NEOM, enabling its 
communities and industries. In partnership with global tech-industry leaders, 
it will co-invent the future of living with pioneering cognitive technologies. 
Consent, trust and transparency are fundamental to NEOM Tech & Digital Hold 
Co.'s license to operate, providing the ethical foundations to collect and 
leverage customer data to realize bold ambitions. NEOM Tech & Digital Hold Co. 
will use accurate, consented to and protected data to learn the day-to day 
rhythms of residents to deliver predictive, personalized and autonomous 
services. Its solutions will be powered by unrivalled connectivity and 
computing capability, as well as cutting-edge Artificial Intelligence (AI) and 
robotics, all underpinned by global security standards.

For further information visit : 
https://www.neom.com/en-us/sectors/technology-and-digital

About NEOM
NEOM is an accelerator of human progress and a vision of what a New Future 
might look like. It is a region in northwest Saudi Arabia on the Red Sea being 
built from the ground up as a living laboratory – a place where 
entrepreneurship will chart the course for this New Future. It will be a 
destination and a home for people who dream big and want to be part of building 
a new model for exceptional livability, creating thriving businesses, and 
reinventing environmental conservation. 

NEOM will be the home and workplace to more than a million residents from 
around the world. It will include towns and cities, ports and enterprise zones, 
research centers, sports and entertainment venues, and tourist destinations. As 
a hub for innovation, entrepreneurs, business leaders and companies will come 
to research, incubate, and commercialize new technologies and enterprises in 
ground-breaking ways. Residents of NEOM will embody an international ethos and 
embrace a culture of exploration, risk-taking and diversity - all supported by 
a progressive law compatible with international norms and conducive to economic 
growth.  

For further information email media@neom.com or visit www.neom.com and 
newsroom.NEOM.com.  

This material is distributed by DJE Edelman Inc on behalf of NEOM Tech & 
Digital. Additional information is available at the Department of Justice, 
Washington, DC. 

Source:  NEOM Tech & Digital