The FCC granted OneWeb with market access in the 37.5-42 GHz (space-to-Earth), 47.2-50.2 GHz (Earth-to-space), and 50.4-51.4 GHz (Earth-to-space) frequency bands, subject to sharing conditions and other requirements, for a proposed 2,000-satellite non-geostationary-satellite orbit (NGSO) broadband constellation.
OneWeb proposes to add a V-band payload to the 720 satellite Ku/Ka-band constellation previously approved by the Commission and proposes 1,280 additional V-band satellites operating at a nominal altitude of 8,500 km. The OneWeb constellation will be authorized by the United Kingdom.
One condition of the grant is that OneWeb must submit a plan within six months for decommissioning and debris mitigation for its MEO satellites.
- In July 2020, the UK government (through the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy) and Bharti Global Limited were confirmed as buyers of the OneWeb business through a court-supervised sales process. The deal is aimed at ensuring sufficient funding for the deployment of the OneWeb system. Bharti Airtel, is the third largest mobile operator in the world, with over 425 million customers. Bharti Airtel has its own extensive mobile broadband networks and enterprise business, which will act as the testing ground for all OneWeb products, services, and applications. Bharti will contribute significant contract value to OneWeb through its presence across South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, where the terrain necessitates the use of satellite-based connectivity, providing a near-term anchor customer for large-scale global deployment of OneWeb’s services.
https://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-grants-oneweb-us-market-access-expanded-ngso-constellation
OneWeb looks to increase its constellation up to 48,000 satellites
OneWeb, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March, is now asking the FCC for permission to increase the size of its planned constellation up to 48,000 LEO satellites.
OneWeb said a larger constellation will allow for greater flexibility to meet soaring global connectivity demands.
To date, OneWeb has successfully launched 74 satellites and developed a significant portion of its ground network.
In August 2019, OneWeb met the requirements of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and succeeded in bringing into use its global priority spectrum rights in the Ku- and Ka-band.
Adrian Steckel, CEO of OneWeb said: “We have always believed that LEO satellites must be part of converged broadband network strategies to enable forward-thinking governments and businesses to deliver much-needed reliable connectivity, create more pathways to 5G and connect to the IoT future everywhere on earth. This significant increase in the size of the OneWeb constellation enables long-term flexibility and ensures we will be ready for the demand, future growth, and technology changes to come.”
OneWeb files for Chapter 11
OneWeb filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in a federal court in New York. The company said uncertainty due to the COVID-19 crisis derailed advanced negotiations might have fully funded the company through its deployment and commercial launch.
OneWeb said it intends to use these proceedings to pursue a sale of its business in order to maximize the value of the company.
So far, OneWeb has launched 74 satellites as part of its constellation, secured valuable global spectrum, begun development on a range of user terminals for a variety of customer markets, has half of its 44 ground stations completed or in development, and performed successful demonstrations of its system with broadband speeds in excess of 400 Mbps and latency of 32 ms. In addition, OneWeb’s commercial team has seen significant early global demand for OneWeb’s high-speed, low-latency connectivity services from governments and leaders in the automotive, maritime, enterprise, and aviation industries.