Satellite broadband: Bharti’s OneWeb takes off; aims for full commercial services by mid-2022

With Bharti Enterprises-led low earth orbit (LEO) broadband satellite communications company OneWeb emerging from US Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and achieving all relevant regulatory approvals, chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal said that beginning mid-December till October 2021, the company will launch a total 360 satellites to construct a global satellite constellation that will provide enhanced broadband and other services to countries around the world. This would mark the trial test runs.

Speaking to FE, Mittal said that from May-June 2022 commercial broadband services would be launched in several parts of the globe in remote and hilly regions where currently such services are not available. The services would commence from UK and the Arctic region and subsequently expand.