OneWeb (Let's get together and feel alright)

Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy

Published 26 July 2022 

OneWeb, a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite constellation of which the UK government is a minority shareholder, has today signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Eutelsat Communications to merge the 2 companies, with the objective of creating a single, powerful global player in connectivity.

Eutelsat will add its 36-strong fleet of Geostationary Orbit (GEO) satellites to OneWeb’s LEO constellation, with 428 satellites already in orbit, to generate combined revenues of €1.2 billion and address an even wider range of customer requirements.

The merger is positive news for UK taxpayers: having made a $500 million investment in OneWeb 2 years ago .....

This is not positive news it is a fiasco, as I wrote at the time of the investment (passim). What I have written about it since is here.

A fact at random: OneWeb’s LEO constellation, currently has 428 satellites;  it is intended to operate as a rival for Elon Musk’s company Starlink. The Telegraph says Starlink has already deployed more than 4,400 satellites