The demand for the high-speed broadband network has increased in the market, especially during the pandemic. Amidst all this, Elon Musk has set his sight on the stars, literally. His company is offering broadband from space, using satellites, of course. But that’s not what we are going to talk about today.
The United Kingdom has launched 36 satellites for the partly state-owned OneWeb network. The company is competing with Elon Musk to offer broadband internet from space. It is an overly ambitious project that determines how the next evolution in broadband technology will take place.
The satellites were launched from Vostochny Cosmodrome in eastern Russia and are the first for OneWeb. If you might remember, it was the Indian billionaire Sunil Mittal who helped the U.K. save OneWeb from potential bankruptcy. Their $1 billion investment gives the two partners a stake in one of the hottest and riskiest space investment areas. We are talking about low-earth-orbit communications people.
OneWeb’s new space venture signals a partnership between the U.K. and India. According to sources, United Kingdom’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson is due to visit New Delhi next month to seek a post-Brexit trade deal with India. It is worth remembering that the U.K. senior civil servants opposed the agreement who had reservations regarding the new partnership.
“I know a lot of close co-operation is expected between the two nations, especially with the U.K. coming out of its E.U. restrictions, or shackles. It will be the first time when the U.K. will be able to speak to India on a new trade deal, new co-operation, intelligence-sharing.”
Why is the low-earth orbit a risky venture?
As one might understand, ground-based terminals are famous but are incredibly complicated and costly to implement and maintain. But as many before OneWeb, no low-earth orbit broadband network has turned up profits; even Elon Musk thinks it is quite risky, with more chances of failure than success.
However, Mittal is quite optimistic about this partnership’s future and deploying a space broadband network. OneWeb will now have 110 satellites in space and is aiming to target the figure of 648.
