Eutelsat Communications has closed its US$550 million equity investment in OneWeb, giving it a 17.6% stake.
Rodolphe Belmer, Chief Executive Officer of Eutelsat, said: “We are delighted to close this investment in OneWeb, giving us a foothold in the Low Earth Orbit segment. We look forward to working in co-operation with OneWeb as its entry into operational service fast approaches, with almost 50% of the constellation now in orbit.”
OneWeb’s 648 LEO satellite fleet will deliver high-speed, low-latency global connectivity. Its partnership with Eutelsat, a global geostationary satellite operator, will enhance both companies’ commercial potential, leveraging Eutelsat’s established commercial reach to governments and enterprise customers in addition to its strong institutional relationships, recognised technical expertise and global fleet. OneWeb’s ability to address multiple applications requiring low latency and ubiquity will also allow both companies to explore GEO/LEO configurations for future service integrations and packages.
Commenting on the agreement announcement back in April, Belmer stated: “We are excited to become a shareholder and partner in OneWeb in the run up to its commercial launch later in the year and to participate in the substantial opportunity represented by the LEO segment within our industry. We are confident in OneWeb’s right-to-win thanks to its earliness to market, priority spectrum rights and evolving, scalable technology.”
