Elon Musk’s Heavenly Internet Service Meets a Strong Competitor

The OneWea CEO said the company managed to orbit a total of 616 satellites to dominate the global internet this year.

In the era where everything depends on the Internet, users need a stable connection. Starlink was founded by billionaire Elon Musk with a vision to provide satellite internet access to millions of people living in remote places.

Even if it is leading in the race for satellite Internet services, Starlink will face a “serious” adversary: UnWeb UK based. The company is said to have successfully launched the first satellite since early 2019.

The race for satellite Internet services has a new “player”.

The race for satellite Internet services has a new “player”. (Photo: OneWeƄ).

Starlink’s competitors

OneWeƄ recently launched the last 36 of its 616 satellites to provide high-speed global coverage this year. This company is considered a direct competitor to Elon Musk’s Starlink.

“It is the result of many difficulties that we have encountered. Among them, the company has had to overcome obstacles related to geopolitics, which means that we have demonstrated our resilience and our ability to catch up.CEO Neil Masterson gave a pre-launch interview to the Indian Space Research Organization.

Masterson said OneWeb now has enough fast spacecraft in orbit to provide broadband to business and government customers in 48 U.S. states by May and aims to achieve global coverage by the end. of 2023.

Soyuz rocket launches 36 OneWeb satellites into orbit

The Soyuz rocket launched 36 OneWe satellites into orbit from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in March 2021. (Photo: BBC).

The launch took place on Sriharikota, an island off Andhra Pradesh in southern India, marking the end of a tumultuous decade for entrepreneur Greg Walter’s space venture.

OneWeb filed for bankruptcy in March 2020 after being shut out of the credit market due to the economic crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, and was endorsed by the UK government and the telecom mogul’s Bharti Group. Indian media Sunil Mittɑl was “rescued”.

Since then, the company has attracted more investors from around the world, such as the Japanese SoftBank Group, the South Korean conglomerate Hanwha Systems and the American company Hughes Matellite Systems.

Another major shareholder, French satellite company Eutelsat SA, agreed to merge with OneWeb in July 2022 pending legal proceedings and a shareholder vote. The consortium is vying for a role in the European Union’s billion-dollar satellite project called “IRIS²”.

Masterson said OneWeb has $900 million in contract revenue and expects to successfully recoup its capital by 2025. The London-based company has also begun planning to launch a second satellite beam with hundreds of more modern satellites. This project can cost up to 4 billion USD and will be operational in 2028.

space race

The launch of the OneWeb satellite is a major step in the new space race to cover the Earth with thousands of satellites in low orbit providing broadband. This has opened a competition between the major players in the field.

The OneWeb network is considered the second largest Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite system after Starlink. Starlink’s fleet is operated and launched by billionaire Elon Musk’s Space Exploration Technology (SpaceX) Corporation, with more than 3,000 satellites in orbit.

60 Starlink satellites are housed in the Falcon rocket.

60 Ѕtarlink satellites are housed in the Falcon rocket. (Photo: EspaceX).

Another tech giant, Amazon, is also planning to enter the space race with this project. “Kuiper”.

However, CEO Masterson denied that his company competes with SpaceX. He said Musk’s business caters to consumers while OneWeb’s customers are businesses and governments.

He himself is also a SpaceX customer. OneWeb used Elon Musk’s rocket to send its own satellites, after a launch with French company Arianesace SA was delayed during the outbreak of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine a year ago.

Article Source: Zing