The British government and Bharti Global Ltd., which is part of the world’s third largest mobile operator, have successfully bid more than $ 1 billion to acquire the bankrupt satellite broadband internet company OneWeb.
London-based OneWeb said the deal, resulting from an auction held this week in New York, will allow it to resume plans to add 74 constellations to its constellation and offer global Internet access from above, starting with the Arctic.
The sale has yet to be approved by the US Bankruptcy Court and regulatory authorities, but the transaction is expected to close later this year.
“With differentiated and flexible technology, unique spectrum assets and a compelling market opportunity ahead of us, we look forward to wrapping up the process and relaunching our satellites as soon as possible,” OneWeb CEO Adrian Steckel said in a statement from press.
The deal breathes new life into a rival to SpaceX’s Starlink constellation, which already has more than 500 satellites in orbit and could begin limited service this year. OneWeb is also perceived as a competitor to Amazon’s Kuiper Project, which is working on regulatory requirements to put more than 3,000 satellites into orbit for a global broadband Internet network.
At one point, Amazon was rumored to be interested in bidding on OneWeb’s assets, including its spectrum licenses, but those rumors did not emerge. Telesat, which is Canada’s largest satellite operator and has its own plans for a broadband satellite constellation, was also said to be considering an offer.
OneWeb ran out of money in March when the financial crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic ruined plans to seek additional investment from Japan’s SoftBank Group, one of the company’s biggest sponsors.
Speculation about who would win in the bidding battle concerned geopolitical rivalries, as well as the realities of the telecommunications industry. Various Chinese concerns were reportedly considering offers, and the United States government was said to be ready to block a Chinese acquisition.
As the auction approached, the British government played a key role in contributing $ 500 million, along with a commitment from the global arm of Bharti Airtel from India. Other investors, perhaps even Arab financiers, can still be disclosed. Bloomberg News quoted an unidentified source as saying that Bharti and the government would have a 45% stake in OneWeb, and that existing investors would retain 10%.
OneWeb said that Bharti Airtel and its more than 425 million customers would serve as a “testing ground” and an “anchor customer” for OneWeb’s products, services and applications. Bharti Airtel operates India’s leading satellite transmission service through Airtel Digital TV, with more than 16 million subscribers.
In a statement, Britain’s Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said its role was in line with “the government’s ambition for the UK to be a pioneer in the research, development, manufacturing and exploitation of new satellite technologies to through ownership of a fleet of low Earth orbit satellites. “
“This agreement underscores the scale of Britain’s ambitions on the global stage,” said Business Secretary Alok Sharma.
The government said Bharti would provide “commercial and operational leadership” for OneWeb, while British officials would have a final say on future access to OneWeb technology by other countries for national security reasons, as well as on any future sales. of the company. .
Data services have long been provided through high-flying geosynchronous satellites, but putting satellites in low Earth orbit promises to provide faster, cheaper, and more ubiquitous Internet service for billions of people across the globe. world that are currently neglected.
British officials are reportedly interested in an option to add GPS-like capabilities to the constellation’s second-generation satellites, which would compensate for the loss of access to Europe’s Galileo global positioning system due to Brexit.
OneWeb satellites are manufactured by a joint venture that also involves Airbus, the largest satellite company in Europe. Before bankruptcy, the OneWeb Satellites factory in Florida was producing spacecraft at a maximum rate of two per day.
Judging by the UK government’s comments, at least some of that satellite production work is likely to move to Britain over time. “We are excited to start this new working relationship,” OneWeb Satellites said in a tweet.
