The FCC has approved OneWeb’s request to deploy an additional 1,280 satellites to provide high-speed broadband services in the US. The approval increases the number of satellites OneWeb can operate in the US market from 720 to 2,000, offering the company “greater opportunities to deliver satellite-based broadband services to the public,” the agency said in […]
There are now three major would-be mega-constellation low Earth orbit satellite developers: Elon Musk’s Starlink, Jeff Bezos’ Project Kuiper and the UK/India joint-venture OneWeb (should it emerge from bankruptcy). The missing link for each of them is a very low-cost phased array antenna to bring satellite broadband to the mass market. Which is perhaps where […]
The official Committee of OneWeb’s unsecured creditors is objecting to the current Chapter 11 exit reorganisation plan for OneWeb. In a filing to the US Bankruptcy Court they argue that the disclosure statement from OneWeb “lacks adequate information of particular importance to the unsecured creditors.” The submission to the Court stresses that they are in […]
Sunil Mittal, chairman of the Bharti group of business, has spoke at length about its involvement in bankrupt satellite operator OneWeb. Bharti has committed to investment $500 million in OneWeb. The UK government is matching the investment, while a smaller sum ($50 million) will come from EchoStar’s sister company Hughes Network Systems. Japan’s SoftBank and […]
OneWeb, currently proceeding slowly through its Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganisation, is asking the US government to relax its rules on importing satellite components and materials under its Foreign Trade Zone regulations. The Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) rules permit businesses to lower import duties and easier customs processes. OneWeb has made its application via its joint-venture […]
The British government did not consult the Ministry of Defence or other senior recognised scientific advisors prior to making a £500 million deal for the bankrupt OneWeb satellite business. The NewStatesman news magazine, in a Technology report, states that the investment was driven through by Dominic Cummings, the controversial advisor to PM Boris Johnson, despite […]
A filing to the US bankruptcy court handling OneWeb’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy on August 3rd states that investors in OneWeb saw the company’s bankruptcy as likely from the middle of 2018. The key investors were SoftBank, Airbus, Qualcomm, Banco Azteca, and the Government of the Republic of Rwanda and the filing argues that these controlling […]
Would-be mega-constellation OneWeb, which is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy organisation, has been granted a 90-day extension of the timetable to produce a formal plan as to how it might exit Chapter 11. OneWeb is in the process of being acquired by the UK government along with Indian telco Bharti Global who have both promised to […]
Putting $50 million into the consortium buying bankrupt OneWeb could be extremely lucrative for EchoStar subsidiary Hughes Network Systems/Hughes Connects (HNS). Hughes was an original investor in OneWeb and is now likely to gain $300 million in contracts for at least some of OneWeb’s important ground segment installations. HNS, via EchoStar, signed a contract with […]
EchoStar-owned Hughes Network Systems is joiining the new consortium buying bankrupt OneWeb. Hughes will join the UK government and Bharti Global as part-owners. Hughes will, in principle, invest $50 million into the consortium. “Additionally,” says the Hughes statement, “[We] will continue as a trusted technology and distribution partner to OneWeb, the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) […]