ISRO set to launch 36 OneWeb satellites to enable global internet coverage from space

OneWeb is just one step away from achieving the capability to offer broadband services from space to any geography across the globe, as the company plans to launch 36 OneWeb satellites on Sunday, March 26, reaching the mark of the constellation of 600 satellites.

OneWeb currently delivers internet services from space in countries located above 50 degrees north latitude -- Alaska, Canada, Greenland, UK and Northern Europe. OneWeb provides network services to telecommunications companies, Internet Service Providers, enterprises and governments.

Post the launch of 36 satellites from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota on March 26, the total number of OneWeb satellites in space will reach 600, the number required to go commercially live, a OneWeb spokesperson told PTI. Currently, the company has a constellation of 582 satellites in space. OneWeb is backed by the British government, Bharti Enterprises, Eutelsat, SoftBank, Hughes Networks and Hanwha. 

OneWeb plans to launch internet services from space in India

The launch to be made with ISRO’s commercial arm NewsSpace India Limited (NSIL), will be the second such launch by the firm of the OneWeb satellites. The first batch of 36 OneWeb satellites were launched from Sriharikota on October 23 last year. The launch on March 26 on board ISRO's LVM3 will be OneWeb’s 18th launch. On March 9, Falcon-9 rocket, owned by Elon Musk’s SpaceX placed 40 OneWeb satellites in orbit. “By the end of this year, we plan to initiate services across the globe," the spokesperson said. 

Subject to regulatory approvals, OneWeb is scheduled to kick off internet service delivery from space in India later this year. The company has been granted the necessary GMPCS (global mobile personal communications by satellite services) permit from the Department of Telecommunications as well as the nod to set up an earth station. The other permissions are required to be taken from the space department. "We will have clarity on that once the space policy comes out," Lt Gen A K Bhatt (retd), Director General, Indian Space Association (ISpA), the industry body for the space sector told PTI.