Last Friday, the UK government announced that it will invest $500 million in OneWeb, a young satellite firm founded by Greg Wyler. The newly built company was facing finance troubled and hence filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the US in March. UK government has responded to the company’s difficult times and demanded a significant equity share as well. Bharti Global, an Indian telecom company will also invest $500 million as a part of the same agreement.
Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection
On 28th March 2020, the company released the news of using bankruptcy proceedings and shows an interest in the sale of the firm. With COVID-19 making a horrendous impact on every sector of the economy, OneWeb also became its victim. The company said that they were about to receive financing but the global pandemic is the reason it failed. So, they were left with no other choice than putting it up for sale.
OneWeb also started cutting off the workforce but didn’t mention any specific figure. The company needed to conclude at the earliest as one week before filing bankruptcy protection it launched 34 satellites from Kazakhstan. The company has big plans to provide high-speed internet from space for the usage of common people. So, it received a license from the Federal Communications Commission to launch a constellation of 650 low-lying satellites for the same purpose. One of its biggest plans is to provide internet coverage to the Arctic.
Internet coverage to the Arctic
Last year, the company declared that it is planning to provide “fiber-like internet” coverage at the Arctic region and high-speed internet to homes, boats, and even planes that are located above the 60th parallel north latitude. To achieve this goal, the company planned to launch a constellation of 650 satellites among which 74 are successfully launched. OneWeb also said that since the number of satellites is high, one satellite can cover a specific part of Earth 24/7.
The project of covering the maximum part of the Arctic is very challenging as its geographical strains make it harder for establishing conventional internet connectivity. But, OneWeb claims that it can provide high-speed internet coverage to 48% of the Arctic. And, this would further help in the overall development of the Arctic region. People in the Arctic appreciated the idea as it will open vast opportunities for them with growing connectivity. OneWeb launched their satellites on Soyuz rocket.
Future planning
Currently, with 74 satellites orbiting the Earth, OneWeb plans to move its satellite production from Florida in the US to the UK if the government supports. The UK was planning for a long time to make a big move in the aerospace sector, especially after the nation lost access to the European Union’s Galileo Satellite System in 2018. Since then, the plan of the UK has come to a halt especially for economic concerns. After the UK government agreed with OneWeb last Friday, it gives a 20 percent stake of the company. This deal will allow OneWeb to complete the construction of the planned satellite constellation.
Alok Sharma, UK Secretary of State for Business, said that this a big opportunity for the UK to set up a wide production base for spacecraft. If this mission becomes successful, the UK will become one of the global leaders in the aerospace business. OneWeb will be back in production at the earliest.
Criticism
But, OneWeb is not the only private company in the world trying to make global connectivity stronger. SpaceX is also a very big competitor of OneWeb given that OneWeb was only founded a couple of years ago. Moreover, the agreement between the UK government and OneWeb has caught the attention of many space policy experts.
Dr. Bleddyn Bowen from the University of Leicester said that for starters the UK has bought the wrong satellites. The idea that OneWeb is working on resembles the idea of Starlink by SpaceX. According to this space policy expert, OneWeb is trying to put together technology and a design that is not made for each other. So, there are high chances that the execution of this mega constellation will fail. Giles Throne, a research analyst at Jeffries also made the same accusation about the deal.
Annasha Dey is an NIT student, who apart from studying engineering is also a content writer. She has a great interest in photography, writing, reading novels, and travelling as well. She is a foodie who loves socializing and hanging out with her friends. She is also a trained Kathak dancer and a big fashion enthusiast. Dey also loves watching TV series, which includes F.R.I.E.N.D.S. and Big Bang Theory. To be a better writer she prefers to read more