Page 62 - SAMENA Trends - November-December 2021

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OneWeb Commercial Launch Delayed ‘Five or Six Months’

BT and other wholesale partners of satellite company OneWeb have suggested to Capacity that potential wholesale partners
will start testing services in January, Capacity understands, with have received only tens of prototype receivers to try out in northern
commercial services likely to be on offer several months later. Canada, the UK and the US state of Alaska. All of the UK lies north
That means OneWeb will miss its original planned commercial of 50°N latitude, in OneWeb’s initial coverage area. Delivery, which
service date of October 2021 by at least three months, and more started in November, has been slowed first by the global lack
likely five or six. The pandemic has been a major contributor to the of semiconductor circuits and second by supply-chain delays
delay, because of global supply-chain issues. And consumers in caused by the Covid pandemic. OneWeb’s main terminal partner
the UK and elsewhere will miss the joy of finding OneWeb receivers is South Korean company Intellian, which signed a deal in March
in their Christmas stockings this weekend, despite the hope 2021. Another potential terminal supplier is Hanwha Systems,
expressed earlier this year by the company’s executive chairman, which invested US$300 million in the company in July 2021.
Sunil Bharti Mittal (pictured), in an interview with Capacity. Mittal Wholesale partners – which include Alaska Communications and
gave that over-optimistic October prediction in an interview with Pacific Dataport as well as AT&T, BT, Verizon and now Vocus – then
Capacity in January 2021, though the company later modified have to load software on to the terminals before subjecting them
that to “by the end of 2021”. But it has missed that deadline too, to rigorous tests. One person who is aware of the project said it is
especially thanks to the shortage of semiconductor circuits. The likely that the software engineers will need to work on the receivers
company announced its first wholesale partner in the southern before they can be released to paying customers. OneWeb has had
hemisphere, Australia’s Vocus. Its CEO Kevin Russell said: a 100% successful launch record so far, all by the French company
“Helping to scale and deliver OneWeb’s low latency and telco- Arianespace on Russian Soyuz rockets – originally designed by
grade satellite systems means we can provide more opportunity the Soviet Union to destroy western Europe and North America in
for customers to access the high-quality connectivity they need a nuclear war. Its 11th launch in a row was on 14 October, from the
to be successful, particularly in remote and regional operations.” Vostochny cosmodrome in eastern Russia, in what had been an
Vocus and OneWeb said that “first commercial customers are approximately monthly sequence since early 2020. There was no
planned for middle of 2022”, later than in those parts of the northern November launch, because Arianespace took that slot and rocket
hemisphere north of 50°N, in which Mittal said services would to launch satellites for the EU’s Galileo positioning service. The
begin in October 2021. Senior staff at OneWeb and its previously next, number 12, is scheduled for 27 December, from Baikonur,
announced wholesale partners – including AT&T, BT and Verizon a Russian-controlled enclave in Kazakhstan. There will then be
– are no longer being forthcoming about service dates for that two launches in January and one in February, to take OneWeb to
area between 50°N and the North Pole, even though the satellites its total complement of 648 active satellites, including in-orbit
now offer 100% coverage there. One BT person said: “It’s a bit too spares, in its first generation. Two of those planned 2022 launches
early to say when we will launch services for UK customers, and are from Kourou, in French Guiana in South America, and one is
we’re looking to do some lab and customer trials early next year.” from Baikonur. Meanwhile OneWeb has raised $2.7 billion from
But that person did not define either “looking to do” or “early next shareholders since it was rescued from bankruptcy by Mittal’s
year”. But Capacity understands from sources in the industry that Bharti Global, part of the group that owns Bharti Airtel, and the
BT is also looking at Starlink, the broadband satellite company UK government in 2020. They put an initial $500 million each
owned by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, as an alternative way of delivering into a successor company. The original OneWeb, which blamed
fast internet in remote areas. SpaceX showed its lively interest Covid for its bankruptcy, pre-paid for all satellites and launches,
in the UK market in July 2021 when it was revealed that there is leaving the successor free to spend its money elsewhere. Since
a third ground station operating in UK territory. That is now in then Bharti has doubled its stake to $1 billion and others have
operation on the Isle of Man, though not technically part of the come into the list of shareholders, including Eutelsat, which is
UK, in the Irish Sea. This joins two others, in Buckinghamshire and now the second biggest, outstripping the UK government, along
Cornwall, both in England. Because low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites with Softbank, Hughes – part of EchoStar – and Hanwha. Apart
such as OneWeb’s or Starlink’s are so low, they require ground from continuing operations, that money is largely earmarked for
stations every thousand kilometres or so, with more for resilience. what Mittal told Capacity back in January 2021 was “gen two” –
The UK regulator, Ofcom, put out on 10 December a statement the second generation of satellites, due to be in service in 2024-
that some in the satellite industry are seeing as significant, largely 25. OneWeb also plans that the second generation will have the
focused on which of many of the new LEO satellite operators have ability to run positioning services, in competition with the US GPS,
priority under international rules. OneWeb is trusting that the fact Europe’s Galileo and Russia’s Glonass. It was that ability, still a
it had 10% of its satellites in orbit by February 2021 means it has few years away from reality, that the supporters of OneWeb used
secured its right to frequency slots over such rivals as SpaceX to promote the project to sceptical UK politicians and the political
and Amazon’s Kuiper. Capacity understands that both those US establishment in 2020. But in the same interview Mittal also said:
rivals lobbied against OneWeb’s prior claim. The main challenge “Let’s say before Christmas this year the UK will have them in
for OneWeb has not been getting its satellites in orbit – it already their homes,” he added. Four days before Christmas, that’s not
has 358 in service, of a planned total of 648 by mid-2022 – but happening.
obtaining and delivering receivers. Telecoms industry insiders

62 NOV-DEC 2021