Bharti Enterprises chairman Sunil Mittal had said that OneWeb will not compete with telcos but instead, it will collaborate with them
Bharti-backed OneWeb has signed a distribution agreement with Hughes Network Systems, LLC (Hughes) in the US focused on enterprise services.
In India, the companies have entered into a strategic agreement to distribute services to large enterprises, small and medium businesses (SMBs), government, telcos, and ISPs, in the rural and remote parts of the country.
Services will be provided by Hughes and Hughes Communications India Private Ltd., respectively, the company said in a statement.
Hughes and OneWeb intend to broaden their agreement globally, with Hughes offering OneWeb’s low-latency, high-speed satellite broadband connectivity to enterprise, government, commercial aviation and maritime, cellular backhaul, and community WiFi hotspots.
Hughes, through its parent company EchoStar, is an investor in OneWeb. It is also an ecosystem partner to OneWeb, developing gateway electronics and the core module that will power the user terminal for the system.
“OneWeb’s system enhances the Hughes portfolio of networking capabilities, introducing a low-latency option with global reach that complements GEO satellite capacity density and capability to meet our customers’ needs,” said Pradman Kaul, President, Hughes.
“OneWeb is thrilled to be working with Hughes to offer our connectivity solution across the U.S. and India. This agreement is another example of our commitment to deliver high-quality, continuous internet access to areas in need including in rural and remote areas of the U.S and India,” added Neil Masterson, Chief Executive officer, OneWeb.
Recently, Bharti Enterprises chairman Sunil Mittal said that OneWeb will not compete with telcos but instead, it will collaborate with them.
Mittal said the LEO satcom company has partnered with US’s AT&T to improve connectivity for telco’s customers residing in remote locations and has signed similar deals with north Canadian telco Northwestel and UK’s BT.
OneWeb is building its initial constellation of 648 LEO satellites. Services will begin this year to the Arctic region including Alaska, Canada, and the UK. By late 2022 OneWeb will be offering its high-speed, low latency connectivity services globally.
