As we head into Day 2 of AIX, let us look at Oneweb – who have been hitting milestones on the path to delivery
Rendering of a OneWeb satellite in orbit (Image, OneWeb)
Constellation is go
One of the major milestones that was hit was the completion of its satellite constellation, with the company enjoying an 18th successful launch.
The launch, which took place from Sriharokita, India, brought the total number of OneWeb’s satellites in orbit to 618 satellites – exceeding the 588 active satellites needed to achieve truly global coverage. By the year-end, OneWeb will be ready to roll out global coverage, enhancing its existing connectivity solutions that are already live in regions north of 50-degrees latitude as it brings new areas online.
But how do we access that?
LEO/GEO antenna successfully flight tested
In February, OneWeb, together with partners Intelsat and Stellar Blu, successfully tested a hybrid satcom solution leveraging both LEO (Low Earth Orbit) and GEO (Geostationary Earth Orbit) satellite networks during flight tests.
Testing took place on Intelsat’s Bombardier CRJ-700 regional jet outfitted with the new electronically-steered antenna (ESA) built in conjunction with Stellar Blu and OneWeb. This is the only commercially available product in the aviation industry that has been proven to operate on both OneWeb’s low Earth orbit satellites and geostationary satellites.
Peak inflight download speeds exceeded 275Mbps, facilitating applications such as live virtual meetings, and media streaming – and with the enhanced low latency of the OneWeb network, cloud computing without interruption.
And the customers
Oneweb is scoring customers, with Alaska Airlines confirmed to be taking their connectivity solution for its Embraer E175 fleet.
Regional Jets have always been last in line for equipment upgrades due to the large physical footprint and weight penalties associated with existing hardware installations. In the past they might have had Air-To-Ground services, which provide basic connectivity – but are not able to meet the insatiable bandwidth and latency demanded today.
Alaska Airlines’ decision early this year to offer “streaming fast” Wi-Fi on its E175 fleet, beginning in 2024, indicates a watershed moment for regional connectivity.
The airline has selected Intelsat for an industry-first regional IFC upgrade and will become the first customer for the OneWeb/Stellar Blu developed ESA that Intelsat successfully tested in February.
In Quotes
On the Constellation completion, Ben Griffin, VP of Mobility at OneWeb said:
“With this launch, OneWeb has become the first broadband LEO constellation that is truly complete and the only one with effective polar coverage north and south. We’re also the only LEO network operator with high-quality service level agreements and a robust technical network to fully support mobility customers. We remain on course to deliver global coverage by the end of 2023 – with aviation services coming online in early 2024”
On the antenna, added
“The ability for OneWeb to integrate with existing GEO constellations will provide airlines with flexibility and peace of mind as the new LEO capabilities of the OneWeb network are deployed and proven. We expect certification of this ground-breaking antenna in Q1, 2024.”
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