LONDON, June 25, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --
Company reveals details of its new
global satellite network and launch strategy, enabling combined
satellite and cellular broadband services
OneWeb, which is building a new global communications system to
create affordable broadband services for all, today announces it
has raised $500 million of funding
from a group of leading international companies.
OneWeb has attracted investment from Airbus Group, Bharti
Enterprises, Hughes Network Systems, (Hughes), a subsidiary of
EchoStar Corp., Intelsat, Qualcomm Incorporated, The Coca-Cola
Company, the Virgin Group, and Totalplay, a Grupo Salinas Company,
owned by Ricardo B. Salinas.
This funding allows OneWeb to further develop key technologies
to enable affordable broadband for rural and underdeveloped
locations. The OneWeb User Terminals are optionally solar powered,
and with their embedded LTE, 3G, 2G and Wifi access capabilities
will extend the mobile operator's reach. The network will also
provide unprecedented speeds and low latency access to ships,
planes, trains and oil platforms while providing seamless
interoperability with Intelsat's fleet of Ku band satellites.
Sunil Bharti Mittal, Founder and
Chairman of Bharti Enterprises and Tom
Enders, CEO of Airbus Group, will be joining Sir
Richard Branson, founder of the
Virgin Group, Dr. Paul Jacobs,
Executive Chairman of Qualcomm Incorporated, and Greg Wyler, founder of OneWeb, on the Board of
Directors. Each of the other founding shareholders, who will also
be Board observers, will continue to advise the company and support
the programme directly through provision of technical and
manufacturing expertise, launch capabilities, and enabling access
to potential customers.
Following the announcement on June
15 of its joint venture with Airbus Group (pending
regulatory approvals) to design and manufacture its first 900
microsatellites, OneWeb today also announces the largest commercial
rocket acquisition ever of more than 65 rockets including 21 Soyuz
launch orders from Arianespace and 39 launches from Virgin
Galactic's LauncherOne.
"The dream of fully bridging the digital divide is on track to
be a reality in 2019," said Greg
Wyler, founder of OneWeb. "Together with our committed and
visionary founding shareholders we have the key elements in place:
regulatory, technology, launches, satellites, as well as commercial
operators in over 50 countries and territories. We are committed to
solving one of the world's biggest problems - enabling affordable
broadband Internet access for everyone. We are excited about the
next phase, which will involve working with countries, telecom
operators and aid organizations to help them realize their goals of
open and ubiquitous access."
"We're very excited to be part of OneWeb's endeavor to provide
global Internet access for everybody, everywhere. Whether at some
remote place on earth or flying high on an Airbus aircraft, you'll
be connected: a grand proposition for mankind and a sound business
opportunity for us! We are committed to giving our full industrial
and space expertise to this mission," said Tom Enders, CEO of Airbus Group.
"Access to affordable high-speed Internet is a powerful tool for
economic development and empowerment of populations, particularly,
in emerging economies. OneWeb is an innovative platform backed by
leading global corporations and will complement the efforts of
Governments and telecom operators across the globe to take Internet
to the masses. Having witnessed the deep positive impact of
enabling communications across our global operations, Bharti is
delighted to be a part of this initiative that will accelerate the
journey towards building a digitally inclusive world," said
Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman of
Bharti Enterprises. Bharti Airtel, a group company of Bharti
Enterprises with operations in 20 countries across Asia and Africa, will be able to leverage the
investment by becoming a distributor of these services across its
operations.
"OneWeb is a game-changing next generation satellite system,"
said Pradman Kaul, President of
Hughes. "We have been looking at every detail and are excited to
participate both in the design, development and production of the
ground system. In addition, we will employ the OneWeb network to
deliver services to our global base of customers and distribution
partners."
"Intelsat provides more satellite broadband connectivity to more
users than any other company. From villages and
governments, to enterprises and communications providers, Intelsat
has witnessed firsthand the economic growth and value creation that
result from access to reliable communications," said Stephen
Spengler, CEO of Intelsat S.A. "Our role in
the commercial space sector is to push for innovations
that can drive increased performance, economics and simple access
for our users. Intelsat has the world's largest fleet of
Ku Band geostationary satellites and
our interoperability will enable pole-to-pole and urban canyon
coverage with new services that further our goal of a connected
world."
"Qualcomm has built the foundational technologies which spread
mobile broadband systems worldwide. But there still remain
un-served and underserved areas. Our investment in and work on
OneWeb will extend broadband connectivity to everyone and
everything, everywhere around the world," said Dr. Paul E. Jacobs, Executive Chairman of Qualcomm
Incorporated.
"This project is exciting because it combines commerce with
purpose," said Bea Perez, Chief
Sustainability Officer of The Coca-Cola Company. "We believe it
will help spur local economic development where people are in the
greatest need, while also helping our business by improving
real-time access to some of the world's most remote areas where we
are already active in helping provide opportunities for
entrepreneurs."
"We would like nothing better than to bring true affordable
broadband coverage to 100% of Mexico, but running cables and placing towers
for that level of coverage has just not been possible. We are
backing OneWeb, as we believe it has all the pieces in place to
create that service in the future," said Ricardo Salinas, Chairman of Totalplay, a Grupo
Salinas Company.
"Our vision is to make the Internet affordable for everyone,
connecting remote areas to rest of the world and helping to raise
living standards and prosperity in some of the poorest regions
today," said Sir Richard Branson,
founder of the Virgin Group. "We believe that OneWeb, together with
Virgin Galactic's LauncherOne satellite launch system, has the
capability to make this a reality."
Barclays acted as exclusive placement agent to OneWeb.
Airbus Group is a global leader in aeronautics, space and
related services. In 2014, the Group - comprising comprising
commercial aircraft, defence and space and helicopters - generated
revenues of € 60.7 billion and employed a workforce of around
138,600.
Bharti Enterprises is one of India's leading business groups with interests
in telecom, agri business, financial services, retail and
manufacturing. Bharti has been a pioneering force in the Indian
telecom sector with many firsts and innovations to its credit.
Bharti Airtel, the group's flagship company, is a leading global
telecommunications company with operations in 20 countries across
Asia and Africa. The Company ranks amongst the top 4
mobile service providers globally in terms of subscribers. Other
business ventures of the group include Bharti Softbank - a JV
between Bharti Enterprises and Softbank Corp - for mobile internet.
Beetel Teletech, a JV between Bharti and Brightstar is India's leading manufacturer and distributor
of telecom, IT and allied products. The group has a JV -FieldFresh
Foods - with Del Monte Pacific Ltd, to offer fresh and processed
fruits and vegetables in the domestic as well as international
markets. Bharti has JVs with AXA, world leader in financial
protection and wealth management, for Life Insurance and General
Insurance. The group has presence in the retail sector through
Bharti Retail that operates stores in multiple formats under the
'easyday' brand.
Hughes Network Systems, LLC (Hughes) is the global leader
in satellite broadband for home and office, delivering innovative
solutions and managed services for enterprises and governments
worldwide. HughesNet® is the #1 high-speed satellite
Internet service in the marketplace, with over 1 million
subscribers in North America.
Headquartered outside Washington,
D.C., Hughes operates service businesses in the U.S.,
Europe, India and Brazil, with system sales and support in more
than 100 countries. Hughes is a wholly owned subsidiary of EchoStar
Corporation (NASDAQ: SATS), a premier global provider of satellite
operations and digital TV solutions. For additional information
please visit http://www.hughes.com and http://www.echostar.com
.
Intelsat S.A. (NYSE: I) is the world's leading provider
of satellite services, delivering high performance connectivity
solutions for media, fixed and mobile broadband infrastructure,
enterprise and government and military applications. Intelsat's
satellite, teleport and fiber infrastructure is unmatched in the
industry, setting the standard for transmissions of video and
broadband services. From the globalization of content and the
proliferation of HD, to the expansion of cellular networks and
mobile broadband access, with Intelsat, envision your future
network, connect using our leading satellite technology and
transform your opportunities. Envision…Connect…Transform…with
Intelsat. For more information, visit http://www.intelsat.com
OneWeb's mission is to enable affordable Internet access
for everyone and is building a communications network with a
constellation of Low Earth Orbit satellites that will provide
connectivity to billions of people around the world. With more than
10 terabits per second of new capacity, it will transparently
extend the networks of mobile operators and ISP's to serve new
coverage areas, bringing voice and data access to consumers,
businesses, schools, healthcare institutions and other end
users.
Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM) is a world leader in
3G, 4G and next-generation wireless technologies. Qualcomm
Incorporated includes Qualcomm's licensing business, QTL, and the
vast majority of its patent portfolio. Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.,
a wholly-owned subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, operates, along
with its subsidiaries, substantially all of Qualcomm's engineering,
research and development functions, and substantially all of its
products and services businesses, including its semiconductor
business, QCT. For more than 25 years, Qualcomm ideas and
inventions have driven the evolution of digital communications,
linking people everywhere more closely to information,
entertainment and each other.
The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO)
is the world's largest beverage company, refreshing consumers with
more than 500 sparkling and still brands. Led
by Coca-Cola, one of the world's most valuable and
recognizable brands, our Company's portfolio features 20 billion-dollar brands including Diet Coke,
Fanta, Sprite, Coca-Cola Zero, vitaminwater, Powerade,
Minute Maid, Simply, Georgia and
Del Valle. Globally, we are the No.
1 provider of sparkling beverages, ready-to-drink coffees, and
juices and juice drinks. Through the world's largest beverage
distribution system, consumers in more than 200 countries enjoy our
beverages at a rate of 1.9 billion servings a day. With an
enduring commitment to building sustainable communities, our
Company is focused on initiatives that reduce our environmental
footprint, support active, healthy living, create a safe, inclusive
work environment for our associates, and enhance the economic
development of the communities where we operate. Together with
our bottling partners, we rank among the world's top 10 private
employers with more than 700,000 system associates. For more
information, visit Coca-Cola Journey at
http://www.coca-colacompany.com, follow us on Twitter
at twitter.com/CocaColaCo, visit our blog,
Coca-Cola Unbottled,
at http://www.coca-colablog.com or find us on LinkedIn
at http://www.linkedin.com/company/the-coca-cola-company.
Totalplay, a Grupo Salinas Company. Grupo Salinas
is a group of dynamic, fast-growing, and technologically advanced
companies focused on creating shareholder value, and improving
society through excellence. Founded by Mexican entrepreneur
Ricardo B. Salinas, Grupo Salinas companies include Grupo Elektra
--Latin America's leading
financial services company and specialty retailer and the largest
non-bank provider of cash advance services in the United States, with over 6,000 points of
sale in Mexico, the US,
Guatemala, Honduras, El
Salvador, Panama and Peru--
and Azteca --one of the two largest producers of Spanish-language
television programming in the world, operating two national
television networks in Mexico,
Azteca 13 and Azteca 7, through more than 300 owned and operated
stations across the country. Azteca affiliates include Azteca
US, a broadcast television network focused on the rapidly growing
U.S. Hispanic market-- Other Grupo
Salinas companies are Azteca Comunicaciones Colombia and
Azteca Comunicaciones Peru, which
connect rural areas with world class fiber optic networks and
Totalplay, Mexico´s most innovative triple play
services.
Virgin Group is a leading international investment group
and one of the world's most recognized and respected brands.
Conceived in 1970 by Sir Richard
Branson, Virgin has gone on to grow successful businesses in
sectors including mobile telephony, travel and transportation,
financial services, leisure and entertainment, health and wellness,
and space tourism.
Notes to Editors:
Press contact details:
FTI Consulting
Charles Palmer/ Laura Ewart
charles.palmer@fticonsulting.com /
laura.ewart@fticonsulting.com
+44(0)7976-743-360 / +44(0)20-3727-1160
Fuse Communications
Mike Carrozzo
mcarrozzo@fusecommunications.com
+1-630-880-6153