OneWeb and Telefónica signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to improve connectivity services across Europe and Latin America.
It’s a way for Telefónica to use OneWeb’s low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite service to complement its existing offering in Europe and Latin America, enabling Telefónica to reach remote regions it previously wasn’t able to serve.
Specifically, Telefónica’s Global Solutions (TGS) will offer its expertise to promote and supply OneWeb’s low latency cellular backhaul services that can be deployed to help improve existing backhaul and support network upgrades to 4G/5G while also providing backhaul backup for critical sites and infill capacity for special events. Where backhaul doesn’t currently exist, OneWeb’s service will help expand Telefónica’s mobile coverage and extend enterprise connectivity.
The companies say the combination of TGS and OneWeb services ultimately will increase user satisfaction and enable new applications and OTT services, in addition to supporting the expansion of mobile connectivity to users globally.
Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) will be able to use the OneWeb/TGS LEO satellite solution to support and extend their enterprise networks, while large organizations - including governments, telcos and ISPs - in rural and remote parts of Europe and Latin America will benefit from the combination of Telefónica’s fiber network and OneWeb’s low-latency broadband service.
“This arrangement is fantastic news for communities across Europe and Latin America, who will benefit from better and enhanced network coverage,” said OneWeb CEO Neil Masterson in a statement. “OneWeb believes that our unique network has a crucial role to play in providing connectivity for the hardest-to-reach areas globally, so we look forward to working with Telefónica to deliver enhanced internet performance and availability to customers.”
In the U.S., Verizon last year announced a partnership with Amazon’s Project Kuiper to augment its ground-based cellular network with Kuiper’s satellites. Initially, plans called for Project Kuiper to provide cellular backhaul solutions for Verizon’s data networks but it sets the groundwork for Verizon to offer satellite-based communications to its customers.