Start-up satellite broadband provider O3b Networks has beaten Europe’s Galileo satellite navigation system to a hotly contested Soyuz launch slot in June.
Both groups had asked French launcher Arianespace to reserve the slot, although recent delays…
Start-up satellite broadband provider O3b Networks has beaten Europe’s Galileo satellite navigation system to a hotly contested Soyuz launch slot in June.
Both groups had asked French launcher Arianespace to reserve the slot, although recent delays in the delivery of the Galileo spacecraft tipped the balance in favour of O3b’s next batch of four satellites.
O3b CEO Steve Collar said: “Our satellites are now on their way to French Guiana and will be launched in late June. In the meantime, we continue to roll out our commercial service, bringing up customers on the initial constellation.”
O3b was forced to miss a launch opportunity late last year after identifying an issue on its first four birds that are already in orbit. The company, whose largest shareholder is satellite giant SES, said its in-orbit birds are now operating successfully, although rumours still circulate that it could make a partial insurance claim.
The group signed up its first customer earlier this year in Telecom Cook Islands, and expects more to launch commercial services before the end of June following tests.
Its satellites are designed to provide services in an orbit that is lower than rival broadband providers, enabling it to offer low latency products to markets such as the oil and gas sector as well as emerging regions that lack fixed infrastructure.
According to O3b, it has achieved throughput of up to 1.6Gbps and round trip latency below 150msec in tests with customers.
“The reaction that we have had so far from customers and end users has been spectacular,” said Collar.
“We have been saying that O3b will deliver ‘Fibre from the Sky’ and our customers are now telling us that they are experiencing exactly that. The combination of high speed and low latency is compelling. We can’t wait to get our next four satellites in orbit and to bring more customers and services online.”
The European Commission’s Galileo project has also suffered historic delays to its constellation. The multi-billion dollar scheme was originally intended to be operational by 2007, however, it is now aiming to provide near-global coverage in 2015.
