OneWeb's Global Services Update

OneWeb, a global communications company, plans to bring high speed, low latency, reliable in-flight connectivity to business aviation users. With global services beginning in 2021, OneWeb’s inflight service will connect unconnected routes such as the Arctic from the outset, and business jet fliers will be able to access all applications from their office in the air.

Working with key industry partners, OneWeb pledges to deliver an affordable line-fit solution to the lightest of bizjets, through to large cabin VVIP airliners and new supersonic offerings.

The business aviation team, led by Dylan Browne, Head of OneWeb’s Business Aviation, Government and Maritime sectors, will be at NBAA-BACE in Las Vegas, NV. (October 21-24) to explain the benefits of low latency, cloud-friendly services to OEMs and to prospective partners.

When OneWeb goes live, passengers will be able to fully participate in necessary business operations such as multiple simultaneous uninterrupted live video conferences, access cloud solutions such as Office365, connect with Live TV, as well as content streaming Apps such as Netflix and Amazon Video, but also keep up to date with the family on FaceTime and WhatsApp.

OneWeb’s solution comes from high performing, low latency, Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites situated much closer to Earth – approximately 750 miles. This means that business jet passengers connecting in-flight won’t have to compete for their coverage in the traditional, larger 35,000 ft GEO (Geostationary) space, where transmission regularly drops out. A typical GEO satellite signal round-trip of nearly 45,000 miles on average means a network time delay of two seconds. GEOs also cannot serve the polar regions, where OneWeb plans to offer polar track coverage from day one, which is good news for the business jet community, with aircraft flying longer and further than ever before.

OneWeb’s satellites are built in Florida by OneWeb Satellites, a joint venture between OneWeb and Airbus. OneWeb will deploy more than 30 satellites on a monthly basis starting in December 2019, as it grows its constellation for full global coverage.