{"id":17949,"date":"2019-09-04T21:59:04","date_gmt":"2019-09-04T13:59:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/oneweb-targets-the-arctic-for-the-kickoff-of-its-satellite-broadband-service-in-2020\/"},"modified":"2019-09-04T21:59:04","modified_gmt":"2019-09-04T13:59:04","slug":"oneweb-targets-the-arctic-for-the-kickoff-of-its-satellite-broadband-service-in-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/oneweb-targets-the-arctic-for-the-kickoff-of-its-satellite-broadband-service-in-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"OneWeb targets the Arctic for the kickoff of its satellite broadband service in 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"
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An artist\u2019s conception shows one of OneWeb\u2019s satellites in orbit. (OneWeb Satellites Illustration)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

OneWeb says it\u2019ll start delivering broadband internet service to the Arctic via satellite in 2020, turning the \u201cLast Frontier\u201d into a new frontier for data beamed from orbit.<\/p>\n

The London-based company provided fresh details about its market rollout today, saying that it will deliver fiber-like connectivity amounting to 375 gigabits per second of data transmission capacity above the 60th parallel north by the end of next year.<\/p>\n

That area takes in most of Alaska as well as Canada\u2019s Yukon Territory, Northwest Territories and Nunavut, plus parts of Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador. It also encompasses Greenland, Iceland and parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. (The Arctic Circle is a little higher up, at about 66.5 degrees north.)<\/p>\n

Historically, the Arctic region has been underserved by broadband data access, due to the difficulty of installing fiber-optic cable. Alaska, for example, ranks No. 44 on the list of 50 states in terms of connectivity, according to BroadbandNow.<\/p>\n

Satellite links get around many of the limitations, and the fact that OneWeb is putting its satellites in low Earth orbit will make for fast response times. In a series of HD video streaming tests, conducted in July using OneWeb\u2019s first six satellites, latency averaged less than 40 milliseconds.<\/p>\n

OneWeb says its ground antennas will be fully operational by January to serve the Arctic region, and it\u2019s planning to have dozens of satellites in pole-to-pole orbits by then. With more than $3 billion in investment from the likes of Japan\u2019s SoftBank Group and Mexico\u2019s Grupo Salinas, the company expects to begin offering substantial services for business, telecom and governmental users toward the end of 2020. Full 24-hour coverage would be provided by early 2021, OneWeb said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur constellation will offer universal high-speed Arctic coverage sooner than any other proposed system meeting the need for widespread connectivity across the Arctic,\u201d OneWeb CEO Adrian Steckel said today in a news release.<\/p>\n