LEO (Low Earth Orbit) satellite operators Iridium Communications and OneWeb have signed a deal to provide a combined service offering, bringing together the Iridium Certus L-band service and OneWeb’s Ku-band service. The companies said the memorandum of understanding will also create opportunities for companies that manufacture terminals for both of the company systems. New options could include Iridium-OneWeb companion packages and providers delivering combined equipment or new dual-constellation terminals.idium and OneWeb Collaboration.
Although both Iridium Certus and OneWeb services come from LEO constellations, the companies explained that they have different capabilities on their respective bands (L-band and Ku-band), and that this will help create a complementary, full-service option for applications such as heads of state comms, critical tactical services, maritime, or disaster response. The OneWeb network delivers high-speed broadband connectivity that transfers large amounts of data. The system is ideal for applications including Inflight WiFi, government, and maritime networks that require global reach, high speed and low latency. Iridium's crosslinked satellite constellation brings global connectivity with highly weather resilient L-band user terminals, making it particularly suited for safety services to ships, aircraft, vehicles and deployed personnel.
With the first six satellites already launched, OneWeb's system has demonstrated broadband speeds of 400 Mbps and an average latency of 32 milliseconds. OneWeb will begin monthly launches of over 30 satellites per month starting from December. The operator will begin partial service in late 2020 and global coverage in 2021.
Announcement of the cooperation was first made at Iridium's 2019 partner conference in Coronado, California.
