OneWeb to switch on Arctic Service
Today OneWeb successfully launched another 36 satellites into Low Earth Orbit (LEO) bringing us one step closer to completing our ‘Five to 50’ strategy which will bring Broadband network connectivity to government customers in and below the Arctic Circle.
OneWeb's Launch #7, which was successfully completed by Arianespace means OneWeb now has 218 satellites in place, 80% of the LEO constellation required to provide high speed, high throughput and low latency communications to government agencies conducting multi-domain operations above the 50th Parallel.
Services will go live after the fifth and final launch in the ‘Five to 50’ strategy which is scheduled to take place next month. Twenty countries and States within this initial operating capability (IOC) coverage include Alaska, Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Ireland, UK, France, Germany, Belgium, The Netherlands, Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia, Denmark, Estonia, Sweden, Norway and Finland.
The successful implementation of ‘Five to 50’ will support the Arctic Nations as they seek to expand their military footprints across the region to extend levels in influence; support territorial claims; and exploit valuable, hidden resources including oil and natural gas.
Of course, connectivity will be critical to the successful completion of any multi-domain operation in the Arctic- a region which has traditionally suffered from a lack of terrestrial communications networks and inaccessibility to geostationary satellites fixed above the Earth’s Equator.
OneWeb’s Solution
OneWeb will provide government customers with secure, resilient and reliable communications across the Arctic for the first time where armed forces can find themselves operating in temperatures as low as -40C.
Data rates as high as 195Mbps and latency levels less than 50ms will be enabled by small and highly mobile User Terminals integrated on board ground vehicles, surface vessels and aircraft to provide armed forces with hitherto unseen levels in Command and Control (C2) and Situation Awareness (SA).
Supported applications will include Blue Force Tracking and Full Motion Video technologies; extension of Mobile Ad Hoc Networks (MANET) networks and ISR feeds across extended areas of operation; generation of Common Operating Pictures; and the support of ‘Early Entry’ communications teams.
OneWeb will also enable connectivity to/from fixed headquarters and early warning system sites in the Arctic, in addition to ensuring communications to and from naval ice breaker vessels.
The solution is particularly suited to NATO and Non NATO Entity partners operating in the Arctic, such as Finland and Sweden, both of which share extensive physical borders with Russia and therefore require maximum levels in connectivity to ensure information superiority over highly capable, peer adversaries.
On 27 May, OneWeb successfully demonstrated its Global Connectivity Platform to Finnish government agencies in collaboration with Finland’s state-run security network provider, Erillisverkot Group.
Conducted at our Service Demonstration Experience at Westcott Venture Park’s Innovation Centre in Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom, the event illustrated how OneWeb’s solution is ideally suited to supporting the operational requirements of an Finnish Defence Forces in the Arctic Circle, including search and rescue; disaster relief; intelligence-gathering; and crisis response.
In North America, OneWeb has partnered up with end-to-end communications systems integrator ROCK Networks to support the connectivity requirements of Canadian government agencies operating in the Arctic.
The partnership will begin in 2022 and run through to 2026, providing innovative and reliable satellite communications for the Armed Forces and other government departments.
OneWeb and ROCK Networks will participate in a number of forthcoming defence events and exercises to showcase airborne and maritime surveillance, resupply, support patrols and security exercises.
Alongside our strategic partners, OneWeb looks forward to fulfilling its mission to support the operational requirements of Armed Forces operating in the Arctic.