Committed to provide connectivity across India by 2023: OneWeb

London-based satellite communications company Network Access Associated Limited (OneWeb) on Sunday said its partnership with ISRO and the space agency's commercial arm NSIL demonstrated its commitment to provide connectivity across the length and breadth of India by 2023.

From Ladakh to Kanyakumari and Gujarat to Arunachal Pradesh, OneWeb will bring secured solutions not only to enterprises but also to towns, villages, municipalities and schools, including the hardest-to-reach areas across the country, it said. "OneWeb's commitment to enhance connectivity in India is backed by Bharti Global, its largest investor," the company said in a statement. "

OneWeb confirmed the successful deployment of 36 satellites launched by NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), the commercial arm of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC- SHAR) in Sriharikota. "This launch by ISRO and NSIL is one of the biggest commercial orders by India's premier space organisation, and the first using the LVM3 rocket," OneWeb noted. The lift-off took place on Sunday at 12.07 am.

OneWeb's satellites separated successfully from the rocket and were dispensed in nine phases over a period of one hour and 15 minutes, with signal acquisition on all 36 satellites confirmed. This is OneWeb's 14th launch, bringing the constellation to 462 satellites. This launch represents more than 70 per cent of its planned 648 low earth orbit (LEO) satellite fleet that it said will deliver high-speed, low-latency connectivity worldwide.