OneWeb is positioned around low Earth orbit (LEO) connectivity designed for isolated sites, with the article tying its approach to 3GPP band n256, standardized for NTN operation to enable direct-to-enterprise (DTE) connectivity, IoT, and consumer equipment.
The piece says OneWeb has completed its “Five to 50” mission in July 2021 and that coverage includes the United Kingdom, Canada, Alaska, Northern Europe, Greenland, and the Arctic region. It also links the system to maritime connectivity: in May 2022, OneWeb had a contract with Navarino to commercialize broadband, low-latency connections for maritime transport, with sea tests aimed at connecting ships starting in the first quarter of 2023. The article quotes OneWeb’s Carole Plessy saying the connectivity “changes the game,” particularly on sensitive maritime routes where real-time video and synchronization with the cloud should become the norm.
Beyond consumer-style connectivity, the article describes Astrocast’s bidirectional satellite IoT service, SatIoT, and frames it as designed to connect connected objects once they leave terrestrial cellular networks. On the network layer, it also cites LoRaWAN positioning: Semtech partners with Lacuna Space to increase LoRaWAN coverage and reliability, while LoRaWAN is described as a bridge between terrestrial networks and satellites to provide always-on, low-power connectivity using license-free frequency bands.