The race for space-based internet looks like it will be down one competitor.
OneWeb filed for bankruptcy after not being able to raise money. The company thought it was in line to get some funding but the outbreak of the coronavirus put a stop to that.
The company had no choice other than to see protection.
Now, the future of the company and the satellites in order is uncertain.
The leader in the space, SpaceX is launching satellites in batches of 60. Elon Musk said the company is producing 6 satellites per day, or 180 per month. In contrast, OneWeb had 74 satellites in orbit.
This venture was not going to be as bold as SpaceX. OneWeb had approval for 600+ satellites while Musk has 28,000. This project was going to cover the 60th parellel. SpaceX is looking to cover the entire planet.
Jeff Bezos is the other big player in this market. His Blue Origin project has approval for thousands of LEO satellites.
There are hundreds of billions of dollars on the line. OneWeb suffered from the fact it operated like a traditional manufacturing/space company. Musk is known for his innovative approach to manufacturing that pushes costs down. OneWeb was using United Launch Alliance to get its satellites into space. SpaceX can do that for a lot less money giving then a built in advantage.
The quest to blanket the globe with Internet coverage is a race for a pot of gold. The ability to provide truly global communications opens up a market of more than 7 billion people.
SpaceX has stated that it will cost more than $10 billion to get the satellites launched. While OneWeb enters bankruptcy, SpaceX is expecting to have service start by the end of this year in select areas.
It will be interesting to see if either SpaceX or Blue Origin bid on any of OneWeb's assets.
The sector just got a good deal smaller.
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