Related news indicates that French satellite service provider Eutelsat SA is preparing to acquire British satellite service providerOneWebAfter the acquisition, the UK will retain control over OneWeb, including the right to reject applications from customers with potential risk factors and the right to veto changes in the location of the operational headquarters.
OneWeb has recently secured a new round of financing of US$34 billion, and Eutelsat SA holds approximately 23% of OneWeb's shares, making it the second-largest shareholder. The largest shareholder is still Bharti Global Group, owned by India's richest man, Sunil Bharti Mittal.
If Eutelsat SA further acquires OneWeb resources, it will be able to compete in the low-orbit satellite Internet service market and further compete with SpaceX's Starlink and Amazon's Project Kuiper services. It is also expected to achieve the EU's goal of building the largest proprietary low-orbit satellite Internet service in Europe.
Compared with SpaceX's Starlink satellite Internet service, the EU expects that its self-built low-orbit satellite Internet service will be able to ensure connection security without the privacy and security concerns caused by using Internet services provided by operators in other countries. On the other hand, it can also enhance the Internet connection bandwidth within the EU and regions such as Africa. At the same time, through the convenience of low-orbit satellite Internet connection, more areas that were originally difficult to deploy Internet infrastructure can also access the Internet via satellite.
