SpaceX, OneWeb Eye Ground Terminals for Mass-Produced Comms Satellites

OneWeb plans to deploy ground terminals worth up to $1.5K to support satellite communications-driven wifi hotspot services, SpaceNews reported Monday.

Dylan Browne, president of OneWeb’s government segment, told the publication that the company seeks to establish a broad supplier network to support mass component production.

According to Browne, the company’s joint venture with Airbus called OneWeb Satellites has exceeded production requirements and manufactured three satellites in one day. 

In addition to OneWeb, SpaceX is also working to deploy ground terminals to support the Starlink satellite constellation.

Jonathan Hofeller, vice president of SpaceX's Starlink commercial sales, said the company plans to launch 60 more satellites on March 15 as part of plans to grow the constellation to 12K.

“The fact that we are manufacturing this in-house does give us the distinct advantage of being able to offer a very low priced terminal,” he said. “We do not have pricing at this point, but it is something that we know is critical to making this business successful.”

This month, OneWeb plans to send 34 satellites to low-Earth orbit to support the expansion of its fleet to 650. The firm aims to enable global satcom services by 2021.