Jane Edwards
SpaceX, Boeing and OneWeb have announced plans to launch satellite constellations that will work to operate in low-Earth orbit and offer high-speed broadband service worldwide, the Los Angeles Times reported Friday.
Samantha Masunaga writes the $224.6-billion broadband industry dominated by cable and telecommunications firms is likely to face a challenge with the potential launch of such satellite networks.
SpaceX unveiled an office in Redmond, Washington, and secured a $1 billion investment from Google and Fidelity Investments to launch a constellation of at least 4,000 satellites, which CEO Elon Musk said could cost between $10 billion and $15 billion.
SpaceX plans to initially launch 800 satellites in an effort to provide broadband access to the U.S., Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, Masunaga reports.
Boeing has proposed to introduce a network of 2,900 satellites that will work to provide broadband coverage to government and commercial clients across the world.
The report noted that OneWeb raised $1.2 billion in a funding round led by Japan-based technology firm SoftBank Group to establish a facility in Florida that will produce microsatellites for its 700-satellite network.
OneWeb plans to initially launch 10 satellites in 2018 in support of its goal to provide broadband coverage by 2019, the report added.
