Bharti Airtel, even though, under a lot of pressure from the ever-growing Jio, did something historic. One Web is a communications company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. The motto is “Shouldn’t everyone have access to the world’s information?” Well, Bharti Airtel certainly believes that and this is the reason to acquire a bankrupt filed OneWeb company. This article will take you into details about the recent 2020 deal and how it benefits Airtel.
Bharti Airtel will have satellites in the space now
The bid which entrepreneur, Sunil Bharati Mittal, talked about in a recent ISRO meeting, clearly showed his interest in saving one Web. OneWeb filed for bankruptcy in 2020. This gave the company ample reason to acquire it. This is a new venture from Bharti Airtel. After decades of producing and giving telecommunication services, Bharti Airtel is all set to embark on a satellite -internet-generating voyage. The company won the bid to acquire 45 percent of OneWeb. In return, Bharti Airtel will invest $500 million in the company. The UK government has 45 percent and the remaining 10 percent goes to other shareholders.
OneWeb has been working for launching home-like 150 kg each satellite into space. These satellites will remain in low Earth orbit to offer wireless internet services all around the globe. According to a YouTube video from Gareeb Scientist, this move is a big deal for our nation particularly. This means that in India, we will have better internet access. Even if you live in a rural area, you can still get easy access to internet services. The video also highlighted the fact that such investments have occurred in the past, however, very few reached their peak points. However, if Bharti Airtel follows the model of Spacex Starlink which has its association with US Defense forces, it will be pretty influential. Association with the Indian Army will also benefit the army, and shipping to airlines will have a major benefit.
Sunil Mittal on the new venture
Sunil Mittal explained the new venture and put forth the benefits. In a statement, he said, “OneWeb’s platform will reduce the digital divide. It will provide high speed, low latency broadband access to the poor and hard-to-reach areas. ” He further expressed his eagerness to tap more areas in both India and Africa. It can become the next best thing in terms of economic enabling. Other shareholders of the company include Hughes, Virgin Group, and Qualcomm, among other big giants.
The company will launch 650 satellites and gradually, launch 1,980 satellites. These will orbit 1,200 km above the Earth’s surface.
