A floor system software program bug brought about a two-day outage final week of Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite tv for pc operator OneWeb’s broadband service. This comes as the corporate begins to develop its portfolio of providers to enterprise and authorities prospects internationally this spring.
OneWeb, which additionally operates a fleet of higher-flying 35 geostationary (GEO) satellites, mentioned the disruption was brought on by a failure to account for 2024 being a bissextile year, in accordance with mother or father agency Eutelsat. The disruption started Dec. 31.
To worsen issues, OneWeb couldn’t redirect visitors to the GEO satellites as a result of prospects didn’t have terminals to assist LEO/GEO features. All lively OneWeb prospects have been affected by the prolonged outage.
EchoStar’s Hughes Community Programs is the provider of the software program for OneWeb’s terminals and key operational hubs at greater than 20 teleports and Earth stations across the globe.
OneWeb expects to have the remaining 4 out of 42 of the remaining gateways accomplished by midyear. So far as compensation for the outage, the spokesperson mentioned, “some prospects with minimal service stage clauses of their contracts will likely be eligible for compensation.”
What’s subsequent for Eutelsat?
LEO satellites fly closest to the planet, adopted by older Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) birds and the highest-flying Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GEO) satellites.
Eutelsat can also be within the midst of a refresh of spacecraft of their constellation, which consists of over 600 satellites. They have been launched in batches between 2019 and 2023. These satellites have a life expectancy of seven to eight years. Due to this fact, the corporate wants to start out changing the early batches in 2026, which is why the corporate just lately ordered 100 satellites from Airbus, in accordance with the spokesperson. There will likely be others to comply with.
Powerful timing for satellite tv for pc outage
Within the wake of subsea cable cuts and outages internationally, extra folks need to satellite tv for pc – particularly as a backup for terrestrial networks. Enterprise IT was reminded of the necessity for extra resilient networks and emergency communications when Hurricane Helene devastated southeastern states corresponding to North Carolina. It’s been estimated that it’ll take two years for the stricken area to get better.
Wi-fi started impacting LEO use case two years in the past with the emergence of direct to gadget providers.
Competitors and consolidation
OneWeb broadband satellite tv for pc service competes within the crowded LEO sector dominated by SpaceX Starlink service. (The corporate has launched greater than 7,000 broadband satellites for its Starlink LEO community and just lately recorded 4 million subscribers for the service.) OneWeb contains Amazon’s long-awaited Challenge Kuiper providing, Intelsat, GlobalStar, and extra. Paris-based Eutelsat acquired OneWeb of London in 2023 to create the Eutelsat OneWeb Group.
World LEO satellite tv for pc market dimension was $5.43 billion in 2024, in accordance with Enterprise Analysis Insights, which tasks the market is projected to the touch $25.66 billion by 2032, exhibiting a CAGR of 21.4% through the forecast interval.
LEO service use circumstances
LEO providers are used to offer Web entry and extra to residences and companies in rural areas worldwide, in addition to by governments. OneWeb additionally affords cellular connectivity choices to aerospace and maritime industries with the mixed accounting for 14% of revenues, in accordance with the corporate spokesperson. LEO providers are additionally seen as a strong match for surveillance and IoT purposes.
LEO pace will increase forward
LEO service speeds proceed to rise as operators evolve their infrastructure and consumer entry gadgets. SpaceX filed plans with the FCC in October to supply gigabit providers from its latest satellite tv for pc.
In an ongoing effort to make sure community resiliency on earth, enterprises have been in search of satellite tv for pc providers as partial alternative for terrestrial and subsea providers, or extra possible as a backup to guard lifeblood information visitors. And simply as the previous are topic to cuts and outages, so too are satellite tv for pc floor programs and the spacecraft themselves that collectively present an array of satellite tv for pc providers.