BT secures global partnership with OneWeb

United Kingdom company BT has signed an agreement with OneWeb to provide low earth orbit (LEO) satellite communication services across the BT Group. BT will be testing how LEO satellite technology integrates with its existing terrestrial capabilities to meet the communications needs of customers.

On successful completion, BT will commence the first live trials with customers from early next year. The partnership will span a growing range of connectivity solutions around the world as well as specific opportunities for the UK market.

Current capacity levels within OneWeb satellites mean initial trials will focus on the role as a supplementary, low latency backhaul solution to sites where additional capacity or a back-up solution is required and to deliver improved resilience for business customers. On successful completion, BT will begin early adopter trials for UK and international customers, expected early next year.

As OneWeb grows capacity, the list of future use cases could also widen, opening up the opportunity to explore the use of satellite for IoT backhaul and fixed wireless access in rural areas.

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/Andreas Prott