UK joins with Bharti to take control of Oneweb

ONEWEB emerged from bankruptcy yesterday after a consortium led by the Government completed its acquisition of the troubled satellite operator.

The Government and Indian conglomerate Bharti Global have each put $500m (£376m) into the London business, which aims to beam internet signals from a constellation of hundreds of satellites.

The deal means the UK will go headto-head with Brussels and billionaire tycoon Elon Musk in the scramble to design an alternative to the ageing GPS navigation system. Oneweb claims it is on track to offer internet services in the UK next year and globally in 2022. “This strategic investment demonstrates government’s commitment to the UK’S space sector in the long term,” said Alok Sharma, the Business Secretary.

Neil Masterson, a former co- chief operating officer at Thomson Reuters, has been appointed as Oneweb’s new chief executive. Adrián Steckel, the company’s former boss, will continue to serve as an adviser to the board.

The $1bn bid by the Government and Bharti Global, an arm of Sunil Mittal’s Bharti Enterprises, was made in July after Oneweb went bankrupt in March.

In an extremely rare step, the UK took a so-called golden share to grant it veto powers over future investments in the company and access to its technology. It pushed the buyout through quickly in the face of concern among civil servants that the investment could sour.

Oneweb’s planned network of at least 650 satellites orbiting 750 miles above the earth could unlock ultra-high-speed broadband connections for 60,000 homes in isolated rural areas, as well as turbo-charging the country’s efforts to roll out 5G mobile internet.

Bharti has more than 400m customers and wants to use Oneweb to connect people in remote locations.

The company had launched 74 satellites before it was forced to file for bankruptcy. It plans to launch 36 more satellites on Dec 17, bringing its in-orbit fleet to 110 satellites.