O3b satellites begin journey to Le Centre Spatial Guyanais
Company preparing for launch of satellites 5-8 in its constellation
St. John, Jersey, Channel Islands – O3b Networks announces that its second group of 4 satellites have begun their journey from the Thales Alenia Space facility in Rome to the launch site from Le Centre Spatial Guyanais (CSG) at Kourou in French Guiana.
The company’s first 4 satellites, which we were launched in 2013, are operating successfully in orbit. Telecom Cook Islands was the first customer to be brought up on the constellation earlier this year. Many more customers are completing testing and will be turning up commercial service before the next launch.
Tests with customers have attained stunning throughput of up to 1.6Gbps and round trip latency below 150msec. Live interoperability testing reveals that O3b’s innovative Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellite constellation can support the low latency required for cutting edge 4G/LTE technologies.
Steve Collar, CEO of O3b Networks said:
“Our satellites are now on their way to French Guiana and will be launched in late June. In the meantime, we continue to roll out our commercial service, bringing up customers on the initial constellation.”
“The reaction that we have had so far from customers and end users has been spectacular. We have been saying that O3b will deliver ‘Fiber from the Sky’ and our customers are now telling us that they are experiencing exactly that. The combination of high speed and low latency is compelling. We can’t wait to get our next 4 satellites in orbit and to bring more customers and services on line.”
About O3b Networks Limited
O3b Networks Limited (www.o3bnetworks.com) is a global satellite service provider building a next-generation satellite network for telecommunications operators, Internet service providers, enterprise and government customers in emerging markets.
The O3b network will deliver broadband connectivity everywhere on Earth within 45 degrees of latitude north and south of the equator. Our vast coverage area includes emerging and insufficiently connected markets in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Australia, with a collective population of over 3 billion people. It will combine the global reach of satellite with the speed of a fiber‐optic network providing billions of consumers and businesses in nearly 180 countries with low‐cost, high‐speed, low latency Internet and mobile connectivity.
O3b Networks’ investors include SES, Google, Liberty Global, HSBC Principal Investments, Northbridge Venture Partners, Allen & Company, Development Bank of Southern Africa, Sofina, Satya Capital and Luxempart.
