- OneWeb and Vocus join forces to deliver low Earth orbit satellite services in Australia
- Vocus becomes OneWeb’s first distribution partner in Oceania, targeting enterprise in Australia with fibre-like services from the sky
- First commercial customers are planned for mid-2022
OneWeb, the low Earth orbit satellite communications company, announced its first distribution partner in Australia, Vocus, to deliver OneWeb’s high-speed, low-latency communications services across Australia.
Supported by a global network of gateways and user terminals, OneWeb’s global connectivity platform will provide high-bandwidth and low-latency connectivity to expand Vocus’s existing connectivity capabilities across Australia. The partnership will enable internet access no matter where end users are.
OneWeb’s partnership with Vocus will focus on expanding bandwidth for a variety of industries such as mining, oil and gas, utilities, construction, and community aggregation, which will bring a range of benefits including improved corporate efficiency, health and safety requirements, asset tracking, environmental monitoring, and new operational applications, while also helping remote workers better connect with their families and loved ones back home.
Utilising the power of OneWeb’s network, Vocus can augment its existing GEO satellite or microwave connectivity by adding low-latency LEO satellite services. Vocus specialises in offering customers innovative solutions including rural and remote site connectivity and, combined with its investment in fibre networks and infrastructure, delivering remote data communications, VolP, and internet access to customers across a wide range of industries. Vocus provides reliable communications to enterprises in remote locations with limited or no connectivity, including resource-based projects, emergency responders and infrastructure projects. Vocus designs, builds, owns, operates, and maintains almost 30,000km of fibre connecting mainland capitals and most regional centres in Australia and New Zealand, as well as connecting Australia to South East Asia.
Neil Masterson, OneWeb CEO, said: “OneWeb stands ready to enter the Australian market for the first time and become part of the solution to bridge the digital divide across the country. We always partner with local specialists and together with Vocus, we’ll soon be able to bring affordable, high-speed internet to businesses and communities and every hard-to-reach part of Australia.”
Vocus’s Chief Executive Officer, Kevin Russell, said: “We are very excited by the many advantages that OneWeb’s LEO connectivity services will bring to our suite of services. With OneWeb’s low latency and QoS capability, our customers will have the quality connectivity necessary to deploy new software and systems to operate more efficiently in remote locations, expanding our existing bandwidth capability for the end user. OneWeb’s proven technology and focus on scalable solutions will allow us to have accessible internet access for anyone, anywhere in these regions.”
Vocus will offer OneWeb connectivity together with a ful range of value-added services and solutions, including a 24×7 Operations Command Centre that includes security, monitoring and reporting, as well as network design and consulting, commercial installation, and maintenance.
