London, UK. 13 May 2022 – OneWeb, the low Earth orbit satellite communications company, and Telefonica through, Telefónica Global Solutions (TGS), the subsidiary of global telecommunications company Telefónica that manages the international Wholesale, Global Roaming, Multinationals and USA businesses, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to improve connectivity services across Europe and Latin America. The collaboration arrangement between OneWeb and TGS comes as the need to expand modern, digital infrastructure has become a priority for governments, businesses and communities across Europe and Latin America.

OneWeb’s efficient, high-performance Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite service will complement Telefónica’s existing offering in Europe and Latin America, enabling Telefónica to reach remote regions that they have not previously been able to serve. TGS will offer its expertise to promote and supply OneWeb’s low latency cellular backhaul services that can be deployed to help improve existing backhaul and support network upgrades to 4G/5G, while also providing backhaul backup for critical sites and infill capacity for special events. Where backhaul does not currently exist, OneWeb’s service will help expand Telefónica’s mobile coverage and extend enterprise connectivity.

The combination of TGS and OneWeb services will ultimately increase user satisfaction and enable new applications and OTT services, in addition to supporting the expansion of mobile connectivity to users globally. SMEs will be able to use the OneWeb/TGS LEO satellite solution to support and extend their enterprise networks, while large organisations - including governments, telcos and ISPs - in rural and remote parts of Europe and Latin America will also benefit from the combination of Telefónica’s fibre network and OneWeb’s low-latency broadband service.

OneWeb’s Chief Executive Officer, Neil Masterson, said