Telstra signs 10-year teleport support deal with OneWeb

Telstra and OneWeb have signed a 10-year deal that will see the Australian telco incumbent build and maintain three new teleports in Australia to provide ground support in the southern hemisphere for OneWeb’s growing fleet of low-earth orbit satellites.

According to the pair, the first teleport will be located in Divendale, Northern Territory and is scheduled to begin installation this month with a go-live planned in July. The other two sites — Charlton, Queensland and Wangara, Western Australia — are planned for completion later this year

Under the deal, Telstra will also provide 24 hours, seven days a week monitoring and quality assurance services at each location.

“Low-earth orbit satellite technology is transforming the global connectivity landscape, not only by creating new business opportunities, but also giving more businesses, communities, and governments the internet access they need for progress,” OneWeb delivery and operations chief Michele Franci said.

“More connectivity options benefit everyone and our approach in establishing strategic partnerships with experienced providers like Telstra is core to how we deliver the OneWeb mission.”

OneWeb has already launched two-thirds of its constellation, which is providing coverage to areas that have been historically difficult to connect, including Alaska, Canada, and the wider arctic region.

The UK-based satellite company is gearing to launch more of its satellites this year, after signing a deal with SpaceX following initial plans to launch three dozen satellites were halted by the Russian space agency over the invasion of Ukraine.

Earlier in the month, the pair also signed a memorandum of understanding to explore new connectivity solutions for Asia-Pacific regions, including Australia.

Telstra signed a similar deal with Viasat last month that will see the telco, over a period of 16.5 years, build and manage the ground infrastructure needed for when the Viasat-3 geosynchronous satellite constellation eventually comes online.

Under the deal, Telstra will collocate satellite access nodes at hundreds of its sites around Australia, as well as build and manage the links between those sites and multiple data centres that will house core networking equipment.

Telstra said it was also in discussions on how it may use Viasat services in the future.

Meanwhile, OneWeb has signed a separate distribution partner agreement with US-based satellite firm Kymeta with the aim to offer broadband connectivity services globally.

Under the deal, Kymeta will use the support of OneWeb’s network of satellites to distribute standalone low-earth orbit services with its fixed and mobile hardware solutions to government and commercial customers.

“Whether connectivity is needed on land, at sea, or in the air, Kymeta continues to deliver through innovation and strong partner relationships,” Kymeta president and co-CEO Walter Berger said.

“We look forward to working with OneWeb as the addition of capacity from their leading LEO satellite network will give customers, including the U.S. government and military, unprecedented access to connectivity in areas where existing networks don’t reach.”

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