However can it change the performance of Starlink, which is simple to make use of and has ample capability?

Enter Eutelsat

OneWeb has had a protracted and tortured historical past, involving chapter, a number of modifications in possession, surviving the confiscation of some satellites by Russia, and far more. The corporate acquired a jolt of stability in 2023 when the French satellite tv for pc operator Eutelsat acquired OneWeb at a valuation of $3.4 billion. The British and French governments every personal a bit greater than 10 p.c of the corporate.

For the primary two months of this 12 months, the publicly traded Eutelsat’s shares have been buying and selling at historic lows, at occasions as little as 1.15 euros a share ($1.25). Nonetheless, for the reason that threats about Starlink service in Ukraine emerged, the inventory has soared, rising in worth fourfold.

To grasp whether or not the smaller OneWeb constellation may replicate the Starlink service being provided in Ukraine, Ars spoke with Caleb Henry, the director of analysis at Quilty Analytics, who can be writing a deeply researched e-book concerning the historical past of OneWeb. The constellation is useful however not optimum, he mentioned.

“Every sacrifice that was made over time for the sake of the survival of the corporate within the current damage them sooner or later,” Henry mentioned of OneWeb.

The constellation was initially supposed to be 900 satellites and embrace many extra gateways on the bottom, each of which would supply extra capability. OneWeb additionally has not been in a position to attain a excessive scale of producing for its person terminals, which in some circumstances price hundreds of {dollars} along with a month-to-month subscription price.

These terminals are additionally extra clunky and fewer simple to make use of. For instance, Henry mentioned, Ukrainian troopers have been in a position to mount Starlink terminals on drones, however the OneWeb terminals are too massive for that.