Starlink’s competitor, OneWeb, is now getting to the point where it can actually be used in a meaningful way. From now on, areas above at least 35 degrees north latitude are covered, including Europe.

Network expansion was first active at the end of May, with OneWeb opening 37 new countries in Europe, including Austria, Italy, France, Portugal and Germany, as well as the entire US West Coast from Washington to California to the Northeast of the US. has become. It reached from Maine to Virginia and the entire Midwest. The company announced that this expansion will also improve communications in Canada and other maritime regions.

They probably waited a while before making a relevant official statement to really guarantee the stability of relations. Previously, the company guaranteed the continuous availability of its services only in Germany above the 50th parallel, which includes at least the central and northern parts of the country.

Nothing works without a ground station

Because the Oneweb satellites move in polar orbits, the closer you are to the poles, the more likely it is to have one or more of these in your field of view. Accordingly, the linkage also exists, at least theoretically, in relevant parts of the southern hemisphere. However, here’s the hallmark of Starlink’s OneWeb: the British provider’s satellites cannot communicate with each other, so there always needs to be a direct link to a ground station that doesn’t yet exist in the southern hemisphere.

Unlike Starlink, OneWeb cannot be booked directly with the operator. The company sells access to the network only through third-party providers. The focus here is also not private users, but satellite access is primarily sold to companies and large organizations that need data connections independent of traditional terrestrial infrastructure.