Press Release | 08 March 2023

Orange and OneWeb sign agreement to enhance and expand global connectivity

  • This partnership with OneWeb will improve and expand Orange’s overall connectivity, particularly in rural and remote areas across Europe, Latin America and Africa
  • OneWeb’s LEO technology will complement Orange’s market leading position for backhauling in hard-to-reach regions such as Africa
  • This integration will also enhance Orange Business offering with high broadband, resilient and low latency solutions, benefiting small, medium and large enterprises.

OneWeb, the low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite communications company, and Orange S.A. (Orange), one of the world’s leading telecommunications operators, today announce they have signed a distribution agreement to expand connectivity services across Europe, Africa, Latin America, and other global regions. The news comes as governments across the world prioritise the development of digital infrastructure networks post-COVID.

With this partnership, Orange will offer enriched connectivity, integrating OneWeb’s LEO technology, to  enterprise customers and telco operators in different regions of the world. OneWeb’s LEO technology will therefore complement existing services and enable connection to hard-to-reach areas which previously could not be served with an enhanced latency. The high-quality, low latency end-user service experience provided by OneWeb services will increase user satisfaction, and enable new applications and OTT services.

Other benefits to this partnership also include increased resiliency, and geographical reach for enterprise solutions and backhauling in remote locations across Europe, Latin America, Africa and beyond. With OneWeb’s technology Orange offers a range of multi-orbital solutions complementing our forty years of experience in satellite connectivity to benefit small, medium and large enterprises, telco operators, and Internet Service Providers.

Neil Masterson, OneWeb Chief Executive Officer, commented: “This is an exciting partnership that will help improve and expand connectivity globally. Orange’s market-leading position across several continents, coupled with OneWeb’s unique network and LEO technology, will help bridge digital divides and ensure access to efficient, high-quality, and reliable broadband internet is available to customers in Europe, Latin America, Africa and other locations across the world.”

Jean-Louis Le Roux, Executive Vice President, of Orange International Networks Infrastructures & Services, explained: “At Orange, we believe that satellite  is a promising and complementary technology showcasing many recent innovations that will benefit enterprises all around the word and will accelerate the digital inclusion of populations within our subsidiaries in Africa and the Middle East. We are therefore delighted to partner with OneWeb as it will allow us to continue deploying high quality networks in all underserved parts of the world”.

Anne-Marie Thiollet, Deputy Executive Vice President Products and Marketing, Orange Business, says: “Our customers ranging from multi-nationals, enterprises, governments to NGOs will have access to OneWeb’s pioneering satellite network. This high speed and low latency solution will efficiently complement Orange Business’s existing portfolio to keep connecting our customers to their applications anytime, anywhere, with the right quality of service to meet their business requirements”. 

 

About OneWeb
OneWeb is a global communications network powered from space, headquartered in London, enabling connectivity for governments, businesses, and communities. It is implementing a constellation of Low Earth Orbit satellites with a network of global gateway stations and a range of user terminals to provide an affordable, fast, high-bandwidth and low-latency communications service, connected to the IoT future and a pathway to 5G for everyone, everywhere. Find out more at http://www.oneweb.world 

À propos d’Orange

Orange est l’un des principaux opérateurs de télécommunications dans le monde, avec un chiffre d’affaires de 39,7 milliards d’euros en 2023 et 128 000 salariés au 30 septembre 2024, dont 71 000 en France. Le Groupe servait 292 millions de clients au 30 Septembre 2024, dont 253 millions de clients mobile et 22 millions de clients haut débit fixe. Ces chiffres ont été retraités à la suite de la déconsolidation de certaines activités en Espagne liées à la création de la co-entreprise MASORANGE. Le Groupe est présent dans 26 pays (y compris les pays non consolidés).
Orange est également l’un des leaders mondiaux des services de télécommunications aux entreprises multinationales sous la marque Orange Business. En février 2023, le Groupe a présenté son plan stratégique « Lead the Future », construit sur un nouveau modèle d’entreprise et guidé par la responsabilité et l’efficacité. « Lead the Future » capitalise sur l’excellence des réseaux afin de renforcer le leadership d’Orange dans la qualité de service.

Orange est coté sur Euronext Paris (symbole ORA) et sur le New York Stock Exchange (symbole ORAN).
Pour plus d’informations (sur le web et votre mobile) : www.orange.com, www.orange-business.com et l’app Orange News ou pour nous suivre sur X : @presseorange.

Orange et tout autre produit ou service d’Orange cités dans ce communiqué sont des marques détenues par Orange ou Orange Brand Services Limited.