OneWeb Signs Broadband Deal in the Philippines

A visualization of OneWeb’s constellation. Photo: OneWeb

OneWeb has signed a new deal to bring broadband connectivity to the Philippines, one of Asia’s biggest markets. It announced May 3 that it will partner with NOW Corporation, a publicly listed firm in the Philippine Stock Exchange with investments in telecom to bring broadband services to enterprise, government, and other customers in the country. The Philippines has a population of around 114 million people.

The partnership combines the satellite technology of OneWeb with NOW Corp’s existing broadband service and strong local presence especially in the enterprise market. OneWeb’s LEO satellites will provide seamless connectivity, enabling NOW to offer a wide range of enhanced broadband services to sectors including government, aviation, maritime, military, energy, healthcare and banking.

“Our alliance with OneWeb and with the support of the United States government to the NOW Group will provide a clean, secure, and SLA-based connectivity to critical infrastructures such as banks, hospitals, schools, mining sites, power plants, government, and all other entities under the country’s digital economy. NOW Telecom is perhaps the only franchised Philippine telecom company that includes mandate to operate in the outer space, making us able to cover the whole archipelago,” Mel Velarde, chairman of NOW Corporation, said in a statement.