O3b Networks’ second group of four satellites has begun the journey from the Thales Alenia Space facility in Rome to the launch site from Le Centre Spatial Guyanais at Kourou in French Guiana.
The company’s first four satellites, which we were launched in 2013, are operating successfully in orbit.
Telecom Cook Islands was the first customer to be brought up on the constellation earlier this year. Other customers are completing testing and will be turning up commercial service before the next launch, according to O3b Networks.
Tests with customers have attained throughput of up to 1.6Gbps and round trip latency below 150 milliseconds. Live interoperability testing reveals that O3b’s medium Earth orbit satellite constellation can support the low latency required for 4G/LTE technologies.
“Our satellites are now on their way to French Guiana and will be launched in late June. In the meantime, we continue to roll out our commercial service, bringing up customers on the initial constellation,” says Steve Collar, CEO of O3b Networks.
“The reaction that we have had so far from customers and end users has been spectacular. We have been saying that O3b will deliver ‘Fibre from the Sky’ and our customers are now telling us that they are experiencing exactly that. The combination of high speed and low latency is compelling. We can’t wait to get our next four satellites in orbit and to bring more customers and services on line.”
Add Comment