SES announced the successful launch of four more O3b Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellites, bringing the number of O3b satellites to 20.
The launch was carried out by Arianespace from the Guiana Space Centre using the Soyuz rocket. The satellites were built by Thales Alenia Space.
The O3b MEO system is the only satellite-based system currently delivering fibre-like high-performance data connectivity services, MEF Carrier Ethernet certified services and certified Cloud connectivity services.
“This launch marks a very important part in the O3b journey. We started O3b with this bold vision of changing lives by connecting people. We wanted to create a meaningful impact, and we have. We have connected underserved communities with high-performance internet. We have restored connectivity across disaster zones. We have changed the notion that you can’t be as connected at sea as on land. And we have made the cloud available to businesses where it was never possible before,” said John-Paul Hemingway, Chief Executive Officer of SES Networks. “As this launch completes our first-gen O3b system of 20 satellites, it also marks the transition into our next-generation MEO system, O3b mPOWER, the only fully-funded NGSO broadband system in development today. When O3b mPOWER launches in 2021, SES will bring massive scale to our proven O3b model – driving digital transformation and cloud adoption virtually everywhere on the planet.”
Column: How Satellites will Reshape Data Connectivity in 2019
