When Will OneWeb Satellite Internet Be Available?

Most of us see much less news about OneWeb because we’re not its target audience. Still, OneWeb could have a big impact on people’s online experience, particularly in rural and other underserved areas.

As we often note here at HighSpeedInternet, reliable high-speed internet connections are essential for both businesses and for individuals to participate in everyday life. Unfortunately, many areas lack the infrastructure to deliver the broadband speeds that people need for education, healthcare, and civic engagement.

Although there have recently been huge investments in improving internet access, physical structures like fiber-optic cables and wireless towers take time to build and cost a lot of money. Furthermore, both costs and construction time increase as we extend this infrastructure into more remote areas.

OneWeb aims to bridge these gaps, connecting smaller networks to the wider internet. By using OneWeb as a wireless backhaul, small rural providers can offer high-speed connections to their community now in locations that might have otherwise needed undersea cables or multiple radio towers to connect with the rest of the world.

Through its partnerships with local internet providers, OneWeb increases the internet options available to rural communities. Importantly, OneWeb enables low-latency connections that are impossible with traditional GSO satellites.

Although it gets less attention than download speed, latency is a key factor in real-time communication. This means it not only impacts online games and livestreaming sites like Twitch, but also online education, telehealth, and other important services to which rural communities have less access.

Data as of 10/31/2024. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.

*Plus hardware, shipping & handling fees, and tax. Fully refundable. Depending on location, some orders may take 6 months or more to fulfill.

^†w/ Auto Pay. Regulatory fees included in monthly price for qualified accounts. See full terms

^‡Prices and availability vary by location. Installation fees, monthly equipment lease fees, and taxes may apply. After 100 GB of High-Speed Data usage, you still have unlimited access to Standard Data, which may result in slower speed.

^§Pricing for the first 6 months. Service plans require a 24-month commitment. Pricing not available in all areas.

Rural internet, though long overlooked, is experiencing some of the most exciting innovations in telecommunications that we’ve seen in a long time. Each technology has its own pros and cons and, at the moment, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. OneWeb doesn’t provide a residential service that you can sign up for, but it’s increasingly becoming an important part of many other networks, especially smaller regional providers.