BT and OneWeb partnership aims to help increase rural connectivity

Charlotte Whyatt • 02 Jul 2021

Satellite broadband may be the solution to improving the quality of rural broadband.

BT and satellite broadband provider OneWeb have signed an agreement to help bring internet to those in remote, rural locations across the UK. 

They will work together in order to improve both the download and upload speeds that these residents can receive as well as the quality of their phone signal. 

The project will hopefully prove useful in helping the government to fulfill their Universal Service Obligation (USO) and work alongside other initiatives like the £5 billion Project Gigabit to increase connectivity in isolated rural areas. 

The London-based OneWeb was rescued from bankruptcy back in July 2020 by the UK government and Indian firm Bharti Global.

An additional £400 million was invested this April by fellow satellite broadband provider Eutelsat.  

OneWeb now has a total of 254 satellites in operation after launching an extra 36 yesterday on Thursday 1st July. 

"It is clear that greater partnership is needed, both with the government and within industry, to ensure connectivity can reach every last corner of the country," said BT's Philip Jansen.  

“Our agreement with Oneweb is an important step to understanding how that goal could be achieved in the future.”

Source: BBC News