Britain buys space firm Oneweb in £800m deal

Britain buys space firm Oneweb in £800m deal that will boost efforts to create home-grown sat nav system, and help deliver super-fast broadband

Britain has bought space firm Oneweb at auction in an £800m deal that will boost efforts to create a home-grown sat nav system, and help deliver super-fast broadband. 

The Government was supported by India’s Bharti Global in the bid, with the two parties pledging to launch hundreds of low-orbit satellites that are expected to provide broadband and navigation services. 

Taking off: The Government will invest about £400m in Oneweb and take a significant share in the company

Under the deal, the Government will invest about £400m in Oneweb and take a significant share in the company. Bharti will match that and provide commercial and operational leadership. 

In recent months, London-based Oneweb has emerged as a potentially lower-cost route for the UK to develop its own satellite navigation service, as an alternative to US-controlled GPS. 

Oneweb has been laid low by financial woes and its fate was left to auction in New York, with various businesses and nations said to have been interested in buying it. 

Business Secretary Alok Sharma the deal would help deliver the ‘first UK sovereign space capability’.