Bharti group-backed OneWeb on Monday said it has signed an MoU with Kazakhstan government and local partners to provide satellite connectivity services in Kazakhstan, commemorating the 60th anniversary of the first human spaceflight.
On April 12, 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin made history by becoming the first person to orbit the Earth.
“I am delighted to visit Kazakhstan for the first time on this occasion of the 60th Anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's first human spaceflight. Today, we can honour his legacy with a constellation of OneWeb satellites orbiting the Earth to bring connectivity to all locations where it's needed," OneWeb's Executive Chairman and Chairman of Bharti Enterprises, Sunil Bharti Mittal said.
Mittal and OneWeb CEO Neil Masterson are in Kazakhstan for the occasion.
The MoU envisages several areas of cooperation, including use of OneWeb's low latency, high throughput satellite connectivity platform to provide broadband to remote and hard-to-reach rural communities, building a ground station to provide connectivity to Central Asian countries and localisation of the supply chain for OneWeb's Low Earth Orbit satellites, a statement said.
"The government of Kazakhstan continues to see the importance of bridging the digital divide and enabling the digitization of its economy using innovative and modern satellite technology. OneWeb has pledged to work together to bring about these opportunities for the country," Mittal said.
OneWeb has set up a local unit in the country that will facilitate the establishment of a low earth orbit centre of excellence in the country and enable OneWeb's service delivery across the whole of central Asia.
"OneWeb's connectivity services demonstrations are planned for June in the country to showcase how OneWeb's constellation of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites and user terminals provide high speed, low latency, seamless broadband connectivity," the statement said.
OneWeb signed the initial pact with subsidiaries of the Ministry of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry; national satellite operator Republican Centre of Space Communications JSC; National Company Kazakhstan Gharysh Sapary and spacecraft component supplier Ghalam LLP, it said.