Eutelsat orders 340 additional satellites from Airbus for OneWeb network
Satellite operator Eutelsat has signed a contract with Airbus Defence and Space to build 340 additional low-orbit satellites (LEO) for the OneWeb network.
With this order, which comes on top of an earlier order of 100 satellites in December 2024, the total number of satellites ordered rises to 440. Delivery is scheduled from the end of 2026.
The OneWeb network currently consists of over 600 satellites beaming broadband internet to Earth at an altitude of 1,200 kilometres.
Eutelsat profiles itself as one of only two fully operational LEO networks worldwide and the only European provider in this market. Elon Musk’s Starlink is the other.
The satellite operator is also exploring opportunities to lease space on the satellites to third parties for so-called ‘hosted payloads’, which could tap into additional revenue streams.
The company is focusing entirely on the professional B2B market. The demand for broadband is for both terrestrial mobile and fixed lines of communication.
The industry of broadband internet from space has evolved into a new global competition between tech giants and governments by 2024 and 2025. SpaceX Starlink dominates with more than 10,000 active satellites and over 9 million subscribers by early 2026, available in more than 155 countries. Amazon follows with its Amazon Leo (formerly Project Cooper), which began rolling out 290 satellites in 2025 and will be operational by early 2026.
Europe is trying to establish its own sovereign position with IRIS2. In December 2024, the European Commission signed a €10.6 billion concession contract with the SpaceRISE consortium for a network of 290 satellites, to be fully operational by 2030 for both secure government communications and commercial broadband services.
China is also playing the game of big numbers and wants 200,000 satellites in orbit delivering broadband connectivity.
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