NEOM Tech & Digital Holding Company and OneWeb have signed a $200 million, joint venture agreement to bring high-speed satellite connectivity to NEOM, a planned futuristic city that will be located in northwestern Saudi Arabia.
The first holding company to be established as a subsidiary of NEOM, NEOM Tech & Digital Holding Company plans to also deliver satellite connectivity to the planned city and the wider Middle East and neighboring East African countries.
The partnership will see the deployment of OneWeb’s LEO satellite constellation, which that will provide the rapid and reliable connectivity to enable NEOM’s ecosystem of cognitive technologies as well as transform businesses and rural communities in the region where access to fiber-like internet was previously beyond reach. The agreement also includes a long-term strategic partnership regarding research and development of future connectivity systems.
The relationship between OneWeb with Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and the Ministry of Investment has contributed to the consolidation of this agreement in order to enhance the vision of the emerging space technology sector in Saudi Arabia and provide it to private investors.
Currently, OneWeb uses the latest security protection employed in advanced mobile networks. NEOM Tech & Digital Hold Co. will be trialing technologies to provide further security protection as well as testing new, more robust and resistant positioning and navigation solutions.
“It is a great pleasure to witness the signing of the joint venture between NEOM and OneWeb, which is a testament to Saudi Arabia’s promising future in the space technology sectors. Today’s agreement will contribute to economic growth and accelerate digital and communications knowledge transfer to the Kingdom through the transformative NEOM vision,” said Khalid al-Falih, Saudi Minister of Investment.