by Chris Forrester
A few days ago, a SpaceX rocket launched the final batch of OneWeb satellites into their high orbits, ready to complete the operator’s constellation and provide in-orbit spares. Kevin Steen, President/CEO of OneWeb Technologies (and CEO of Eutelsat Americas) was interviewed by Janna Lewis (SVP/Policy and General Counsel, Astroscale US) and updated delegates at the Silicon Valley Space Week on OneWeb’s latest thinking especially in regard to relations with the US Dept. of Defense.
Janna Lewis asked Kevin Steen about his early days. He said that he had only been in the space industry for some 10 years, and in his experience those then involved were largely focused on RF but in recent years had seen multiple satellite spot beams, and now down to developing satellites in less than two years, with a commensurate fall in costs.
Steen said there had been other changes, not least fresh thinking from a more commercial point-of-view. “Our coming together (Eutelsat and OneWeb) brought together geostationary and LEO assets, and where OneWeb would not compete with its terrestrial clients. “We can do unique things with pricing, which is exciting for us and our client end-users. It allows everyone to start being creative.”
He was asked about Eutelsat and it being a ‘foreign parent’. It placed extra obligations on OneWeb and Eutelsat to observe regulatory requirements. Steen said that under the overall umbrella he was now able to exploit the many advantageous ‘pros’ compared to the ‘cons’.
The US government’s demands means that there’s usually a follow-on from NATO or the ‘5-Eyes’ security requirements of the member nations. “We believe it is a ‘win-win’ for us, and it doesn’t matter where the revenue goes provided its within our umbrella.”
He explained that there could easily come a time when OneWeb would supply the receive terminals ‘free’ as part of the overall contract and thus remove the potential barrier to entry that a terminal’s costs might represent. “However, I am not going to get into a price war. We will not compete on price, nor do I think we need to.”