TAMPA, Fla. — Remote communications provider Galaxy Broadband said Feb. 1 it is buying capacity from OneWeb for $50 million in a multi-year deal to offer low Earth orbit broadband services to more sites across Canada.
The agreement enables Galaxy to expand into the northern territory of Nunavut — a sparsely populated region of northern Canada about three times larger than Texas — where it plans to connect 25 communities before the end of this year.
Galaxy became one of OneWeb’s first distribution partners in September 2021 and has already deployed the British operator’s services to more than 75 sites across Canada.
Between 30 and 800 users have been connected at each of these sites, according to OneWeb.
“Ultimately the aim is to connect thousands of locations and things,” Howard Stanley, vice president for OneWeb’s commercial business in the Americas, said via email.
“This will ideally include the majority of communities in Nunavut; as well as businesses, schools and homes nationally. It could be tens or hundreds of thousands of people in various contexts.”
Stanley declined to discuss financial details about its deal with Galaxy, which uses a mix of terrestrial and satellite technologies to meet the connectivity needs of remote communities and enterprises, including mining.
He said OneWeb launched commercial services in Canada in April and has more than 100 sites active in the country.
The operator’s coverage is currently limited to the upper reaches of Canada while it waits to deploy the 46 satellites it needs to provide global service.
“We are able to deliver connectivity to the majority of Canada particularly to Northern Canada where broadband options are nonexistent and there are many satellite only communities,” Stanley said.
“With our final two launches, we will able to extend connectivity to the southern border of Western Canada, while covering Southern Ontario and Quebec, and the entirety of the Maritime Provinces.”
Galaxy’s website promises OneWeb-enabled terminal download speeds of up to 150 megabits per second for Canada’s remotest regions.