Satellite communications (SATCOM) vendor Eutelsat Group has signed an agreement with SATCOM system house NSSLGlobal and the U.K.’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) Services to provide low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite services for a range of government activities globally.
These include:
- Diplomatic missions
- Policing
- Resilience
- Defense
- Essential operations
Under the agreement, Eutelsat OneWeb’s LEO constellation will provide low latency and high-speed connectivity to British embassies, high commissions and consulates as well as other U.K. government activities globally. NSSLGlobal will deliver managed, end-to-end services to support FCDO missions worldwide.
The OneWeb LEO services and user terminals will be deployed for continued operations as part of the FCDO’s hurricane preparedness and response across British Overseas Territories in the Caribbean.
“This agreement reflects the critical role LEO services play in enhancing operational effectiveness and enabling secure, low-latency communications for government operations,” said Cyril Dujardin, president of the Connectivity Business Unit at Eutelsat Group.
Why it matters
SATCOM is a rising connectivity option not just for smartphones but for emergency response and critical services as it provides uninterrupted communications without any base stations or repeaters. This is beneficial where there is a lack of traditional infrastructure or no infrastructure at all like oceans, deserts and disaster zones.
While telecoms globally are adding SATCOM features to smartphones as a value-added service, in government these systems are mission-critical for defense, aviation, maritime, emergency response and enterprise operations globally.
