Karim Michel Sabbagh, president and CEO, commented: "The move to take control of
O3b is a game-changing acquisition and a major step in the execution of SES's differentiated strategy and complements SES's growth strategy.
Additionally, the MEO system's next generation,
O3b mPOWER, is the only fully-funded NGSO broadband system in development and will be fully-integrated and backward compatible with the existing
O3b system starting in 2021.
Isotropic Systems will develop an HTS terminal solution specifically tailored to meet SES Networks'
O3b mPOWER Customer Edge Terminal (CET) requirements for open architecture, reliability, efficiency and significantly lower pricing.
O3b Networks has a constellation of 12 High Throughput Satellites at Medium Earth Orbit that delivers a unique, global 'fibre in the sky' connectivity solution with ultra-low latency.
Oil rich Southern Iraq's high demand for reliable, low latency service was the deciding factor when it came to selecting the
O3b network.
Microcom, the largest ISP in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), has signed a multi-year contract with
O3b Networks, Ltd.
Speaking about the launch, Steve Collar, Chief Executive Officer at SES Networks, and CEO designate of SES, said, "We are very excited to have four more
O3b satellites in orbit, and we look forward to them joining the constellation in May and serving our customers around the globe.
Under the deal, which was announced in April, SES will pay USD 20m to increase its fully diluted ownership of
O3b from 49.1% to 50.5%, bringing its aggregate equity investment in
O3b to date to USD 323m (EUR 257m).
Arianespace will deliver the
O3b satellites into a circular orbit at an altitude of 8062 km with the latest Soyuz launch from the Guiana Space Center in French Guiana, an orbit that is four times closer to the earth than traditional geostationary satellites, providing
O3b customers with substantial performance benefits due to lower latency or delay.