Finance
Starlink rival Eutelsat orders 340 OneWeb satellites from Airbus
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on January 12, 2026
2 min readLast updated: January 20, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
Company
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on January 12, 2026
2 min readLast updated: January 20, 2026
Eutelsat orders 340 satellites from Airbus to expand its OneWeb network, aiming to compete with Starlink in the satellite internet market.
Jan 12 (Reuters) - Eutelsat, the satellite operator backed by the French and the British governments, has placed an order with Airbus for 340 satellites to refresh and extend its OneWeb low-Earth-orbit network, the two companies said on Monday.
The additional satellites are intended to keep the service running by gradually swapping out the earliest vehicles as they reach the end of their working lives, according to Eutelsat.
OneWeb's first satellites were launched about six years ago, before the London-based operator merged with Eutelsat in 2023.
The latest purchase, combined with 100 satellites ordered in December 2024, lifts the running total to 440 satellites contracted for OneWeb. Deliveries are expected to start from the end of 2026.
Financial details of the contract were not disclosed, but Eutelsat had previously said extending the constellation until the availability of the European Union's IRIS² constellation would require a further 340 satellites on top of an initial committed batch of 100. That would put the total cost of the extension programme at around 2 billion euros to 2.2 billion euros ($2.3 billion and $2.6 billion) between 2024 and 2029, Eutelsat said last year.
Eutelsat drew increased attention from European governments last year because it owns the only other low Earth orbit constellation besides Elon Musk's Starlink. These satellites are used to beam internet from space, providing broadband connectivity to businesses, governments and consumers in underserved areas.
France led a 1.5-billion-euro capital increase in 2025, joined by the UK and other anchor investors, to strengthen the satellite operator's finances as it seeks to compete with Starlink.
($1 = 0.8551 euros)
(Reporting by Gianluca Lo Nostro in Gdansk; Editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak and Matt Scuffham)
Eutelsat is a satellite operator based in France, known for providing satellite communications services across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
OneWeb is a global telecommunications company that aims to provide internet access worldwide through a network of low-Earth-orbit satellites.
The IRIS² constellation is a planned European satellite system aimed at enhancing connectivity and communication services across Europe, complementing existing satellite networks.
Explore more articles in the Finance category
