Kyivstar will provide access to OneWeb satellite Internet in Ukraine
The largest Ukrainian mobile operator Kyivstar will become the official representative of the British OneWeb in Ukraine, thanks to which it will be able to provide high-speed broadband satellite Internet access services - an alternative to Starlink, said B2B director of Kyivstar Kostiantyn Vecher at the Business Wisdom Summit in Kyiv on Wednesday.
“We are now testing OneWeb technologies with some defense forces. We will be the official representative of the company in Ukraine. We will also be able to offer these services to businesses,” he said.
He pointed out that OneWeb has its own satellite network and can provide high-speed satellite Internet, including in non-standard conditions.
“We understand and have requests...from the special sphere of the Ukrainian Armed Forces to the fact that Starlink does not perform, does not always fulfill the task that business or defense assigns to it. This is providing communications in critical conditions,” the Kyivstar director said.
Earlier, the general director of Ukrposhta reported that during massive shelling and power outages resulting from the destruction of critical infrastructure in Kharkiv, Ukrposhta had problems with the operation of Starlink. According to him, it turned out that Starlink does not work in the area of electronic warfare activity.
In March, Reuters reported that Kyivstar's parent company, telecommunications holding Veon, had entered into an agreement with British company OneWeb to integrate the company's satellite services with its terrestrial network.
OneWeb reportedly has about 550 low-orbit satellites and plans to launch dozens more with help from SpaceX.