Google has joined other funders in backing O3b Networks, a satellite startup building a global communications
infrastructure to provide high-speed, low-cost Internet connectivity to emerging markets in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East. The other participants are Liberty Global and HSBC Principal Investments.
The group said that while developed nations are well served by an extensive submarine fiber network, the deployment of a fiber network in many developing markets is not commercially viable or practical. With that in mind, the O3b Networks system is set to provide fiber performance over satellite, available for prices that are comparable to fiber in developed regions.
By allowing direct connection to core networks and 3G cell/WiMAX towers, O3b Networks' system will "completely change the economics of telecommunications infrastructure in the world's fastest-growing markets for communications services," the group said in a statement.
"O3B's model empowers local entrepreneurs and companies to deliver Internet and mobile services to those in currently under served or remote locations at speeds necessary to power rich, Web-based applications," said Larry Alder, Google Alternative Access Team Product Manager, in a statement. "We believe in O3B's model and its goal of expanding the reach of the Internet to users who currently have limited and expensive connection options."
O3B has already started to produce the initial constellation of 16 satellites, and service activation is scheduled for late 2010. The group said that the system's 2,300 transponder equivalents will deliver low-latency Internet backhaul at speeds reaching 10 gigabits per second. In addition, the scalable nature of the system allows for additional satellites to increase capacity and meet growing demand.
Tech entrepreneur Greg Wyler founded O3b Networks. Wyler and chairman John Dick recently helped pioneer the first commercial 3G mobile and fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) networks in Africa, according to O3B. In doing so, the men said that they realized there is an urgent need in developing countries for low-latency, gigabit backhaul services that can power high-speed data and voice connectivity for consumers, businesses, schools and health care facilities.
"Access to the Internet backbone is still severely limited in emerging markets," Wyler said in a statement. "Only when emerging markets achieve affordable and ubiquitous access to the rest of the world will we observe locally generated content, widespread e-learning, telemedicine and many more enablers to social and economic growth which reflect the true value of the Internet. O3b Networks will bring multi-gigabit Internet speeds directly to the emerging markets, whether landlocked in Africa or isolated by water in the Pacific Islands."
