Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 1 September 2020 to Question 76792 on Oneweb: Investment, what assessment his Department has made of the ability of Oneweb to provide broadband to vast areas currently without connectivity, for example over entire oceans despite that system not having existing inter-satellite links.

OneWeb’s technology has the potential for providing broadband access to millions of people in remote and rural locations currently without access.

In advance of the Government’s investment, expert advice was provided on the commercial, financial and technical aspects of the investment. The investment will support the UK focus on research and innovation and will put Britain at the cutting edge of the latest advances in space technology.