Telespazio, a joint venture between Leonardo (67%) and Thales (33%), through its controlled Telespazio Brazil, will supply OneWeb, the low Earth orbit satellite communications company, with infrastructure and services for a new satellite gateway at the teleport in Maricá, in the State of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil).
The ceremony of the laying of the cornerstone was held on 14 February 2022 in the presence of the Italian Ambassador in Brazil, Francesco Azzarello, the Secretário de Estado da Casa Civil do Rio de Janeiro, Nicola Miccione, the Consul General of Italy in Rio de Janeiro, Paolo Miraglia, and the Consul General of the United Kingdom in Rio de Janeiro, Anjoum Noorani. The ceremony was also attended by Telespazio Brazil CEO Marzio Laurenti, Leonardo VP for Latin America, Francesco Moliterni, and the Head of Regulatory and Government Affairs at OneWeb, Christopher Casarrubias.
The Maricá gateway – one of the most advanced in Latin America, which will be operative by the end of the year – is another example of OneWeb’s commitment and long-term investment in Brazil. OneWeb’s constellation of 648 satellites will supply high-speed internet and low-latency, high-security communications to government institutions, defence, and the Oil&Gas, navigation and aviation industries, as well as mobile telephone companies bringing 3G, 4G and 5G to all parts of Brazil. To date, OneWeb has already launched two-thirds of its constellation with 428 satellites now in orbit and the remaining launches to be completed this year.
