Rendering of the Hughes flat panel terminal for OneWeb. Photo: Hughes Network Systems

OneWeb placed an order with Hughes Network Systems for 10,000 Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) terminals for enterprise and government customers, the companies announced Tuesday. There are already prototypes of the terminal and testing underway, and Hughes plans to start production of the LEO terminals for OneWeb in the second half of 2023.

Hughes is OneWeb’s ground network partner for its constellation of LEO satellites and has a deal to produce the gateway electronics for the OneWeb system and the core module that will be used in every user terminal. 

“We are excited about the capabilities in the Hughes flat panel and the unique benefits we can extend to our customers. These terminals will enable our partners to optimize the low latency, high speed benefits of our network with a turnkey, easy to install and operate terminal,” said Massimiliano Ladovaz, OneWeb CTO.

The Hughes HL1100 terminals include an electronically steered antenna and indoor and outdoor equipment to provide high-speed, low latency broadband service. It is constructed out of solid aluminum chassis and can offer speeds of up to 195 Mbps down and 32 Mbps up.

John Corrigan, senior vice president of Hughes, commented: “The ground-breaking Hughes LEO Terminal combines decades of engineering capability and intellectual property with our intimate understanding of the OneWeb system as their ground network technology partner.” 

OneWeb recently added 40 satellites to its constellation with its first SpaceX launch last week. The constellation now has 502 satellites, almost 80% of its first-generation constellation. The company says it is on track to deliver global coverage in 2023.