page_title: O3b Networks
section_title: Overview
hierarchical_section_title: O3b Networks / Overview
caption_attribution_description: English: O3b satellite constellation showing visibility of ring of MEO satellites around the equator. Rendered using the SaVi Satellite constellation Visualization package by Lloyd Wood, author of SaVi. Français&#160;: Constellation de satellites O3b, en orbite moyenne dans le plan de l'équateur&#160;: zones de visibilité, rendue par le logiciel de visualisation de constellations de satellites SaVi.
context_page_description: O3b Networks Ltd. was a network communications service provider building and operating a medium Earth orbit satellite constellation primarily intended to provide voice and data communications to mobile operators and Internet service providers. O3b Networks became a wholly owned subsidiary of SES S.A. in 2016 and the operator name was subsequently dropped in favour of SES Networks, a division of SES. The satellites themselves, now part of the SES fleet, continue to use the O3b name.
context_section_description: The network combines the relatively large reach of satellite with high speed and medium latency to deliver satellite Internet services and mobile backhaul services to emerging markets. The name "O3b" stands for "Other 3 billion", referring to the population of the world where broadband Internet is not currently available.
  Orbiting at an altitude of 8,062 kilometres (5,009 mi), less than one quarter of the altitude of geostationary satellites, the O3b satellite constellation of 20 Ka-band based satellites significantly reduces communication latency.
  After initially planning to launch in 2010, the first four satellites were launched on 25 June 2013. A second four satellites were launched in July 2014, and another four in December 2014 bringing the satellite constellation to 12 satellites. Three years later, four additional satellites were launched in March 2018, and in April 2019, the final four were launched to bring the constellation to 20 satellites, including the three current backup satellites which are used as in-orbit spares.
  In September 2017, SES announced the next generation of O3b satellites and placed an order for an initial seven from Boeing Satellite Systems. Expected to launch in 2021, the O3b mPower constellation of MEO satellites for broadband internet services will "be able to deliver anywhere from hundreds of megabits to 10 Gbits to any ship at sea" through 30,000 spot beams. Software-defined routing will direct traffic between the mPower MEO satellites and SES' geostationary fleet.
  SES announced on 20 August 2020, it has tapped SpaceX for two additional Falcon 9 rocket launches from Cape Canaveral to deliver more Boeing-built O3b mPower broadband satellites into orbit, adding to a pair of Falcon 9 flights ordered by SES last year to launch the first batch of mPower platforms beginning in late 2021. In conjunction with the announcement on 7 August 2020 that SES will purchase four more O3b mPower satellites from Boeing, the companies said they will partner to offer O3b broadband services to the U.S. military and other government customers.
caption: Rendering of O3b satellite coverage areas and visibility around the Equator.
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