spacetoday.net: O3b secures funding for satellite system

Posted: Mon, Nov 29, 2010, 1:57 PM ET (1857 GMT)
O3b satellite illustration (O3b)

O3b Networks announced Monday that it has raised $1.2 billion, enough to fund development of its broadband satellite constellation. The company, based in the Channel Islands, said it raised the money through a combination of equity investors, including satellite operator SES and Google, and through bank loans, much of which are backed by the French export credit agency Coface. O3b said the funding will allow the company to complete the development and launch of its initial satellites into a medium Earth orbit. Those satellites, to be built by Thales Alenia Space, are scheduled to launch in the first half of 2013 on a Soyuz rocket from French Guiana. The company, whose name is derived from the phrase "other three billion", aims to provide broadband communications to underserved parts of the world.