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Telespazio will build a new satellite gateway for OneWeb at the teleport in Maricà, Brazil

14 February 2022

Telespazio will supply OneWeb  with infrastructure and services for a new satellite gateway at the teleport in Maricà, in the State of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil).

The Maricà gateway 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 for government institutions, defence, and 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.

The ceremony of the laying of the cornerstone was held today in the presence of the Secretário de Estado da Casa Civil do Rio de Janeiro, Nicola Miccione, the Italian Ambassador in Brazil, Francesco Azzarello, 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 attended by Telespazio Brasil CEO Marzio Laurenti, Leonardo VP for Latin America, Francesco Moliterni, and Christopher Casarrubias, Head of Regulatory and Government Affairs at OneWeb. 

The construction of the gateway in the Maricà teleport, which will be one of the most advanced in Latin America, is the result of a partnership between Telespazio and OneWeb that began in 2019 with construction of the gateway to the satellite system installed at the Space Centre in Scanzano, in the province of Palermo, which now has 14 operative antennas.

“We’re very happy that One Web has chosen Telespazio again”, said Marzio Laurenti, CEO of Telespazio Brasil. “In the Maricá teleport today, we started work aimed at hosting the gateways that will be operative all over Latin America by the end of the year, when the OneWeb constellation will begin initiating global services with its network. Telespazio is also reinforcing its role as an international satellite services operator offering ground segment solutions for large-scale low-orbit satellite constellations.”

Anjoum Noorani, the British Consul-General in Rio de Janeiro commented: “I am delighted to celebrate the investment of the British company OneWeb and the partnership with Telespazio in Maricá. The capacity of OneWeb's satellites will allow everyone – from the most remote city to the farthest farm – to have access to the internet with connectivity equivalent to fiber optics. This include Brazilian citizens, the economy and different levels of government in the digital transformation that is changing the world.”

“This new success in Latin America further consolidates Leonardo’s position of leadership in the space industry all over the world,” commented Francesco Moliterni, Leonardo VP for Latin America. “We are reinforcing the presence of a Group that has been working in Brazil since the ’70s, from the development and production of AM-X fighter planes to the supply of helicopters operating in a number of configurations in the civil VIP and Oil &Gas sectors and the Police Forces, avionic radar, naval radar, and space products and services. Leonardo is also present in environmental and territorial security in Brazil, with meteorological radar operating out of the country’s national monitoring and alert system for natural disasters and for satellite services with Telespazio Brasil.”

Christopher Casarrubias, Head of Regulatory and Government Affairs at OneWeb commented: “This is an important agreement for OneWeb and one that strengthens our longstanding partnership with Telespazio. By working together, we will supply high-speed, low-latency internet to a variety of industries and government institutions, significantly expanding connectivity across Brazil and making a long-term investment in the country’s satellite infrastructure. As we make continued progress to build our global network OneWeb looks forward to playing an important role in connecting remote and rural parts of Latin America with the support of local partners.”

Maricá is investing in first-order infrastructure with the goal of becoming a new hub of the Oil & Gas industry, thanks to its strategic position, with the goal of supporting the resumption of growth of Bacia de Santos, Brazil’s most important area for oil and gas exploration. In the administration’s plans for technological development, Leonardo, through its subsidiary Leonardo International, and Codemar recently set up the joint venture Leonardo&Codemar S.A. (49% Codemar and 51% Leonardo), focusing on security, resilience, management of critical infrastructure and innovative services.