NEOM Tech, OneWeb ink $200 mn JV in Saudi, Middle East, East African markets

NEOM Tech & Digital Holding Co, the first holding company to be established as a subsidiary of NEOM, and Bharti-backed low earth orbit (LEO) satellite operator, OneWeb, have inked a $200 million joint venture agreement to bring high-speed satellite connectivity to NEOM, Saudi Arabia and the wider Middle East and neighboring East African countries.

The partnership will see deployment of OneWeb’s LEO bit (LEO) satellite constellation, which will not only provide rapid and reliable connectivity to enable NEOM’s ecosystem of cognitive technologies, but also transform businesses and rural communities in the region where access to fiber-like internet was previously unimaginable. The agreement also includes a long-term strategic partnership regarding research and development of future connectivity systems.

Joseph Bradley, CEO, NEOM Tech & Digital Hold Co., and Neil Masterson, CEO, OneWeb, formalised the pact at a signing ceremony at the Kingdom’s flagship Future Investment Initiative event on Tuesday.


“This agreement will help realise our joint vision of boosting connectivity in Saudi Arabia, Middle-East and East Africa…it exemplifies the model through which OneWeb’s services will reach unconnected or poorly connected regions – through cooperation with international governments and local partners,” Bharti Enterprises chairman Sunil Mittal said in a statement Tuesday.

NEOM Tech and OneWeb plan to complete the ground infrastructure in 2022. NEOM Tech & Digital Hold Co and the new JV entity will have exclusive rights to distribute OneWeb services in its target regions for seven years from the initiation of the LEO satellite network, which is expected to commence in 2023.


OneWeb is readying to take on Elon Musk’s Starlink and Amazon’s Project Kuiper venture in the relatively nascent fast broadband-from-space segment globally. It will launch satellite broadband services in India too by May 2022.