Jersey-based OneWeb, which wants to orbit a constellation of more than 700 small satellites to serve the world’s under-connected Internet consumers, has applied for an FCC licence to operate over the US.

OneWeb has opened an office near Washington DC in order to start the process, although the would-be satellite operator will have to secure similar licenses for each and every country it wants to operate in. However, obtaining the FCC licence is seen is operationally important and would be a useful benchmark for many other nations. Kalpak Gude, VP/legal & regulator, at OneWeb, told trade mag Space News that he hoped to have the US licence in place by mid-2017.

OneWeb has recently announced it would build a new satellite construction facility in Florida and would be turning out more than one satellite a day in order to meet its launch demands of getting some satellites into orbit by early 2018.

While the company’s overall goal is still to bring the Internet to all the unserved all over the world, OneWeb’s initial target is to deliver services to small and medium-sized businesses in order to build up cashflow.

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