French satellite operator Eutelsat and communications company OneWeb have decided to merge their businesses in an effort to become a global multi-satellite internet that they hope will eventually rival Elon Musk’s Starlink. The merger is expected to complete by the first half of 2023. 

By combining their businesses, Eutelsat’s satellites in geostationary orbit (GEO) and OneWeb’s low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites, the two companies are hoping to strengthen their position in a market currently only occupied by Elon Musk’s Starlink and Jeff Bezos’s Project Kuiper.

On the one hand, geostationary satellites help provide consistent coverage to an area and has better coverage. LEO satellites on the other hand are latency, meaning that they integrate better with on the ground infrastructure more effectively.

According to estimates from Eutelsat, the “satellite connectivity” market will become increasingly lucrative, and will be worth $16 billion by the end of the decade in 2030. 

Combined, the total strength of satellites for the two companies will grow to 464. Eutelsat currently has 36 satellites sitting in GEO while OneWeb has pushed 428 satellites into LEO, roughly 66% of their total fleet. The company is planning to send the rest of them up using Indian space agency launches as well as with the help of SpaceX. 

Currently, Elon Musk’s SpaceX is way ahead of most of other competitors, having launched nearly 2,900 Starlink satellites to date, with more being launched nearly every month. Musk’s company has already gained regulatory approval from the Federal Communications Commission to launch 12,000 satellites into orbit to provide internet to rural areas in the US. It is in the process of seeking approval from international regulators to launch 30,000 more satellites into space to cover the world. So far, Starlink connects significant portions of the Midwest and large swathes of the European Union.