The government is reported to be proposing to spend $500 million buying 20% of OneWeb, the bankrupt satellite company.

OneWeb has launched 74 out of a planned constellation of 648 satellites. If a buyer cannot be found for them, the UK government, as the licensing authority, has to take responsibility for them.

OneWeb makes low-orbit communications satellites. Softbank invested $2.25 billion in OneWeb and owns 47% of the company. 

Other investors are Airbus, Qualcomm, Intelsat, Bharti Enterprises, Coca Cola, Group Salinas, Hughes Network Systems, and Virgin Group.

OneWeb’s aim was to supply high-speed low latency broadband everywhere on the planet.

It is reported that the government sees the OneWeb constellation as a route to a constellation providing GPS now that the UK is out of the EU’s Galileo GPS system.