South Korea grants regulatory licence for LEO services

Satellite connectivity solutions provider Intellian Technologies and geographic and low Earth orbit (GEO, LEO) communications provider Eutelsat Group are hailing the decision by the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) in South Korea to approve a cross-border supply agreement for satellite internet services and in particular granting a regulatory licence for the deployment of Eutelsat OneWeb’s LEO satellite across the country’s maritime, military and government and enterprise markets.

Eutelsat OneWeb claims that its LEO satellite network is designed to provide secure, low-latency, high-speed broadband with global coverage. It is already operational across multiple regions, designed to deliver connectivity in areas where terrestrial infrastructure is limited or unavailable. The service looks to address connectivity demands across applications including maritime, aviation, enterprise and government networks.

For its part, Intellian, headquartered in Pyeongtaek with global operations across 11 countries and four research and development centres, boasts over 20 years of operation in satellite communications.

The company, which says it has evolved from a global antenna manufacturer to a strategic enabler of next-generation connectivity, is the largest supplier of OneWeb user terminals globally, offering a range of flat-panel and parabolic solutions tailored for land mobility, maritime and fixed installations. Its portfolio includes the OW10Hx, a compact flat-panel terminal based on phased array technology, and the OW11Fx, an enterprise-grade terminal capable of delivering download speeds of up to 196Mbps. These are both co-developed and deployed in partnership with Eutelsat OneWeb.

The two parties describe MSIT’s decision as a first of its kind, potentially providing a spur to the rapidly growing space-based communications market, marking a “ground-breaking regulatory precedent” in the country and opening the door to a new era of next-generation satellite broadband access.

In addition, Eutelsat and Intellian see strong growth potential in Korea’s LEO satellite market and say they are committed to deepening their collaboration for domestic and international deployments. With OneWeb’s global network fully in place and Intellian’s manufacturing and engineering capability, the partners say they are positioned to support digital transformation across industries and geographies.

Commenting on the announcement, Neha Idnani, regional vice-president for APAC at Eutelsat OneWeb, said: “Eutelsat’s OneWeb LEO service will connect Korean businesses and government with reliable, high-speed connectivity. From secure defence networks and maritime operations to blue light services and cellular backhaul, our SLAs and committed information rates are tailored for the most mission-critical use cases. We’re proud to partner with Intellian Technologies – one of our closest technology partners – to deliver Korean-made user terminals for the Korean market, reinforcing our global commitment to local enablement.”

Intellian Technologies CEO Eric Sung said Korea’s regulatory approval for LEO services was a major inflection point for the region, reflecting the government’s forward-looking commitment to next-gen connectivity and positioning Korea to lead in LEO-based innovation.

“Intellian is proud to play a key role in enabling this vision through close collaboration with OneWeb,” added Sung. “The performance of our terminals – already deployed globally – proves that LEO is no longer experimental. It’s fully operational, scalable and commercially impactful. With this launch, Korean customers now have access to high-speed satellite broadband that was previously unavailable or unviable, especially in sectors where fibre or terrestrial networks fall short.”