Aircraft
Low-cost Broadband Project Launches Funding Drive
Avealto is aiming to fly a prototype stratospheric platform in September this year
Avealto stratospheric platform
© Avealto

Avealto has opened a 12- to 18-month, $50 million funding round to advance its plans to offer a low-cost broadband alternative to low-Earth-orbit satellite constellations. The program is principally aimed at regions with poor existing broadband coverage, for which Starlink is the only real current option.

SpaceX has now raised Starlink’s rural prices while preparing a retail push that puts it in competition with its own telecom customers. Avealto, by contrast, plans a wholesale-only operation dedicated to supplying telecom operators with reliable capacity.