Gregory Thane Wyler (born 12 November 1969) is an American tech entrepreneur, engineer, and inventor. He was the founder and executive chairman of

OneWeb OneWeb (legally Network Access Associates Ltd) is a communications company that aims to build broadband satellite Internet services. The company is headquartered in London, and has offices in Virginia, US and a satellite manufacturing facility ...

and the founder of

O3b Networks O3b Networks Ltd. was a network communications service provider building and operating a medium Earth orbit (MEO) satellite constellation primarily intended to provide voice and data communications to mobile operators and Internet service pr ...

Business ventures

Wyler spent four years developing telecommunications in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

in rural locations. In 2003, he built a local team and connected over 200 schools to the Internet, providing the first 3G and fiber to the home connections on the continent. In 2006 his company

Terracom Terracom is a telecommunications company of Rwanda, which provides internet service and telephone service. The company is headquartered in Kigali Kigali () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Rwanda. It is near the nati ...

acquired 99% control of

Rwandatel Rwandatel was a telephony company with its headquarters in Kigali, Rwanda. History Rwandatel was founded in 1993 as a government parastatal to provide telephone and internet services, including local telephony and long-distance service. In 20 ...

, although the government of Rwanda then bought Rwandtel back in 2007. In 2007, he founded O3b Networks, Ltd. The idea was first conceived in 2005 while working on a project to provide a nationwide telephone service in rural

Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...

, attempting to wire the post-war and economically shattered country. O3b has launched 12 satellites, and the system provides the highest capacity and lowest latency combination of any satellites built to date. In 2012, Wyler founded OneWeb with the mission of "enabling Internet access for everyone". On 1 August 2016, satellite operator

SES S.A. SES S.A. is a Luxembourgish-French satellite telecommunications network provider supplying video and data connectivity worldwide to broadcasters, content and internet service providers, mobile and fixed network operators, governments and insti ...

completed the acquisition of

. In March 2020.

entered

Chapter 11 bankruptcy Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, whe ...

after failing to raise enough capital to complete the build and deployment of its satellite constellation. OneWeb exited bankruptcy with new investment, but Wyler was no longer involved with the company. Wyler founded satellite communications company E-Space in 2022, to create a network of satellites providing services targeting governments and businesses.

Awards and recognition

In 2015, Wyler received the Arthur C. Clarke award for Innovation and th
2B AHEAD Innovators Award
In 2017, Wyler was voted the Top Rising Star in Wireless by Fierce Wireless and later that year, The Most Powerful Person in Telecommunications. In 2018, he was inducted into the French

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...

References

1969 births Living people {{US-business-bio-1960s-stub