OneWeb Ltd, an internet-via-satellite venture backed by Richard Branson's Virgin Group and other high-profile companies, will build a factory to mass produce small satellites near Nasa's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, sources involved in the agreement told Reuters.

OneWeb plans an initial production run of 900 satellites to blanket the globe with high-speed internet access. The company has raised $500 million from Virgin, India's Bharti Enterprises, chipmaker Qualcomm, Hughes Network Systems, Intelsat, The Coca-Cola Co., and Mexico's Totalplay.

An official announcement about the factory is scheduled for Tuesday morning at an industrial park adjacent to Nasa's spaceport. A number of localities around the country had vied for the project. – Reuters