Google has teamed up with John Malone, the media billionaire, and HSBC on a venture that will offer internet access to three billion people in Africa and other emerging markets as the US search engine continues to expand its presence across the Web.

The project, named O3b Networks, is targeting those people for whom broadband Internet access is not commercially viable. The consortium will today announce a deal to buy 16 low-earth orbit satellites from France’s Thales Alenia Space as it kicks off the $750 million project to link mobile phone masts to broadband networks in a series of countries close to the equator, the Financial Times reported.

Google, LibertyGlobal, Mr Malone’s cable company, and HSBC have initially invested $20 million each into the project, which is expected to be up and running by the end of 2010, with Allen & Company, a media advisory firm, thought to have put in about $5 million more. The three lead backers in O3b Networks reserve the right to contribute further to the estimated $150 to $180 million of financing in equity financing that will be needed for the project. The rest of the financing will be funded with debt.

Larry Alder, product manager in Google’s alternative access group, said the venture could offer bandwidth to customers for just 5 per cent of the present cost. “This really fits into Google’s mission around the developing world,” he said. Google confirmed that it was working on the O3b Networks project.

The venture will be headquartered in Jersey and will work over the coming months to sign up telephone and internet companies in emerging markets in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.

The project emerged the week after Google launched its own web browser called Google Chrome, taking on the might of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, which dominates the market with a 74 per cent share.

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