5G benefits “too big to ignore” for Intelsat/SES
May 30, 2018
By Chris Forrester
An equity report from Morgan Stanley says the potential gain from the FCC’s examination into utilising C-band spectrum over the US, mostly operated by Intelsat and SES, is “too big to ignore”.
Morgan Stanley said that if the FCC decides to re-assign some C-band spectrum in order to speed the adoption of 5G then SES alone could benefit by between €2 billion – €5 billion.
Intelsat’s share price, boosted by the report, rocketed 3.1 per cent to $15.73 (and at one point on May 29th rose to $16.06) while SES’ share price benefitted 4.13 per cent to €14.25 (and at one point reached €14.55).
The FCC is studying the C-Band proposals and report in June. Intelsat has said there’s potential for a final order – from the FCC – by mid-2019, and the cash windfall could start flowing by the end of 2019.
However, both Intelsat and SES are stressing that the costs of swapping out C-band dishes for its US clients, mostly cable head-ends, will be significant.