Key Intelsat and SES staffers spent time earlier this week with equity analysts from investment bank Jefferies, and expressed their optimism that their joint strategy remains strong as far as the restructuring of C-band frequencies for 5G implementation over the US is concerned.

Jefferies says that Intelsat highlighted the time spent with FCC commissioners and which “suggest the FCC understands the role the Consortium can play in delivering this critical spectrum”.

Intelsat’s thoughts are that the FCC is not expected to veto the potential financial windfall likely to flow as a result of restructuring some of its C-band spectrum.

Jefferies points out that Intelsat has been an FSS licensee in the C-band for decades – and for the FCC to unilaterally withdraw the licence would cause massive uproar, most especially from the broadcasters.

However, while the FCC appears keen to see upwards of 100 MHz re-allocated to 5G, and there are certainly some enthusiastic noises from Intelsat, Jefferies says that SES is not quite as enthusiastic over freeing up more than 300 MHz in total.  Jefferies says: “if any party begins to demand something at the expense of someone else, then the proposal craters.”

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