Ottawa-based satellite operator Telesat, which last week announced plans to build 300 Low Earth orbiting (LEO) satellites for its Lighspeed project, is to receive a C$400 million (€260m) investment from the government of Quebec. A Memorandum of Understanding has been signed by Telesat and the Quebec government. There is a catch. The cash comes in […]
It was always expected that there could be extra payments to the C-band satellite operators once the FCC-organised auction had shown the strength of demand for spectrum. The four key players (Intelsat, SES, Telesat and Eutelsat) are already in line to share around $10 billion in FCC-authorised “incentives” for clearing their C-band satellite spectrum. With […]
Ottawa-based Telesat has committed to its own mega-constellation of Low Earth orbiting (LEO) satellites. Telesat needed to put its own financial affairs in order first as well as review its potential suppliers. Thales Alenia Space gets the prime contract for the LEO fleet which is called Lightspeed. The fleet would comprise 298 satellites with services […]
SES, which is suing Intelsat with a $1.8 billion claim and due to go to trial in June, is looking to bring testimony from Ottawa-based Telesat into the dispute. At the heart of the legal dispute between SES and Intelsat is an argument over Intelsat’s handling of an alleged 50/50 agreed division within the C-Band […]
More details have now emerged on the merger between Ottawa-based Telesat and satellite builder (and shareholder in Telesat) Loral Space & Communications. Key to the long-expected merger solution is the role of Canada’s Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP). Under the merger agreement PSP, Loral and Telesat Canada will each become subsidiaries of ‘new’ Telesat […]
A reconstruction between Loral Space & Communications and Canada’s Telesat has been under assorted discussion for years, and years, and then some! The complications around any merger were made especially challenging by joint cross-holdings between Loral and Telesat, and then further compounded by their major shareholder Canada’s Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments). Those […]
Telesat’s SVP of Corporate & Business Development, Michael Schwartz, told attendees to the Euroconsult World Satellite Business Week event, held virtually this year, that the Canadian company would meet the key deadlines to build and launch its Low Earth Orbiting satellite constellation. Earlier this week Telesat confirmed a C$600 million (€387.5m) commitment from the Canadian […]
The Canadian government is going ahead with its C$600 million (€391m) plan to ‘bridge the digital divide’ for its citizens. The scheme sees the cash going into satellite operator Telesat which says it will ensure affordable, high-speed broadband connectivity across all of Canada with Telesat’s forthcoming Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite constellation. There was a […]
The satellite industry’s big 5 operators (Intelsat, SES, Eutelsat, Telesat and Viasat) have all now reported their quarterly numbers and – in summary – they are not good. Sami Kassab, an analyst at investment bank Exane/BNPP, in a useful summary note to clients says that overall, operating trends for the industry remain challenging with Intelsat […]
Elon Musk is inviting consumers in rural America to install his Starlink satellite broadband system, at a cost of $99 a month. They also have to pay $499 for the antenna and its associated kit. However, it is widely accepted that Musk’s SpaceX is swallowing some of the antenna’s costs. As recently reported, the search […]