Steve Collar, CEO of SES, told the SES vs Intelsat trial currently taking place that he trusted and liked Intelsat’s CEO Steve Spengler. “He was a good guy. I liked him, and I trusted his assurance that [the 50/50 revenue agreement] between SES and Intelsat was solid,” said Collar. He told the court that it […]
A study from Dr Sergei Pekhterev (co-owner of Astra-Internet) shows that the bandwidth of each of Elon Musk’s Starlink low Earth orbiting satellites is carrying 16 data beams and can serve some 2080 users as each craft passes overhead. Pekhterev has used Starlink data which states that each satellite covers about 380 square kms of […]
SES documents submitted in the dispute between themselves and Intelsat over the division of C-band proceeds admit that the FCC decision to award some 50 per cent of the overall sum involved to Intelsat “could be bad for us”. The statement was made in an email from a senior SES executive to company colleagues. SES […]
The trial between SES and Intelsat over how the FCC’s C-band ‘incentive payments’ are being distributed opens on February 7th. The court has set aside up to two weeks for the hearings before Intelsat’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy judge Keith Phillips. However, last week the judge delayed an element of the trial dispute revolving around a […]
The FCC says it has received $5.6 billion (€4.9bn) worth of refund requests for its Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Programme, as operators move to replace Huawei and ZTE infrastructure. The FCC opened applications late October, and closed on January 28th, receiving 181 applications. A total of $1.9 billion was originally allocated to the […]
Earlier this week, SES requested that Intelsat’s bankruptcy court forbid Intelsat calling James Murray to provide expert evidence as part of the SES vs Intelsat 50/50 claim over the FCC’s C-band incentive payments. Intelsat has now filed its own Motion, and it pulls no punches. Intelsat’s lawyers in a 2-page objection states bluntly: “If SES’s […]
In the SES vs Intelsat court case, due to start on February 7th, Intelsat is looking to introduce evidence from James Murray, an acknowledged expert in telecommunications and competitive intelligence and currently working for PJT Partners. The problem is that Murray comes extremely late to the action. Intelsat’s bankruptcy Court ruled initially in June last […]
Between now and the end of 2023, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will pay out almost $10 billion (€8.8bn) in ‘accelerated clearance payments’. The FCC cash rewards the world’s four largest satellite operators for freeing up some of their C-band spectrum over the US. The question now is whether this windfall cash will be spent, […]
Last week saw Intelsat’s lawyers submit their arguments to the court in advance of the trial scheduled for February 7th. Intelsat gave a number of reasons why they believe the SES claim for 50 per cent of the FCC’s incentive payments for clearing C-Band spectrum should fail. Lawyers for SES, on January 14th, submitted their […]
Financial ratings agency, Fitch Ratings, has assigned its verdict on Intelsat’s capital restructuring. Intelsat is likely to emerge from its Chapter 11 bankruptcy reconstruction shortly and is already in the process of arranging fresh financing and borrowing. Fitch says it has assigned a ‘B+’ rating on Intelsat’s Jackson Holdings SA sister company with a ratings […]