Advanced Television

Intelsat

SES: ‘FCC wants more C-band spectrum’

The post-results analysts call with SES senior management focused on two topics: The possibility of another C-band release of spectrum to the FCC and the state of the Intelsat $3.1 billion (€2.9bn) acquisition by SES and what the consequences would be if one of the parties walked away from the deal. The FCC is holding […]

February 27, 2025

SES results: ‘Top end of outlook’

Luxembourg-based satellite operator SES says its overall revenue for the 2024 full year achieved a “solid financial performance leading to revenue at the top end of the financial outlook and exceeding SES’s objectives.” Overall revenue was at €2.001bn, down 0.9 per cent YOY. The operator’s Networks division saw revenue grow +2.9 per cent YOY with […]

February 26, 2025By Chris Forrester

SES hit by ratings downgrade

It’s not been a good month for European satellite operators. Recent weeks have seen Paris-based Eutelsat suffer negative comments and a much-depressed share price. Now it is Luxembourg’s SES which is hurting. Ratings agency Moody’s cut its outlook on SES to “negative” (from “stable”) and that the operator’s long-term debt (rated Baa3) would be “under […]

February 19, 2025

Intelsat, GCI expand Alaska partnership

Intelsat, the satellite and terrestrial network operator, has signed an expanded satellite services agreement with GCI, Alaska’s largest telecommunications company, that will soon deliver multi-orbit broadband services throughout the largest state in the US. “Four years ago, Intelsat and GCI entered into an agreement that dramatically increased the size and speed of GCI’s geostationary satellite […]

January 9, 2025

Report: ​​User terminal growth outpaces ground site rationalisation

The rise of constellations, the boom in data exchanges, and the integration and digitisation of networks are reshaping ground segment activity. Innovation is driving a transformation of the ecosystem, with ongoing and expected transactions on both the demand and supply sides. Novaspace’s fifth edition of its Ground Segment Market Prospects report projects the competitive ground […]

November 22, 2024

Intelsat’s debris field now 500+ pieces

The geostationary arc is suffering badly from the recent break-up of Intelsat’s I-33e. More than 500 individual pieces of debris have now been identified by specialists at ExoAnalytics. The researchers say the majority of the piece are “softball-sized or smaller” although there are pieces described as being of car-door size. ExoAnalytics managed to add identification […]

October 30, 2024By Chris Forrester

‘Space junk’ threat to satellites

The problems caused by the loss of Intelsat’s i33e craft on October 19th, which has now been declared a total loss, has highlighted the problems with other dangerous space junk. A report from Quartz says that there are now about 3,000 dead satellites littered across space, and some 34,000 piece of large space junk and […]

October 25, 2024

Intelsat 33e breaks up into pieces

The catastrophic failure of Intelsat’s I-33e satellites on October 19th is now known to have created a debris field of at least 40 different pieces. The craft is a total loss, says Intelsat and the company has asked the FCC for permission to use three nearby satellites (two owned by SES and the other by […]

October 24, 2024By Chris Forrester

Intelsat loses a satellite in orbit

Intelsat 33e, one of its ‘epicNG’ next-generation satellites, has suffered a catastrophic loss and is understood to have broken up. Initially, Intelsat said that the satellite had “lost power” and that it believed the satellite would not be recoverable. IS-33e was designed and manufactured by Boeing Space Systems. It was launched in August 2016 and […]

October 21, 2024By Chris Forrester

Intelsat CEO: “SES buying Intelsat is right”

Intelsat CEO David Wajsgras confirms the logic behind the decision for SES to buy his business, saying that there had been a tailwind of talk about mergers and consolidation for years, and that the decision to come together was needed in order to be able to compete against the new players in space, not least […]

October 7, 2024By Chris Forrester