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lightspeed

Telesat plans Q4 2026 for first Lightspeeds

Canadian satellite operator Telesat says it will have its first pair of Lightspeed low Earth orbiting satellites in orbit by the end of 2026. A total of 96 will then be launched during early 2027 to start a global broadband service. This first pair will test the system and validate the concept. Telesat has booked […]

November 5, 2025By Chris Forrester

ALL.SPACE, Telesat Government Solutions collab for Lightspeed

Telesat Government Solutions, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Telesat, and ALL.SPACE, a specialist in multi-orbit, multi-link SATCOM solutions, have announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to integrate ALL.SPACE user terminals with the Telesat Lightspeed Low Earth Orbit (LEO) network. Telesat Government Solutions will provide detailed Telesat Lightspeed network interface specifications to facilitate the development of ALL.SPACE multi-orbit, […]

August 20, 2025

Amazon dismisses OneWeb as a rival

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy didn’t mention Elon Musk’s Starlink, or Eutelsat’s OneWeb, or Canada’s Telesat Lightspeed or any of the ever-growing list of would-be low Earth orbiting (LEO) satellite constellations in remarks on Amazon’s Q2 analysts call. But he did say that Amazon’s Project Kuiper would be one of only two major players in LEO. […]

August 4, 2025By Chris Forrester

Telesat Q1 revenue down 23%

The good news for Canada-based satellite operator Telesat is that its backlog for its Lightspeed mega-constellation is likely to be worth more than C$1.1 billion (€0.7bn) by the end of this year. The bad news is that the first Lightspeed low Earth orbiting satellite will not be orbited until the end of 2026 and service […]

May 7, 2025By Chris Forrester

Forecast: 10,000+ software-defined satellites in orbit by 2031

According to a report from technology intelligence firm ABI Research, the number of newly launched active digital and software-defined satellites in orbit supporting cloud-native networks is projected to exceed 10,000 by 2031, driven by the rise of next-generation Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite networks and network unification efforts. “As the United States, Europe and China […]

May 1, 2025

Telesat trims Lightspeed LEO fleet

Ottawa-based satellite operator Telesat has formally advised the Federal Communications Commission that it wants to reduce the size of its proposed Liightspeed low Earth orbiting fleet from 1,671 craft to 300. The major change is that Telesat will orbit the Lightspeed fleet in higher orbital altitudes. The initial ‘Shell 1’ launches were due to comprise […]

April 15, 2025By Chris Forrester

Viasat adds Lightspeed to portfolio

California-based satellite operator Viasat, which already has agreements in place with the likes of Eutelsat’s OneWeb, has added Telesat’s Lightspeed to its supply of low Earth orbiting options. Lightspeed is a proposed constellation of almost 200 satellites which will start being launched in mid-2026. The agreement struck with Telesat is for Viasat to access Lightspeed’s […]

April 8, 2025By Chris Forrester

Orange, Telesat sign multi-year partnership

Orange and Telesat have partnered to offer new satellite connectivity options through a strategic commercial partnership. Under the agreement, a Telesat Lightspeed Landing Station will be hosted at Orange’s teleport in Bercenay-en-Othe, France, and benefit from ground segment connectivity with their point of presence (PoP) located in Paris over Orange Wholesale International Private Line (IPL). […]

March 11, 2025

Telesat partners with Intellian

Telesat and Intellian, a provider of satellite communication antennas and ground gateway solutions, have announced a contract award for Intellian to design and manufacture Ka-band flat panel User Terminals for the Telesat Lightspeed Low Earth Orbit (LEO) constellation. Under this agreement, fully optimised Ka-band LEO flat panels for the Telesat Lightspeed network are being designed […]

February 27, 2025

Telesat makes leadership changes

Satellite operator Telesat has announced that Michel Forest will be its new Chief Technology Officer following the retirement of David Wendling at the end of February 2025. In this role, Forest will report to Dan Goldberg, Telesat’s President and CEO, and oversee Telesat’s satellite operations, satellite and systems engineering, launch activities and programme management. Serving […]

January 13, 2025