European Union (EU) regulators are examining the extent of Elon Musk’s influence and communications of his Starlink broadband-by-satellite system and whether it is a valid competitor to what could be a combined business of SES and Intelsat. SES is attempting to acquire Intelsat in a €3.1 billion deal. The EU’s anti-trust regulators have to decide […]
The European Union has set June 10th as the deadline date for Europe’s individual countries to approve – or to open a full investigation into the planned merger between satellite operators SES and Intelsat. Both companies have always said approvals were likely in the second-half of this calendar year. If a full competition investigation is […]
Satellite operator SES reported its numbers on April 30th but it has now emerged that the company’s O3b mPOWER Mid-Earth orbiting fleet is expected to grow capacity by 30 per cent this year alone, and more in 2026. The additions to the fleet will bring critical capacity for customers in government, maritime and aero, CEO […]
SES has published its Q1 2025 results, reporting that it signed €360 million in new business during the quarter. The two highlights were the satellite operator’s Networks division which saw revenue grow 8.4 per cent YoY and its Government segment improve 13.1 per cent. The once important Media division, which looks after its DTH transmissions, […]
The UK’s Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) has launched a Phase 1 investigation into SES in relation to its proposed acquisition of Intelsat. The CMA believes that the proposed acquisition of Intelsat Holdings by Luxembourg-based SES could potentially lead to a substantial lessening of competition in one or more UK markets. The CMA is examining […]
SES CEO Adel Al-Saleh, in an interview, has said that despite the recent examples of acquisitions it must move even faster. SES is awaiting regulatory approvals for its purchase of rival Intelsat, and has recently made an investment in Lynk Global which is building a low Earth orbiting fleet of satellites for Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) connections. […]
SES has released the results of its Annual General Meeting (AGM) held on April 3rd. All of the motions were carried, but there were some notable objections which while not affecting the end result proved that not all of the proposed motions were 100 per cent supported. For example, Agenda item 10 (“Determination of the […]
SES will be providing its SES Open Orbits global inflight connectivity network to upgrade the airline fleets of Uzbekistan Airways and Thai Airways’ future B787 aircraft. Through its participating partners, the SES Open Orbits network offers connectivity across the skies, provides internet speeds up to 300 Mbps and is available on all production airframes, including […]
Consolidation is running through the satellite industry. A year ago it was Eutelsat absorbing OneWeb, Viasat buying Inmarsat and more recently SES making a $3.1 billion (€2.8bn) commitment to acquire rival Intelsat. The SES/Intelsat move is expected to wrap this summer. Consolidation is also affecting smaller satellite businesses. April 1st saw Canada-based MDA announce its […]
Satellite giant Intelsat, in the process of being bought by SES, has reported declining revenues across many of its key divisions. Its ‘Transponder Revenues’ vertical, which accounts for video services tumbled 10 per cent, while its In-Flight services division fell back 9 per cent (although 6 per cent when equipment sales were included). Intelsat stated […]