Telesat is a Canadian satellite communications company and operator, providing connectivity solutions to telecom, government, and enterprise clients globally. They are currently developing Telesat Lightspeed, a low Earth orbit (LEO) constellation of 198 satellites designed for high-speed, low-latency broadband services. Telesat partners with companies like MDA Space, Orange, and Intellian for satellite manufacturing, terrestrial infrastructure, and user terminals. The company aims to begin launching satellites in 2026, with the constellation fully operational by 2027.
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The demonstration used a network architecture that allowed soldiers to connect Telesat’s LEO 3 satellite through Cobham antennas.
Telesat launched its experimental LEO 3 satellite in July 2023 as a pathfinder for the Lightspeed LEO constellation.
Telesat’s LEO 3 was launched aboard Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket.
Telesat estimates roughly $2,000,000,000 of capital cost savings and roughly $750,000,000 of savings in reduced borrowing costs relative to the original Telesat Lightspeed program.
Telesat LEO Inc. is developing and will own and operate the Telesat Lightspeed LEO global broadband satellite constellation.
The Government of Canada is prepared to invest C$2,140,000,000 in Telesat Lightspeed by way of a loan to Telesat LEO Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Telesat.
Telesat LEO Inc. will provide the Government of Canada with warrants for 10% of the common shares of Telesat LEO based upon an equity valuation for Telesat LEO of US$3,000,000,000.
Telesat plans to begin Lightspeed satellite deployments in 2026 via SpaceX.
Telesat projects adjusted EBITDA between 340 million and 360 million Canadian dollars for 2024 as Lightspeed expenses ramp up.
The Canadian government agreed to provide a loan worth 2.14 billion Canadian dollars to Telesat for the Lightspeed constellation.
Telesat plans to fund around 1.6 billion Canadian dollars of Lightspeed’s costs via Telesat equity.
Telesat expects to report between 545 million and 565 million Canadian dollars in revenue for 2024.
MDA Space holds contracts in the non-geostationary business, including orders from Telesat for its Lightspeed LEO fleet.
MDA Space builds non-GEO satellites, including work on Telesat’s Lightspeed constellation, and provides components for GEO satellite manufacturers.
Avanti’s first low-latency LEO constellation agreement with Telesat will support execution of Avanti’s new strategy built on a customer-pull model.
The Avanti–Telesat collaboration is intended to be optimized to serve the critical connectivity requirements of Avanti’s enterprise and government customers once the Telesat Lightspeed constellation is operational in 2027.
Avanti plans to incorporate Telesat’s Lightspeed services into Avanti’s network to provide affordable, high-quality broadband connectivity worldwide.
Avanti Communications signed a memorandum of understanding with Telesat to test and develop LEO services as part of a global strategy to deliver bespoke, multi-orbit solutions.
Telesat awarded MDA a 2.1 billion Canadian dollar contract to develop the Lightspeed LEO broadband constellation.
MDA has contracted to build 17 satellites for Globalstar, 198 satellites for Telesat, and 36 satellites for an unnamed GEO customer starting in 2025.