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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Telesat planned to decide by the end of the year which contractor would build some or all of its 300-satellite constellation.
Maxar continues to work closely with Telesat on its future architecture plans and continues to make progress on the Telesat LEO program.
Telesat Canada raised $550,000,000 in new senior notes this fall and used the proceeds to pay off older debt.
The new $550,000,000 in senior notes issued by Telesat Canada carries a 6.5% interest rate and is not due until October 2027.
Telesat Canada paid off $500,000,000 of senior notes that carried an 8.875% interest rate five years early.
Telesat Canada plans monthly launches for its broadband constellation to reach 300 satellites in 2023.
Relativity announced customer agreements to support Telesat’s LEO constellation, to launch mu Space’s first LEO satellite, and to launch Spaceflight Industries’ dedicated smallsat rideshares.
Eutelsat contrasts the capital magnitude needed for its planned ELO nanosatellite constellation with the larger investments planned by Telesat, OneWeb, and SpaceX for broadband LEO constellations.
Encompass Digital Media executive chairman Bill Tillson estimated that Intelsat, SES, and Telesat could collectively gain $34,000,000,000 by selling C-band spectrum.
The C-Band Alliance reports that Intelsat and SES generated 90–95% of U.S. C-band revenues in 2017 while Telesat’s share amounted to a single-digit percentage.
Telesat is expected to choose soon between Airbus Defence and Space and a team formed by Maxar Technologies and Thales Alenia Space to start building its 300-satellite LEO broadband constellation.
Thales Alenia Space partnered with Maxar Technologies in competition with Airbus Defence and Space to build a megaconstellation for Canadian operator Telesat, which is seeking 300 low Earth orbit satellites.
Telesat is preparing to deploy a constellation of 298 high-throughput LEO broadband satellites designed to deliver megabits and gigabits of capacity to single locations.
Telesat plans a substantial research-and-development process using its early satellites that will be partly offset by the government’s 85 million Canadian dollar investment.
Telesat intends to select a satellite manufacturer by the end of 2019.
Telesat LEO is designed as a Ka-band system operating in a 1,000-kilometer orbit.
Telesat plans to start partial service with the constellation in 2022 using around 200 satellites and to provide full service in 2023 with 300 satellites.
The government of Canada will invest 85 million Canadian dollars in the first dozen satellites of Telesat’s low Earth orbit broadband constellation as part of a research-and-development-intensive early deployment phase.
The Canadian government announced on 2019-07-24 financial support for Telesat LEO and described the constellation as a 298-satellite system intended to bring internet to some of Canada’s most rural citizens.
Telesat has worked with Airbus Defence and Space and a consortium formed by Maxar Technologies and Thales Alenia Space on designing the Telesat LEO constellation, with a downselect of a manufacturer expected by the end of the year.