A rendering of Telesat’s low earth orbit broadband constellation.
Telesat
Shares of Canadian telecommunications satellite operator Telesat surged Friday after the corporate announced it could swap suppliers for its planned Lightspeed global web network.
Canadian space company MDA will now construct the Lightspeed satellites, taking the place of French-Italian manufacturer Thales Alenia Space and leading to “total capital cost savings” of about $2 billion, Telesat announced.
The corporate expects to start launching the primary Lightspeed satellites in mid-2026, with global service starting once the primary 156 satellites are in orbit. The total network is planned to consist of 198 satellites.
Telesat stock surged as much as 64% with heavy volume in early trading from its previous close at $8.45 a share, before slipping barely to closer to 50%.
“I’m incredibly pleased with the Telesat team for his or her revolutionary work to further optimize … leading to dramatically reduced costs,” Telesat CEO Dan Goldberg said in a release.
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Telesat stock surges Friday after the corporate swaps its web satellite supplier.
The corporate had previously contracted Thales Alenia Space to fabricate the satellites at an estimated cost of $5 billion, including about $3 billion for the satellites, plus the prices of rocket launches, constructing ground infrastructure and developing software platforms to operate the network.
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Goldberg previously emphasized to CNBC that Lightspeed just isn’t intended to compete in direct-to-consumer markets against SpaceX’s Starlink or Amazon’s Kuiper. As a substitute, it’s going to maintain Telesat’s existing deal with enterprise customers — government and industrial markets that Starlink has expanded into over the past yr.
Telesat also reported second-quarter results Friday, including $180 million in revenue, a decrease of 4% from the identical period a yr prior. Telesat’s net income jumped to $520 million within the quarter, compared with a net lack of $4 million a yr prior, a dramatic shift the corporate attributed largely to a $260 million payment from the FCC for clearing spectrum for 5G use within the U.S.
The corporate reaffirmed its full-year 2023 revenue guidance, expecting to usher in between $690 million and $710 million.
