Global satellite player Intelsat has revealed a new satellite terminal strategy that it claims will make it the first satellite player to offer global multi-orbit solutions for all relevant verticals by the first half of 2025.
Intelsat currently offers multi-orbit solutions through its own geostationary satellites and LEO satellites via a partnership with Eutelsat OneWeb, which was expanded earlier this year in a deal worth US$500 million. Intelsat is also currently in the process of being acquired by rival satellite firm SES, which owns the medium-earth orbit (MEO) constellation O3b.
While Intelsat has been providing multi-orbit terminals to the military and commercial airlines for the last couple of years, it now plans to develop a new generation of terminals to cash in on growing demand for multi-orbit solutions, said Intelsat CEO David Wajsgras.
“Intelsat is making strategic bets on new technologies, including new investments in innovative terminal providers,” said Wajsgras in a statement. “More and more customers will come to count on the broad reliability profile of multi-orbit solutions, and it is key to our future success.”
To that end, Intelsat has bought a minority stake in French satellite terminal player Greenerwave, whose Electronically Steered Array (ESA) terminal enables fast switching between multiple networks and multiple orbits. The two companies also signed a technology agreement to develop the array and integrate it into high throughput, multi-orbit terminals for network and data applications.
The new terminals will combine flexible beamforming, real-time reconfiguration, and low-power consumption, and will be able to operate at half-duplex or full-duplex. They’ll also be smaller, thanks to a design in which receivers and transmitters interleaved on a single antenna panel. That will reduce the panel size by up to 50%, Intelsat says.
Intelsat said its new terminal strategy will enable it to deliver multi-orbit managed-service solutions across all relevant verticals, including commercial aviation, government and mobility applications.
The multi-orbit satellite boom over the past couple of years has been credited to the growing demand for LEO satellite services like Starlink and Eutelsat OneWeb, particularly in developing markets keen to bridge the digital divide.
As we reported in May, geostationary satellite players are responding to the LEOsat wave partly by consolidation, and partly by embracing multi-orbit strategies (or in Intelsat's case, both).
Earlier this year, for example, UK-based geostationary satellite operator Avanti being instructed by its shareholders to implement a multi-orbit strategy. In May, Avanti partnered with Q-KON to provide LEO satellite connectivity to customers across South Africa using connectivity from Eutelsat OneWeb.
