Overzealous newspace investors risk pushing the satellite industry into another funding drought by rushing into ventures with unproven business cases, the CEO of Iridium Communications has warned. Matt Desch told the Connectivity Business Investment Conference that, although the unprecedented growth in satellite startups for broadband, Earth observation and other applications is good for the industry, investors should...

CenturyLink may look to bolt-on deals in Europe to ignite growth amid an infrastructure upswing, as the US telecoms operator continues to build out its data centre footprint in Latin America. The strategy could come as CenturyLink digests its US$34bn acquisition of Level 3 Communications, which boosted its scale and market position, while adding a significant spike in leverage. As CenturyLink has faced increasing broadband competition from...

Intelsat recently launched its first convertible offering since the mandatory convert that followed the satellite giant’s 2013 IPO, advancing the operator towards a holistic solution for its complex and sizeable debt structure. SatelliteFinance speaks with CFO Jacques Kerrest about the rationale behind the transaction and what could...

Seaborn Networks stands apart from other independent cable operators for fully operating and maintaining its submarine and terrestrial telecoms infrastructure. Controlled by a management team with a long history of building subsea systems around the world, its initial project Seabras-1 was also the first in the sector to be backed by export credit agency financing. After Seabras-1 went live in September to connect New York to Sao Paulo, Connectivity Business talks to chair and CEO Larry Schwartz to learn more about how the company is positioning itself for the next wave of capacity...

As Vodafone awaits the fate of its proposed acquisition of Liberty Global’s European cable assets, both companies are looking to take advantage of the shifting telecoms landscape by streamlining operations, exploring bolt-on M&A and charting 5G plans. The British telecoms giant faces significant regulatory hurdles in its proposed €18.4bn (US$21.8bn) takeover of Liberty Global's operations in Germany, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania. While the deal is expected to eventually gain approval, industry analysts have cautioned that the...

Viasat yesterday announced the acquisition of UK-based Horsebridge Defence and Security amid speculation that the US satellite operator could approach Inmarsat after its recent rejection of a takeover bid from EchoStar. Viasat could consider a deal for Inmarsat to stop…

Teleport owners give increasingly high marks to the performance of satellite operators, as they spend less overall on increasingly cheap satellite capacity, a recent World Teleport Association benchmark study found. This year, the survey asked respondents about their assessment of eight global and regional satellite operators, including…

The satellite sector is awash with speculation that a wave of consolidation could follow US fleet operator EchoStar’s approach across the pond for its UK peer Inmarsat. But the takeover that Inmarsat rejected appears to mainly be about spectrum. In particular, the...