PARIS —
French satellite operator Eutelsat said on Monday it was in talks with British
counterpart OneWeb for a tie-up to create a “global champion” in broadband
internet, rivaling US operators such as
Elon Musk’s Starlink.
اضافة اعلان
Satellite
broadband promises to bring coverage to the most remote areas of the planet and
supply connectivity on airplanes and to products like connected cars.
Starlink heads the
market with more than 2,000 tiny satellites in lower-earth orbit (LEO), just a
few hundred kilometers above the Earth.
Eutelsat already
provides some internet services through a deal with telecoms firm Orange, using
its network of 35 larger satellites that operate thousands of kilometers from
Earth in
geostationary orbit (GEO) that are more commonly used for TV and other
communications.
But Eutelsat said
its tie-up with OneWeb, if it goes through, would be the first of its kind
allying GEO and LEO satellites — OneWeb has 428 in orbit.
The French firm
said it would be “uniquely positioned” to exploit a market that it expected to
be worth $16 billion by 2030.
The “potential
all-share combination” would “create a global leader in connectivity”, Eutelsat
said in a statement.
‘Logical next step’
However, the European firms face stiff competition.
Musk is not the only tech billionaire with plans to
dominate the market — Amazon founder
Jeff Bezos recently announced he intended
to launch some 3,200 satellites.
Money is pouring
into the sector, with Bezos apparently pledged $10 billion to his so-called
Project Kuiper.
Public
institutions are also looking to get in on the act.
The European
Union wants to deploy roughly 250 satellites by 2024 and China has a plan to
launch 13,000 of its own.
The British
government owns a stake in OneWeb.
Eutelsat already
holds 23 percent of OneWeb’s shares and the transaction would represent a
“logical next step in the successful partnership”, the French firm said.
The potential deal
has several potential hurdles to clear though, including the need to be
approved by Eutelsat shareholders and regulators.
“There can be no
assurance that these discussions will result in any agreement,” said the French
firm.
Eutelsat’s shares
plunged by more than 17 percent in early trading on the Paris stock exchange.
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