U.K. government-led consortium scuppers Telesat’s reported bid for OneWeb

A reported bid by Ottawa-headquartered satellite service provider Telesat Holdings Inc. to acquire competitor OneWeb has been unsuccessful, with a consortium including the U.K. government and Indian mobile network operator Bharti Global Limited acquiring a combined 90 per cent stake in the company in Thursday’s auction. The Telegraph reported on Monday that Telesat was “gatecrashing” the auction and that their bid for OneWeb’s assets was supported by the Canadian government. OneWeb filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May this year after failing to secure sufficient investment to continue operations. The company had launched 74 satellites into orbit before it filed for bankruptcy. In a Friday release, U.K. Business Secretary Alok Sharma said it and Bharti Global had each paid $500 million for the stake in OneWeb. Sharma said in the release that the deal “underlines the scale of Britain’s ambitions on the global stage.” OneWeb said in a press release that the winning bid “represents a strong offer that will enable OneWeb to successfully emerge from the Chapter 11 process with a robust foundation on which to continue its progress towards commercial operations and secure OneWeb’s position as a global leader in low latency connectivity.” Last September, OneWeb said its constellation of low-earth orbit satellites would offer service in Canada’s North in 2020, stating it expected to deliver 24 hours of continuous coverage by the first quarter of 2021. The Canadian government announced last July it would invest $85 million in Telesat for the construction of a constellation of low earth orbit satellites. Telesat and Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains did not respond by deadline to a request for comment about the auction result and whether the Canadian government was involved in backing any bid. The LEO space has been intensely competitive as a number of companies, including Telesat, OneWeb, Elon Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies Corp. and Luxembourg-based LeoSat -- which shut down due to insufficient funds in 2019 -- jostled to launch their own low-earth orbit satellite systems. In an Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada briefing note prepared for Bains obtained by The Wire Report under Access to Information, ISED highlights that analysts have predicted only two-to-three of the constellations currently being planned will be successful. “Strong financial backing is critical to success,” the briefing note states, pointing out LeoSat’s shutdown and OneWeb’s bankruptcy filing. In May, Space X applied to the CRTC for a Basic International Telecommunications Services (BITS) licence. The website for Starlink, Space X’s internet service startup, says it intends to offer services in Canada through its constellation of satellites in 2020.

U.K. government-led consortium scuppers Telesat’s reported bid for OneWeb

Brief | July 3, 2020

Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news you need.

FREE TRIAL

SUBSCRIBE

Inside The Wire Report

Information

Hill Times Publishing

Get in Touch With Us

U.K. government-led consortium scuppers Telesat’s reported bid for OneWeb

Brief | July 3, 2020

Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news you need.

FREE TRIAL

SUBSCRIBE

Related Stories

Telesat CEO sees opportunity in push for Canadian sovereignty in infrastructure

Beanfield appoints Winnie Leung as CFO

‘Outdated’ regulatory tools unsuitable for online environment, streamers tell CRTC

Local providers key to broadband rollout, CanWISP told

Reuse & Permissions

Inside The Wire Report

Information

Hill Times Publishing

Get in Touch With Us