Intelsat eyes expansion into Africa, Indo-Pacific markets

Intelsat's New Dawn (Intelsat 28), designed to transmit across C-band and Ku-band at GEO orbit, to provide voice, wireless backhaul, internet, and media application services to African customers. (Intelsat)

Satellite communications (satcom) company Intelsat has created a new international business development unit, geared specifically towards expanding the company's government and defence portfolio in Europe, as well as emerging markets in Africa and the Indo-Pacific region, a senior executive told Janes.

Currently, the majority of the company's business development efforts are focused on US markets “from a government and defence sector” perspective, said Rory Welch, vice-president of Global Government and Satellite Services, at Intelsat.

“We had some international business as well, mainly in Europe and Australia” prior to the establishment of the new Global Government business unit, he said during a 6 September interview.

However, myriad issues affecting the global satellite market, from China's aggressive expansion in the Indo-Pacific to Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine, have prompted a surge in demand for satellite capabilities worldwide, according to Welch.

“We were looking at growing [global] demand and [asking] how do we take advantage of it, and we thought that the best way to do it is to actually create a new business unit focused on our international government,” he said.

The new business unit is “really focused on addressing the growing needs of our [European] government and military customers … given what's happening in Ukraine, then the Asia Pacific and then a new area of focus for us is Africa”, Welch said.