Europe, Middle East and Africa Markets

The teleport industry got its start in the days when monopoly telephone companies ruled and, in the US, COMSAT was the sole gatekeeper for access to domestic and international satellites.  Then the Reagan Administration’s Open Skies policy ended COMSAT’s lock on satellite access, and entrepreneurs jumped on the new opportunity.

Having worked at a teleport at the beginning of my career, I never miss an opportunity to visit one. Teleports remind me of the very exciting times I spent working in one. There is something about the mix of high technology and innovative, geeky engineers that never cease to amaze me, so when I was invited to visit a teleport in England I didn’t hesitate to accept. But nothing prepared me for what I was about to see…

NSR’s Maritime Satcom Markets, 7th Edition report, forecasts VSAT-enabled Maritime vessels to grow from over 20,000 vessels in 2018 to over 75,000 by 2028. Generating almost US$ 42 billion in cumulative revenues between 2018 – 2028, the Maritime satcom connectivity market has never looked more promising, NSR concluded.

Intelsat S.A. (NYSE: I) reported today total revenues of US$ 528.4 million and net loss of US$ 120.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2019.

Intelsat said EBITDA, or earnings before net interest, gain on early extinguishment of debt, taxes and depreciation and amortization, ofUS $ 372.8 million and Adjusted EBITDA of US$ 380.3 million, or 72 percent of revenue, for the quarter. Free cash flow from operations was US$ 24 million.

Pay TV revenues in Eastern Europe will peak at US$ 6.95 billion in 2019 - before slowly falling to $6.59 billion by 2024. According to Digital TV Research, analog cable revenues will drop by US$ 844 million over this period, so digital pay TV revenues will increase by US$502 million to US$6.56.