Avanti has secured three new multimillion pound contracts just a few weeks after launching the UK’s first satellite dedicated to broadband services.
The satellite operator launched Hylas 1 on November 26 from the Kourou Space Centre on an Ariane 5…
Avanti has secured three new multimillion pound contracts just a few weeks after launching the UK’s first satellite dedicated to broadband services.
The satellite operator launched Hylas 1 on November 26 from the Kourou Space Centre on an Ariane 5 launcher, and commercial services expected early next year.
In the days following the launch, Avanti announced two five-year service contracts totalling £16.7m with British incumbent telco BT and international satellite service provider TigrisNet. A three-year managed services contract with Spanish service provider NASSAT has also been secured since the launch for an undisclosed sum.
The TigrisNet deal also includes the purchase of capacity on Avanti’s second satellite, Hylas 2, which is currently under construction and set for launch in early 2012.
According to CEO David Williams, there are 60 service providers from all over Europe lined up and ready to partner with the company.
Williams told a UK radio broadcaster on 24 November that the group has invested “almost half a billion pounds” over the last four to five years, and he aims to launch a new satellite “every year or so” to reach rural consumers across Europe.
“What that means is that with the first two satellites about a million people will be able to get broadband service,” he said.
“They’ll get service at competitive prices with a decent service quality. Most consumers in Britain needn’t pay more than £20 or £25 a month to get a good quality satellite broadband service. It’ll always be a little more expensive than the cost of services in the middle of cities, but it’s available everywhere.”
The launch of Hylas 1 was planned to take place late September this year, but uncertainty surrounding the readiness of French Guyana’s Soyuz launch pad led to a ‘scheduling risk’ in relation to its vehicle, the operator announced.
The change in rocket provider is the second shift by Avanti having originally contracted nascent private launch provider SpaceX to loft the satellite to orbit.
In mid-July, Avanti also raised approximately £70m to pay down most of the £32m seven-year PIK bond used to finance Hylas-1 as well as support plans for a third satellite. The placing, which was arranged by Cenkos Securities and Jefferies, represented an increase of around 23.7% of Avanti’s existing ordinary share capital, and 19.2% of the company’s enlarged share capital.
“The majority of the placing proceeds were used to restructure the company’s debt by paying off the PIK bond that had been used to part finance Hylas 1 and to re-domicile the assets of Hylas 2 offshore,” an Avanti spokesman told SatelliteFinance.
“A small amount was dedicated to the initiation of the purchase of a third satellite, the company is pursuing a relatively low cost strategy with the aim of negotiating sufficient customer commitments to support long term financing of Hylas 3.”
Speaking to SatelliteFinance in July, Williams revealed that the satellite is likely to cover the Americas to capitalise on the interest Avanti has received from parties looking to form joint ventures in the region.
