Saudi Arabia’s Arabsat plans to issue an RfP in the coming weeks for four next generation satellites, including one to be jointly owned by Canadian operator Telesat.
The deal sees Telesat utilising a lifetime Ku-band payload on the Hellas-sat-4 bird…
Saudi Arabia’s Arabsat plans to issue an RfP in the coming weeks for four next generation satellites, including one to be jointly owned by Canadian operator Telesat.
The deal sees Telesat utilising a lifetime Ku-band payload on the Hellas-sat-4 bird to be launched in 2017 at 39E, a slot covering Europe and the Mediterranean that Arabsat bought last year.
Arabsat previously had plans to order just three spacecraft for its sixth satellite generation programme before the strategic agreement.
Its CEO Khalid Balkhyour said the move reflects a longstanding relationship between the two operators, with Arabsat in the past leasing capacity from ageing Telesat satellites in the EMEA region.
“The upcoming RfP for Arabsat’s sixth generation satellites reflects the company’s views on the exciting growth opportunities ahead of us and our commitment to capitalise on these opportunities,” he said.
“Hellas-sat-4 will be a state of the art satellite with Ku and Ka-band missions.”
Telesat CEO Dan Goldberg said the strategic deal complements its existing in-orbit capacity, while expanding capabilities in what he described as an important region.
Arabsat’s acquisition of 39E and Greek operator Hellas-sat for €208m was its first significant expansion outside its core Middle East and African markets.
Balkhyour told SatelliteFinance in an interview last July that it is seeking joint ventures and M&A to move from being a regional operator to a global player, which had also prompted it to look at buying Malaysia’s Measat.
Supported by its wealthy owners, the member states of the Arab League, Arabsat announced a strategy in 2012 to become one of the top five operators in eight years.
And with the sale process of Telesat appearing to gather pace recently, Arabsat’s evolving relationship with the Canadian group could be predicator for a more significant deal to come.
