Photo: Via Satellite archive

In the world of satellite over the last two weeks, there have been relatively few announcements from the big satellite operators. But we will hear from most of the operators in a few weeks at our first major digital event this year, SATELLITE 2021: Digital LEO Forum. In the meantime, here are some of the major recent announcements from the big players. Viasat and Inmarsat led the way when it came to announcements.

Viasat

Viasat has been boosted by a deal renewal in the U.S. military arena. It signed a five year extension deal with the U.S. Navy Exchange Service Command’s NEXCOM Telecommunications Program Office. Viasat will continue to deliver managed internet, Wi-Fi, voice and other services for personal use networks across Navy facilities worldwide. The contract also adds the roll-out of interactive satellite-based high-definition TV service at 32 Navy Lodge sites, to improve the lives of sailors, their families and guests during their stay.

Inmarsat

Inmarsat has had a busy few days with a key new maritime deal, as well as an interesting collaboration with the UK Space Agency. The company won a National Space Innovation Programme (NSIP) contract to develop an in-orbit telemetry relay service for rockets called InRange.  Inmarsat’s InRange service aims to reduce the dependency of space launch providers on traditional, expensive ground-based monitoring systems infrastructure for their rockets and will provide a more cost-effective, flexible solution, available globally via Inmarsat’s geostationary L-band network. Inmarsat is working with Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) to ensure the InRange service develops to meet the challenging environmental conditions experienced by launch vehicles.

On the maritime side, it also signed a new deal for its Fleet Connect service. Evitalz Health Management will join a group of certified application providers to offer a dedicated application for Inmarsat’s Fleet Connect service prioritizing healthcare for people on board ships.

Evitalz will use Fleet Connect to provide its telehealth/telemedicine solution; a combination of FDA approved and CE certified medical devices that use its VitaLink app to record and interpret the patient’s vital signs in real-time. The diagnostic readings are gathered from the devices and compiled with patient symptoms and other data, and wirelessly sent to the app. Evitalz provides shipmasters or caregivers with a ‘plug n play’ medical diagnostic infrastructure to perform vital checks of a patient, wherever, whenever. The company is a digital health startup founded in 2018. It provides telehealth solutions for ships, aircrafts and remote locations.

Inmarsat is also launching a new online learning program targeting people aged between 14 and 17.  Inmarsat is inviting the people in this age group to take part in a global, online learning programme to develop new skills to help them in the future. It has high hopes for its Global Passport Programme, as it looks to tap into this age group to provide great online learning experiences.

Eutelsat

Sarah Simon, a satellite equity analyst at Berenberg Bank put out a new report on Eutelsat where she praised the company’s recent performance. She said in the research note that Eutelsat’s first half revenues were “ahead of expectations.” She added, “Eutelsat reported H1 operating vertical revenues down 2.1% on a like-for-like basis, almost 1% ahead of consensus expectations, and a robust performance given the negative COVID-19 backdrop. Better-than-expected momentum in the company’s traditionally weak data and professional video segment was the key driver of outperformance with better volumes (rather than price) a nice positive surprise.”

She added that Eutelsat’s profitability numbers were also “solid.” Simon noted that Eutelsat’s EBITDA margin of 76.7% was also ahead of a consensus forecast of 76.2%. “While granted these do sound like small beats, slightly slower-than-expected declines not only gives us more comfort that the company can eventually return to growth, but also signals the end to a long period of underperformance,” she said.

Berenberg currently has a ‘Buy’ rating on Eutelsat’s stock, and believes it can return to growth in its full year 2023. “We believe recent deals struck with Thales, Orange and TIM, combined with the recently awarded further European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) will alone add more than 35 million euros of annualised revenue during FY 2023. With the top line declining just 2% in H1, it is really starting to feel like Eutelsat’s growth is becoming ever more visible,” said Simon.

In other Eutelsat news, the company announced it had appointed Juan Pablo Cofino as its new Regional Vice President – CEO of Eutelsat Americas. This is a significant appointment for the company in one of its key leadership positions. Cofino had been Regional Vice President, LATAM & Caribbean at Intelsat, and now joins to help Eutelsat boost its position in the Americas. Cofino has also previously occupied senior international executive positions at leading companies in the Americas region, including ATN International, Tigo (Millicom Group) and Agreca (Grupo Progreso). Cofino replaces Mike Antonovich who has decided to continue his professional career outside of Eutelsat.

SES

Berenberg also put out a new research report on SES. Unlike Eutelsat, Berenberg has a ‘Hold’ rating on SES’s stock. Simon, who also wrote the Eutelsat report, said that while SES’s Full Year 2020 results were in line, its guidance fell short of consensus forecasts, as Berenberg anticipated. “Given the rephasing and the likely receipt of the first tranche of C-band monies in early 2022, the balance sheet looks fine, and management targets a return to growth in 2023, much like peer Eutelsat. However, SES will generate much less cash flow than Eutelsat in 2021 and 2022, and, given uncertainty about the long-term future of video, we prefer to take our money now rather than later,” she said.

When drilling down even further into SES’s result, Simon says video trends remain “weak” for SES. “The outlook for video is a 6-9% organic decline in 2021, following an 8% fall in 2020. Management is focused on reducing the pace of decline over the medium to long term. However, in the near term, Nordic pay-TV consolidation will result in multiple transponders being returned in 2021 and we expect Echostar/Dish to pay less for wholesale capacity following the expiry of contracts with SES at the end of 2021,” says Simon. “Thereafter, the decline may be more modest, but, as noted on the results call, the weighted average duration of the backlog is only six or seven years.”

In other news, it was announced that SES and Amartus, a network automation software solutions company, have signed an agreement concerning the development of automation for SES’s next-generation NGSO fleet. Amartus is supporting SES with its deep expertise in network automation standards and adapting commercial B-OSS software platforms to meet the needs of SES’s next-generation non-geostationary satellite orbit (NGSO) constellation called O3b mPOWER. The two companies started working together in October last year.