Avanti Communications Signs Strategic Collaboration Agreement With Telesat as Part of New Multi-Orbit Strategy

The partnership will bolster Avanti’s fully integrated offer with Low Earth Orbit (LEO) capabilities


LONDON and OTTAWA, Feb. 21, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Avanti Communications (“Avanti”) today announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with one of the world’s largest and most innovative satellite operators, Telesat (NASDAQ and TSX: TSAT), to test and develop LEO services as part of its global strategy to deliver bespoke, multi-orbit solutions to customers at scale.

Avanti plans to incorporate Telesat’s Lightspeed™ services into its network to provide affordable, high quality broadband connectivity worldwide. Telesat’s innovative global network is composed of 198 state-of-the-art LEO satellites that are seamlessly integrated with on-ground networks.

Avanti is investing heavily in strategic partnerships and its managed services to meet customers’ requirements in an evolving industry where demand for capacity is growing. Avanti’s first low-latency LEO constellation agreement will support the execution of Avanti’s new strategy, which is built on a “customer pull” vs. “technology push” model.

The collaboration will be optimised to serve the critical connectivity requirements of Avanti’s enterprise and government customers once the Telesat Lightspeed constellation is operational in 2027.

Toby Robinson, Chief of Strategy and Business Development at Avanti, said: “Avanti has already transformed into a customer-led business and will now embark on the next phase of its journey to meet customers’ requirements with multi-orbit solutions tailored to individual needs. The Telesat Lightspeed service will specifically target our enterprise and government customers, enabling us to deliver on our commitment to cater to the most complex requirements while maintaining the high performance, reliability and quality of service our customers expect.”

Glenn Katz, Chief Commercial officer at Telesat, said: “We are delighted to work with partners like Avanti, who recognize the unique value and innovation that Telesat Lightspeed provides for resilient, global connectivity. Integration of Avanti’s EMEA terrestrial infrastructure into the Telesat Lightspeed network provides promising synergies and optimizations for both organizations.”

Additionally, under the terms of the agreement, Telesat will explore combining Avanti’s landing stations, Points of Presences (PoPs), terrestrial connectivity, site hosting and management services as part of its global terrestrial infrastructure that seamlessly integrates with the Telesat Lightspeed satellite network.

Media Contacts:

THREESIXTY for Avanti
avanti@threesixty.uk

W2 Communications for Telesat
telesat@w2comm.com

About Avanti

Avanti Communications (“Avanti”) is a global multi-orbit provider of fully integrated connectivity services and solutions.

With a mission to help the world become better connected, Avanti is the leading Ka-band high-throughput satellite capacity partner to the communications industry in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Avanti leverages its satellite technology to create custom solutions that protect communities and unlock opportunities for individuals, communities, businesses, and governments all over the world.

As a global business, Avanti is able to deliver reliable, high-performance solutions worldwide, even in the most challenging of locations. It uses its scale and expertise to connect those in hard-to-reach rural areas, improving access to education and helping to create a safe environment for people to live and work.

Founded in 2002, Avanti operates a fleet of four Ka-band HYLAS satellites that offer 50Ghz capacity and a secure ground network of seven Gateway Earth Stations. This has the power to connect more than 1.7 billion people across 118 countries.

For more information, please visit avanti.space.

About Telesat

Backed by a legacy of engineering excellence, reliability and industry-leading customer service, Telesat (NASDAQ and TSX: TSAT) is one of the largest and most innovative global satellite operators. Telesat works collaboratively with its customers to deliver critical connectivity solutions that tackle the world’s most complex communications challenges, providing powerful advantages that improve their operations and drive profitable growth.

Continuously innovating to meet the connectivity demands of the future, Telesat Lightspeed, the company’s Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite network, will be the first and only LEO network optimized to meet the rigorous requirements of telecom, government, maritime and aeronautical customers. Telesat Lightspeed will redefine global satellite connectivity with ubiquitous, affordable, high-capacity links with fibre-like speeds. For updates on Telesat, follow us @Telesat on X, LinkedIn, or visit www.telesat.com.

Forward-Looking Statements Safe Harbor

This news release contains statements that are not based on historical fact and are “forward-looking statements’’ within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and Canadian securities laws. When used herein, statements which are not historical in nature, or which contain the words “will,” “plans,” “can” or similar expressions, are forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from the expectations expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements as a result of known and unknown risks and uncertainties. All statements made in this press release are made only as of the date set forth at the beginning of this release. Telesat Corporation undertakes no obligation to update the information made in this release in the event facts or circumstances subsequently change after the date of this press release.

These forward-looking statements are based on Telesat Corporation’s current expectations and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond Telesat Corporation’s control, are difficult to predict, and could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or forecasted in the forward-looking statements. There are numerous risks and uncertainties associated with Telesat’s business and the Telesat Lightspeed constellation. Known risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to: inflation and rising interest rates; Telesat’s ability to enter into definitive funding agreements with the company’s Canadian federal and provincial government partners, and to meet the funding conditions of those agreements and of its vendor financing; technological hurdles, including our and our contractors’ development and deployment of the new technologies required to complete the constellation in time to meet our schedule, or at all; the availability of services and components from our and our contractors’ supply chains; competition; risks associated with domestic and foreign government regulation, including access to sufficient orbital spectrum to be able to deliver services effectively and access to sufficient geographic markets in which to sell those services; Telesat’s ability to develop significant commercial and operational capabilities; risks associated with operating satellites and providing satellite services, including satellite construction or launch delays, launch failures, in-orbit failures or impaired satellite performance; and volatility in exchange rates. The foregoing list of important factors is not exhaustive. Investors should review the other risk factors discussed in Telesat Corporation’s annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2022, that was filed on March 29, 2023, with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and the Canadian securities regulatory authorities at the System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (“SEDAR”), and may be accessed on the SEC’s website at https://www.sec.gov/ and SEDAR’s website at https://www.sedarplus.ca/ as well as our subsequent reports on Form 6-K filed with the SEC and also available on SEDAR.