Government OKs entry of 1st foreign satellite operator

MANILA, Philippines — Satellite provider Intelsat has become the first foreign company to secure regulatory clearance to sell its services in the Philippines to broadband and mobile operators.

Intelsat yesterday announced that it has received government approval to sell its products to telco carriers in the Philippines, making it the first foreign GEO satellite operator to enter the country.

Intelsat was granted a satellite service providers and operators (SPPO) license by the Department of Information and Communications Technology, allowing it to provide network-from-space and backhaul solutions to telcos across the archipelago.

The government provided Intelsat with an SPPO license to raise connectivity quality and reach in the Philippines. In particular, Intelsat’s entry in the country is seen to improve the reliability and speed of internet services in the countryside.

With the license, the Philippine partners of Intelsat can expand their cellular coverage beyond the terrestrial limits of their respective infrastructure setup. Internet service providers (ISP) may also work with Intelsat to reach some of the most isolated barangays.

Given that Intelsat’s satellites fly in space, telcos can maximize them to add redundancy to their land-based assets like fiber cables.

Intelsat regional vice president of Asia Pacific sales Gaurav Kharod said the company is ready to provide GEO services to its telco clients in the Philippines.

Geostationary equatorial orbit, or GEO, satellites circle the space aligned with the movement of the earth, creating that illusion that they stay in one position at all times.

Telcos are starting to study the viability of GEO and low earth orbit (LEO) satellites in providing connectivity services. Starlink, for instance, launches LEO satellites to create a constellation that beams internet into the surface to deliver broadband coverage.

Given that satellites are positioned above the surface, telcos can lean on them to deliver reliable internet even to the most remote islands. Satellites can also be maximized in times of calamity, as they are unaffected by disasters like earthquakes and typhoons.

Citing a study from the Internet Society, Intelsat said the Philippines lacks the infrastructure for connectivity resilience, and the company hopes to contribute in closing this gap.

Intelsat, based in Luxembourg, is one of the largest satellite providers in the world, boasting of a customer base that includes the US government.