in December last year. Eutelsat noted: “With its role as the largest private investor in the European Union’s IRIS² programme, the public-private partnership aiming to build a multi-orbit constellation delivering secure communication services to the EU and its member states, Eutelsat confirms its status as a central player in assuring Europe’s space and connectivity sovereignty.” Eric Lombard, France’s minister for the economy, finance and industrial and digital sovereignty, stated: “The French State is proud to contribute to strengthening Eutelsat’s capital structure and support the company at a pivotal stage of its development. This transaction reflects our strong commitment towards a major player in satellite connectivity – a strategic sector at the heart of Europe’s digital sovereignty – while fostering remarkable potential for technological innovation and sustainable economic growth. Through this transaction, France reaffirms its determination to build, together with the company and its European partners, a competitive, resilient and sovereign space industry, particularly around the IRIS² programme, which is a key pillar of our strategic autonomy. We are convinced that the company’s solid fundamentals – its recognised expertise in geostationary orbit, its innovative solutions in low-earth orbit, its committed team and its ambitious vision – are the foundations for lasting success. Eutelsat is opening a new chapter in its history, and the state will be fully present to help write it alongside the company.” So what is Eutelsat’s plan and what are its market opportunities? The company believes it has “a clear differentiation, being the only one exclusively focused on the B2B [business-to-business] and B2G [business-to-government] markets. While the global satellite connectivity market is expected to increase by 12% per annum between 2025 and 2029, the global LEO B2B connectivity market, valued at over $2.1bn in 2025, is expected to grow at a 28% CAGR [compound annual growth rate] through 2029 and multiply its current size fivefold over the next eight years, offering significant short- to long-term growth potential.” In addition, OneWeb has “secured regulatory approvals in many addressable markets, developed its distribution network and improved its offer with consistent service levels, as evidenced by a backlog of €3.7bn revenues, mostly coming from connectivity. Going forward, Eutelsat leadership will build upon its operations improvements (for example, hosted payloads, additional deployment of satellite network portals), a differentiated go-to-market model (focused on B2B/B2G), a resilient GEO-LEO offering, and a strong European anchoring. Its priority spectrum rights grant Eutelsat a unique benefit in the exploitation of spectrum resources and coordination with other LEO players,” stated Eutelsat. But all of that opportunity still needs to be turned into real business and it’s going to take some time. For the current full financial year (2024-25) that ends this month, Eutelsat, which currently generates about half of its revenues from video delivery services and the other half from connectivity services, expects to report revenues of around €1.22bn. By the fiscal year 2028-29, it expects its annual revenues to be in the range of €1.5bn to €1.7bn, “supported by the strong momentum of LEO revenues, which are significantly outperforming the market.” Starlink, meanwhile, already has greater financial firepower and significant cashflow, according to satellite sector research firm Novaspace . Eutelsat CEO Fallacher stated: “Eutelsat enters a new chapter, centered on the deployment of LEO, a major innovative and technological revolution for the satellite industry. Thanks to its differentiated GEO-LEO positioning and global coverage, Eutelsat is ready to become a central player in the development of the European sovereign space of tomorrow. I welcome the contemplated capital increase which will give Eutelsat the requisite financing to implement its strategic roadmap. I am grateful for the support of the French State and the ongoing commitment of our other anchor shareholders – Bharti, CMA CGM and FSP – and thank them for their confidence.” - Ray Le Maistre, Editorial Director, TelecomTV Related Topics