SES CEO: SpaceX/EchoStar Deal Requires New Spectrum Strategy
SpaceX's planned purchase of 50 MHz of EchoStar spectrum will change the way SES has been managing spectrum, CEO Adel Al-Saleh told us Wednesday night during a company event in Washington. SES now needs to figure out "how do we solve our spectrum requirements differently?" he said. That entails more partnerships and more discussions with governments about getting landing rights, Al-Saleh said, adding that landing rights are as important as the amount of L- and S-band spectrum a satellite operator has available to it.
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The Washington event marked SES' closing in July on its $3.1 billion Intelsat purchase (see 2507170002). Al-Saleh said the newly combined company supports 30 airlines, nine of the 10 biggest cruise lines and 14,000 commercial shipping connections. In-flight connectivity is growing in importance as a business line for the company, he added.