(Reuters) – Eutelsat, a leading French satellite service provider, announced a groundbreaking accomplishment on Monday, successfully conducting the world’s inaugural trial of a 5G Non-Terrestrial Network connection utilizing OneWeb’s low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites. This achievement propelled the company’s shares up by 9%.
IMPORTANCE
The European telecommunications and space industries are intensifying efforts to enhance internet infrastructure, with significant satellite investments being a focal point of the European Commission’s 10.6 billion euro ($11.1 billion) IRIS² program. Among the innovative projects emerging from this initiative is the development of 5G Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN), which aim to enhance wireless coverage in remote areas directly from space.
IRIS² is poised to encompass a network comprising 270 LEOs and 18 medium Earth orbit satellites (MEO), with a projected full operational status by 2030.
MARKET RESPONSE
Eutelsat’s stock surged by up to 10.5% during trading and was poised to record its most substantial single-day increase in over three years by 1036 GMT. The Paris-listed company has witnessed a decline of approximately 66% in its stock value over the past year, leading to its exclusion from France’s SBF 120 index of the most actively traded stocks in Paris in 2024.
FUTURE PROSPECTS
The trial conducted with OneWeb’s satellites, manufactured by Airbus and utilizing chipsets from Taiwan’s MediaTek alongside equipment from Sharp and Rohde & Schwarz, signals a significant step forward in deploying 5G NTN. This advancement is anticipated to reduce the cost of internet access and broaden satellite broadband services for 5G-enabled devices.
CONTEXT
Eutelsat has been chosen as one of the primary satellite operators for the European Union’s IRIS² program. The company is facing mounting losses from its conventional geostationary (GEO) constellation, as the demand for more cost-effective and compact LEO satellite networks, exemplified by ventures like Starlink, continues to rise.
($1 = 0.9550 euros)
(Reporting by Gianluca Lo Nostro in Gdansk; Editing by Milla Nissi)
