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Intelsat, Ltd., has signed an agreement to acquire the World Systems business unit of Lockheed Martin Corp. , including existing service contracts with World Systems’ customers for Intelsat capacity as well as earth stations located in Clarksburg, Md., and Paumalu, Hawaii. Under the agreement, Intelsat would also purchase the teleport facilities and related assets of Comsat Digital Teleport, Inc.
Intelsat, with U.S. headquarters in Washington, D.C., further announced that it had acquired a teleport facility in Fuchsstadt, Germany, from Deutsche Telekom AG. Terms of the transactions were not disclosed.
The proposed acquisitions represent a first step in Intelsat’s efforts to assemble a new ground-based infrastructure to complement its global satellite system. Intelsat expects to use this infrastructure to begin offering hybrid space/terrestrial services in a new service portfolio called “Global Connectivity Solutions.”
Hybrid services in this family are being designed to address increasing customer demand for one-stop shopping and end-to-end services. In addition, these acquisitions are intended to bring Intelsat closer to its customers in the U.S. market.
In addition, Intelsat announced that it has established points of presence (POPs) connected by fiber at key traffic exchange points in Los Angeles, New York and London that will be connected to the teleport facilities to be acquired from Lockheed Martin and Deutsche Telekom.
“These developments clearly demonstrate Intelsat’s commitment to provide our customers with the tools they need to better succeed in their own markets,” said Conny Kullman, chief executive officer of Intelsat. “This move also shows how a privatized Intelsat has quickly begun to execute its business strategy to move from a satellite-centric to a network-centric company.”
The assets to be acquired under the Lockheed Martin agreement will include:
“These initial steps represent the first elements of a basic infrastructure we are putting in place for our Global Connectivity Solutions portfolio, while streamlining our current operations,” said Ramu Potarazu, president and chief operating officer of Intelsat Global Service Corp. “We are planning to expand our terrestrial network throughout the world via additional teleports, associated fiber links and POPs. We are looking to work with our distributors to help us lease or acquire these elements, and expect to partner with these customers to expand our terrestrial network as new opportunities arise.”
Intelsat to Acquire Lockheed Martin Unit
