Satellite of love: Space broadband outfit Viasat acquires rival Inmarsat

Satellite broadband providers Inmarsat and Viasat will combine forces. Viasat is the acquiror and will send Inmarsat's stockholders $850 million of cash and $3.1 billion in scrip. Viasat will also take on $3.4 billion of Inmarsat's debt. The combined company will operate 19 satellites, with another ten under construction and …

[Bartholomew]

first two words of the lyrics to Lou Reed's Satellite of Love

"Satellite's gone", I wonder will those words be prescient about the future of Viasat + Inmarsat.

Both operate geostationary satellites, and as Admiral Grace Hopper put it "between here and satellite there are a very large number of nanoseconds" up and then back down again (~240+ milliseconds minimum of additional latency).

Starlink orbital altitude 550 km (~1.8 ms sea level to satellite)

Amazon orbital altitude 590 km (~1.97 ms sea level to satellite)

Viasat orbital altitude 35,785 km (~120 ms sea level to satellite)

Their number one customer is the US military, so maybe they are not allowed to fail (at least not until they have migrated to multiple independent vendors. The military is not allowed to have a weak link or a single point of failure). The merger might eventually cost them their number one customer.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: first two words of the lyrics to Lou Reed's Satellite of Love

Geostationary satellites may have a new competitor in LEO satellites but I can't see them going out of business anytime soon.

In many, if not most applications, the extra 120ms lag is insignificant.

Not that the FCC cares (apparently) but astronomers and those concerned with space debris would applaud a return to geostationary satellites.

[Doctor Syntax]

"new IoT applications"

Worrying.

[Anonymous Coward]

Priti Patel ...

... will be pleased. £1000/hr job secured!

[Plest]

Thank you very much Reg!!!

Thanks to the title of this story I can't get that Def Leppard song out of my head now!

[Intractable Potsherd]

Lies, damned lies...

... and merger promises. Don't be surprised when those UK jobs are moved elsewhere. The only uncertainty is when in the next five years it will happen.

[hoola]

Nothing Changes

Yet another UK company sold off to a foreign buyer providing "Shareholder Value" with all sorts of guarantees that are not with the paper they are written on.

The UK is utterly spineless when it comes to blocking any sort of sale.

The only reason must be that those in power are benefiting financially......