Intelsat Records USD 170.97 Million Earnings in Qs 123 from Africa and the Middle East

Intelsat has recorded USD 170.97 million in revenue from sales of its satellite services in Africa and the Middle East in the nine months ended 30 September 2021. This represented a 5.6% drop from its USD 181.15 million earnings recorded from the region in the same period in 2020. Likewise, the recorded amount for the nine-month period in 2021 constituted 11% of Intelsat’s total earnings for the relevant period, against the 13% for 2020. 

Nevertheless, Intelsat’s total revenue across all geographical markets during the first nine months of 2021 increased by USD 106.4 million to USD 1.536 billion. This represents a 7.4% increase relative to its total earnings in the same period in 2020.

Breakdown of Intelsat 2021 MEA revenues. Source: Intelsat Form 10-Q Filings

Over the earning period, Intelsat has entered various partnerships with various African Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to offer its satellite broadband services to plug the gaps in Africa’s internet connectivity penetration. For example, TinSky Connect announced on 2 July 2021 that it is now offering the Intelsat FlexMove managed service for ubiquitous, high-speed connectivity in Africa. With FlexMove, TinSky Connect’s customers can easily connect to the internet, private data networks and cloud services from virtually anywhere in the world, including while on-the-move (COTM) or on-the-pause (COTP) at a temporary site. 

Intelsat also entered into an agreement with Vodacom DRC to deploy its Intelsat CellBackhaul service from Kinshasa, DRC, utilising capacity from several Intelsat satellites, including Intelsat 39 (IS-39). The satellite services provider also partnered with XinaBox to deliver space-focused STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) learning tools to teenagers across the African continent.

With offices in Kenya, Senegal and South Africa, Intelsat is one of the leading global satellite operators active in Africa with its fleet of satellites and integrated terrestrial network providing DTH TV, connectivity and managed services on the continent. Some of Intelsat’s clientele in Africa include Multichoice, Canal+ and Sentech for media and DTH segment; Liquid Telecom, Orange for satellite connectivity, and ASECNA, an intergovernmental agency comprising 18 African member countries and France, for in-flight connectivity and civil aviation segment.