The satellite industry is going through unprecedented times and this is being reflected in the risks that the investment community are prepared to take on new services and constellations. On Monday’s panel “Financing HTS Growth – GEOs, LEOs and MEOs,” the panel agreed that it is a rather confusing time for investors.
Chris Quilty, president of Quilty Analytics, said: “From a research perspective, the emergence of HTS is pretty transformative. There is a lot of caution and confusion in the market but no-one can doubt that this technology has taken hold.”
Explore the Show Daily 2018 Day 2 Issue
Check out more from this issue and find your next story to read.
Grant Barber, CFO of Hughes, noted that demand and appetite from customers is growing exponentially. Hughes is already providing HTS services across Brazil and Colombia and is looking to move into Panama and Costa Rica later in 2018.
Joshua Marks, CEO of Global Eagle Entertainment, said people will accelerate in smartphone usage as more connect. He emphasized that business models will be critical: there must be the right combination of adoption rate and price point.
Mark Rigolle, CEO of LeoSat, said investment needs to be broken into milestones: “Initially, the first round is the most difficult to find, and as a company moves through the process of B, C and D rounds the process gets easier.”
Quilty noted that high-profile entrepreneurs like Elon Musk have shone a light onto the industry. “Success begets success. Once you have your first successful exit of a LEO constellation, it will make it easier for everyone else.” VS
