Investment opportunities abound in satellite communications, but analysts at SATELLITE 2019’s Monday Morning Finance Forum expressed cautious optimism as they weighed issues including LEO constellation buildout, C-Band spectrum allocation, and M&A activities.
NSR’s Christopher Baugh noted the satellite service business experienced significant growth between 2013 and 2018, while the satcom supply sector is projected to grow 213 percent between 2018 and 2021. “I don’t think that’s a bad thing.”
Explore the Show Daily 2019 Day 4 Issue
Check out more from this issue and find your next story to read.
Sami Kassab of Exane BNP Paribas noted: “The investor community is largely interested in C-band.” The C-Band Alliance — formed by Intelsat, SES, Eutelsat, and Telesat — proposed making 200 MHz available for 5G, but wireless carriers have advocated for a larger allocation.
Speaker Giles Thorne noted that while investors are excited by “doing something new and different,” a constant frustration is that even the best ideas can take 10 to 15 years to bear fruit.
Nick Dempsey of Barclays acknowledged that big-name entrepreneurs like Bezos and Musk have made satellite investment exciting, but asked: “Which applications will bounce out with some success?”
Multiple speakers stressed the importance of financial transparency. Ric Prentiss of Raymond James said: “Help us understand how you will get to that return on capital.” Morgan Stanley’s Simon Flannery added: “Taking a ‘show me’ attitude is probably appropriate.” VS
