Arabsat seeks Telesat Lightspeed capacity as Starlink expands into Saudi Arabia

TAMPA, Fla. — Saudi Arabia-based geostationary operator Arabsat signed a deal May 14 for broadband capacity from Telesat’s proposed low Earth orbit constellation, a day after SpaceX CEO Elon Musk announced approval to sell LEO services to maritime and aviation customers in the region.

Telesat said it has negotiated a term sheet for multiple gigabits per second of capacity from Lightspeed, a network of 198 satellites that SpaceX is slated to start launching next year.

Financial details were not disclosed. The companies aim to finalize the agreement by December, building on a memorandum of understanding signed last year to explore long-term purchase opportunities.

Canada-based Telesat, which operates a fleet of geostationary orbit (GEO) satellites, reported a 1.1 billion Canadian dollar ($787 million) LEO revenue backlog during its first quarter 2025 earnings announcement. That’s up from the 600 million Canadian dollars it had previously disclosed, most of which stemmed from a commitment by Canada’s federal government.

The backlog expansion follows Telesat’s multi-year LEO capacity contract with Viasat, a GEO operator facing intensifying competition from SpaceX’s Starlink network.

Arabsat and other regional GEO operators have also pointed to growing competition from Starlink, although they said the world’s largest constellation with currently more than 7,000 satellites in LEO is also raising the profile of the entire space industry.

Ongoing Starlink expansion

Since starting commercial services five years ago in consumer broadband, U.S.-based Starlink has rapidly expanded into the government and enterprise markets that Telesat’s Lightspeed network is focusing on.

Musk announced Starlink’s regulatory approval in Saudi Arabia May 13 while speaking at an investment forum during a White House-led delegation to the region.

Currently, France-based Eutelsat’s OneWeb constellation is Starlink’s only meaningful LEO broadband competitor, and, like Lightspeed, it is also focused on government and enterprise markets.

In 2021, OneWeb entered a joint venture with Saudi Arabia’s NEOM Tech & Digital Company to distribute broadband capacity, supporting the development of the planned city and tourist destination in the region’s northwest. 

However, delays in ground infrastructure deployment have slowed OneWeb services in Saudi Arabia and other regions.

Eutelsat did not respond to a request for comment.