Talks Ongoing on Telesat's Lightspeed Financing, CEO Says

Telesat had hoped to have financing for its Lightspeed low earth orbit constellation wrapped up by 2022’s end, but “we’re not there yet,” CEO Dan Goldberg told investors Wednesday as it announced the year’s annual results. Goldberg said he's optimistic financing will be secured and it’s in discussions with equity investors. He said Telesat is still investing in Lightspeed development independent of that financing issue. “There’s a huge market for a well-engineered, enterprise-grade, enterprise-focused LEO constellation,” he said. He said it already got $4 billion in financing committed. In its annual report, Telesat said it won't meet the milestone date set by the FCC for Lightspeed's U.S. market access granted in 2020, and it plans to seek an extension. Asked about future geostationary orbit satellite launches, Goldberg said Telesat would replace or launch a GEO “if we’re convinced we’ve got a strong business case for it." There are no GEO replacement plans for 2023, he said.