Telesat and Orange open first European Lightspeed gateway

Telesat ($TSAT) and Orange ($ORA-EURONEXT) inaugurated Europe’s first Telesat Lightspeed gateway at Bercenay-en-Othe in France. The facility connects satellite infrastructure with Orange’s terrestrial network and a Paris point of presence, creating a ground-network component for Telesat’s planned low-Earth-orbit communications service. The partners describe it as a step toward serving enterprise and government connectivity needs.

The gateway’s commissioning should not be confused with the launch of full commercial service across the satellite constellation. Telesat’s planned network comprises 225 satellites, with global service targeted for the first quarter of 2028. The announcement does not quantify new contract revenue for either company. It confirms progress on ground infrastructure while satellite deployment, network integration and commercial rollout remain separate milestones in the wider program.

Sources:

• Orange / Telesat — gateway inauguration, GlobeNewswire