Eutelsat to sell up retail broadband activities to focus on wholesale

Satellite operator Eutelsat is to sell its European broadband retail activities to an un-named “experienced private operator” to focus on wholesale, in an apparent reversal of a previous strategy.

The activities to be disposed of by Eutelsat include affiliate Bigblu Operations – which Eutelsat acquired only three years ago ­– and other European retail activities in the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Poland, Hungary, and Greece.

The disposal comes in the wake of what the operator describes as the success of its wholesale go-to-market model to distribute its satellite broadband capacity over Europe.

Eutelsat has signed major wholesale deals signed with Orange (France), TIM (Italy), Hispasat (Spain) and Swisscom (Switzerland) for the capacity in their respective markets on the Eutelsat Konnect satellite.

The private operator buying its retail units will also become a wholesale distributor in existing markets, the company said.

Eutelsat said its new strategy will be further bolstered by the entry into service of Konnect VHTS, expected in the second half of 2023, with 230 beams over Europe and the MENA region, representing a Ka capacity of 500 Gbps, adaptable according to demand and specific needs in each country.

The company said it already had commitments secured for part of this capacity by European telecom operators, such as Orange, TIM and Swisscom, confirming the ability of the satellite provide a solution for broadband to under-served regions of Europe.