(AOF) – Eutelsat Communications has been selected by Telenor Maritime to provide in-orbit resources and managed services on several of its satellites to provide connectivity on board cruise ships. Under the terms of the agreement that has just been signed, the satellite operator will provide capacity on Eutelsat 33E covering the Mediterranean Sea as well as on the Eutelsat 65 West A satellite, accompanied by its managed connectivity service Eutelsat Advance in coverage of the Caribbean Sea.
“This agreement provides Telenor Maritime with resources and services targeted to specific navigation areas, while confirming the interest of the Eutelsat Advance service for the maritime sector and supporting the powerful dynamism of the connectivity markets in Mediterranean and in the Caribbean”, emphasizes Eutelsat.
Telenor Maritime is one of the world leaders in end-to-end maritime connectivity serving passengers and crews, thus participating in the digital transformation of the commercial vessel fleet. Thanks to the partnership with Eutelsat on several Eutelsat satellites, Telenor Maritime will be able to further increase the performance, coverage and resilience of its resources for connectivity at sea, thus offering its customers in the cruise ships reliable and secure connectivity solutions.
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Key points
– Second world operator of telecom satellites created in 1977, with a market share of 16%;
– Turnover of €1.28 billion generated by 39 satellites in operation, split between video for 61%, professional data and video for 14%, government services for 13%, mobile connectivity for 6% and Broadband for 6%;
– International diversity between Europe (26%), North Africa-Middle East (22%), Americas (10%), Sub-Saharan Africa (10%), Central Europe (9 %)…;
– Business model founded, in a 1
er
time, on the generation of free cash flow thanks to long-term contracts (10 to 15 years, lifespan of a satellite), in a 2
n/a
time on the return to growth thanks to video and connectivity;
– Capital held 19.8% by BPIFrance, 7.5% by the Strategic Investment Fund and 6.7% by China Investment Capital, Dominique d’Hinnin chairing the 11-member board of directors and Eva Berneke new director general;
– Sound financial position (debt leverage reduced to 3.05) with €1 billion in cash, including €474 million from free cash flow.
Challenges
– Short and medium-term strategy: by 2025: acceleration of growth in video (rise in power of Broadband with ViaSat, and High Definition) and in connectivity;
– Innovation strategy integrated into the business model;
– Structured environmental strategy between the management of the space fleet within the framework of the Net Zero Space initiative – avoiding congestion, managing space debris and reducing the end-of-life impact of satellites – and the optimization of the impact ground operations;
– Release, for the benefit of the American FCC, of the C-band spectrum by early 2022, for a total amount of 507 MS;
– Launch of the IoT strategy with ELO – launch of 5 nano-satellites in 2021 and 25 in 2022 – and IoT First, a turnkey service operating on the geostationary fleet;
– Successful launch of Quantum and capital reinforcement in OneWeb –constellation in low orbit;
– Good business visibility with an order book of €4.2 billion.
Challenges
– Exposure to Google/Qualcomm projects to launch a connected TV and new competition from Tesla;
– Launch delays due to logistical disruptions and revenue limitations in mobile connectivity affected by the drop in air and maritime traffic;
– Maintenance of investments at $400 million per year until 2024.
Media: Gradual disappearance of the free press and m
regional press reports
The pandemic has heavily affected the free press, which is already struggling. The first title to collapse was the daily Metro, which ceased publication in 2015. The health crisis led to a drop in advertising spending for several months while the economic model of these titles is based entirely on advertising revenue. In addition, the disaffection of public transport, the generalization of teleworking in companies have further reinforced the unfavorable context. According to data from the ACPM (Alliance for Press and Media Figures), the free news press saw a drop in circulation of 54.3% in 2020, compared to the year 2019. The only survivor is now the newspaper 20 Minutes (created in 2002). Since June 2021, its paper edition has been distributed three days a week. After a 38% drop in turnover in 2020, it is banking on digital to bounce back.
As for the PQR (regional daily press), it is stepping up initiatives to boost digital subscriptions, after having long been spared the crisis in press distribution thanks to subscriptions. According to the ACPM Observatory, the share of digital versions on the Internet (individual and by third party) represents 57.3% of the circulation of the national daily press, but only reaches 10% for the regional dailies. To retain digital subscribers, who are more volatile than paper subscribers, regional dailies are expanding their content offer. Thus five publishers (“Le Télégramme”, “La Voix du Nord”, “Sud-Ouest”, “La Nouvelle République du Centre-Ouest”, and “Ebra”, a subsidiary of Crédit Mutuel grouping together several titles) have joined forces in the television within a company, Territoires TV, to better monetize their digital audiences.