Telesat has secured a new government contract for its planned Lightspeed low Earth orbit (LEO) network.. The Canadian satellite firm has announced the signing of a 15-year C$2.3 billion (US$1.65B) contract with Canada’s Defence Investment Agency (DIA) on military Ka-band (Mil-Ka) Arctic connectivity at 65 to 90 degrees North latitude for the Canadian Armed Forces under its Enhanced Satellite Communications Project – Polar (ESCP-P) program through the Telesat Lightspeed LEO constellation beginning in 2028.. – Telesat.
The contract features two five-year option periods, each valued at US$143.44 million, for a total contract value of US$1.93bn.. “This contract represents a step change in the scale and commercial potential of Telesat Lightspeed,” said Dan Goldberg, Telesat’s president and CEO, in a statement.
“The significant expansion of our constellation, combined with burgeoning demand for secure satellite communications worldwide, positions us to accelerate the growth of our business while serving the evolving and mission-critical requirements of defence and commercial customers.”. The agreement is the largest contract in company history, and will be singularly responsible for the expansion of the scale and capacity of the Telesat Lightspeed network in totality, compelling the launch of 69 new satellites, taking the constellation from 156 to 225 satellites strong, a 44 percent expansion..
All of these new satellites, configured with both commercial and Mil-Ka capacity, are to be built by MDA Space at its Montreal factory, which will be fully funded through milestone-based payments from the Government of Canada starting in Q3 2026 and continuing through 2028. Launch capacity for these satellites has already been partly secured aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rideshare, with another launch remaining subject to a launch services agreement..
On an investor call, Telesat’s CFO, Donald Tremblay, has estimated that total committed investment in the Lightspeed constellation is now expected to reach about US$5.2bn, including a US$500m contingency, up from a prior estimate of US$3.8bn, and a US$300m contingency.. Tremblay said “a large majority” of Lightspeed’s costs are accounted for through fixed-price contracts with MDS and SpaceX.
It was only mid-2024 when Telesat closed Lightspeed funding at US$1.87bn.. During the Q&A, Telesat’s CTO, Michel Forest, said the company expects to provide about 100Gbps of capacity in the Arctic. The company described spectrum allocation for the 225 satellites to be split approximately 75 percent commercial Ka-Band and 25 percent Mil-Ka..
The Mil-Ka portion of the Canadian military’s ESCP-P program includes network integration services such as user terminals, ground and control infrastructure, training, and support services, which are to be financed through a separate agreement between the DIA and Telesat.. The ESCP-P program also includes an Ultra-High Frequency (UHF) and X-band constellation, which will also be served by MDA Space as the prime contractor, with Telesat as the subcontractor, including systems integration and the implementation of Mil-Ka, UHF, and X-Band networks..
Telesat has subsequently raised its 2032 Lightspeed revenue forecast to US$4.9bn, up from US$3.2bn, with defense understood to be contributing around 46 percent, up from 14 percent prior to this contract. The company has maintained its target of launching commercial service for Lightspeed in the first quarter of 2028..
The company expects to add another 70 satellites by the end of 2032, bringing the constellation to 295 satellites, should demand materialize.. More in Space. 01 May 2026.
11 Jun 2026. 31 Mar 2026. More in Government & Military.
23 Mar 2026. 13 May 2026. 24 Mar 2026
