WASHINGTON — SES is investing in Lynk Global’s low Earth orbit (LEO) constellation to expand into the emerging direct-to-device connectivity market.
“We believe direct-to-device is a huge opportunity,” SES CEO Adel Al-Saleh said March 10 during the Satellite Conference here, “and we think that opportunity is going to evolve over multiple years.”
Under a strategic partnership, SES aims to enhance Lynk Global’s capabilities by contributing ground infrastructure and its geostationary and medium Earth orbit (MEO) satellites, primarily used for broadband and broadcast services.
“We believe our network in space, specifically MEO, is a great advantage,” Al-Saleh said, enabling LEO operators to relay traffic to reduce latency with the ground.
Lynk Global would also get access to the multi-orbit operator’s gateways across the world, in addition to geostationary satellite support for Telemetry, Tracking and Command services.
“I mean, if you think about it, a lot of the gating factors in getting a constellation up and running and getting production going is actually having the right ground infrastructure in place to be able to do it,” Al-Saleh continued.
He said the Luxembourg-based operator will first focus on extending direct-to-device capabilities to the government, automotive and mobile network operator markets.
SES also plans to collaborate with Lynk Global to bring its satellite manufacturing capability to Europe, mirroring Texas-based direct-to-device rival AST SpaceMobile’s recent expansion.
“Every continent, every political entity, is looking for sovereignty,” he said, “so we will bring that capability to Europe to make sure that we can create an opportunity to participate in European projects.”
SES declined to disclose the size of its investment, which is part of the Falls Church, Virginia-based venture’s ongoing series B investment round.
The “investment is small, low-risk,” SES spokesperson Suzanne Ong said.
Lynk Global’s Series B round had raised more than $85 million of a $215 million target as of Feb. 11.
In partnership with local telcos, Lynk Global is currently providing intermittent texting and low-bandwidth services in the Solomon Islands, Cook Islands, Palau and at least four other countries after launching five pizza-box-sized satellites.
However, the venture needs capital to deploy 5,000 satellites in total to expand globally and reduce latency, including through a merger with a publicly listed shell company led by former MLB star Alex Rodriguez.
