Cross-Border Space Race: SES Buys Intelsat For $3.1B As Starlink And Kuiper Press Into Asia

Consolidation Sets the Pace for Global Coverage

The space communications landscape is entering a new phase of international expansion, driven by scale-seeking mergers and market-by-market licensing breakthroughs. Luxembourg-based SES agreed to acquire U.S. operator Intelsat for $3.1 billion, a move that fuses two major geostationary networks and widens multi-orbit reach in enterprise, aviation, and government markets, according to Reuters. The deal gives SES deeper footholds across North America, the Middle East, and Africa while improving its negotiating leverage with telecom carriers pursuing satellite backhaul and hybrid connectivity.

At the same time, low-Earth orbit players are pushing services into new geographies. SpaceX’s Starlink launched in Indonesia in May, focusing initially on rural clinics and public facilities after securing local approvals, Reuters reported. That rollout underscores how national health, education, and digital inclusion priorities are accelerating adoption of satellite broadband in emerging markets—a tailwind for operators aligning with public-sector objectives.

Europe’s LEO footprint is also globalizing. Eutelsat OneWeb completed its first-generation constellation with 618 satellites in orbit and is leaning on distribution partners to grow outside its home markets. The company, formed by Eutelsat and OneWeb, is targeting enterprise-grade connectivity for remote industrial operations, maritime fleets, and government use cases.

Licenses, Local Partners, and the Asia-Focused Playbook

Asia remains the most complex regulatory theater—and the biggest prize. While Starlink has launched in Indonesia, licensing in India is still pending amid intensive policy scrutiny; Elon Musk postponed a planned April visit as approvals remained unresolved, per Reuters. The divergent outcomes highlight how operators must navigate country-by-country frameworks, spectrum regimes, and security reviews to unlock demand.

Distribution alliances are becoming the default entry strategy. Amazon’s Project Kuiper struck a multi-regional partnership with Vodafone, positioning Kuiper to serve hard-to-reach 4G/5G sites and enterprise edge locations in Europe and Africa once service comes online. In Australia, Eutelsat OneWeb has teamed with Telstra, extending LEO coverage into remote communities and mining operations—a template for replicating ground-segment integration in other sprawling geographies.

For more on related Space Tech developments. These cross-border, carrier-led agreements reduce time-to-market and lower customer acquisition costs, letting satellite operators piggyback on local billing, installation, and service-level frameworks.

Launch Capacity Goes Multinational

International expansion is also a function of launch cadence and supply chains. Europe’s launch renaissance gathered momentum with Ariane 6’s successful inaugural flight in July, restoring heavy-lift capability for global customers and easing bottlenecks for institutional and commercial constellations, the European Space Agency said. The return of a European workhorse is expected to lower logistics risk for operators reliant on multi-manifest deployment strategies.

U.S.-New Zealand operator Rocket Lab is deepening its transatlantic footprint with Neutron production and launch infrastructure in Virginia, complementing its New Zealand site and giving international customers greater scheduling flexibility. In parallel, German launch startup Isar Aerospace secured exclusive use of a pad at Norway’s Andøya Spaceport, a strategic northern latitude location that shortens paths to polar and sun-synchronous orbits favored by Earth observation fleets.

These moves collectively expand the launch options for global satellite builders—such as Planet Labs and ICEYE—that rely on diversified access to orbit to meet international customer deadlines. They also underpin cross-border manufacturing and testing ecosystems, with components and payloads flowing between U.S., European, and Asian suppliers.

This builds on broader Space Tech trends.

Capital Flows and the New Global Connectivity Stack

Operators are rebalancing portfolios to match where demand is strongest. Following its acquisition of Inmarsat, Viasat has consolidated spectrum, ground stations, and mobility contracts across Europe and EMEA, even as it manages technical setbacks. The SES–Intelsat tie-up is expected to spur further cross-border combinations among GEO and LEO providers as enterprise customers push for multi-orbit SLAs and resilient global coverage.

Investment data supports the thesis: Space infrastructure and distribution raised billions in 2024 despite macro volatility, with sustained capital formation in satellite communications and Earth observation, according to Space Capital’s Q2 Space Investment Quarterly. As Amazon’s Kuiper ramps and SpaceX’s Starlink extends into new markets, analysts expect competitive pricing and feature bundles—such as traffic prioritization and integrated cloud edge—to tilt adoption toward operators with carrier alliances and regulatory traction.

The upshot for business buyers: cross-border space connectivity is moving from pilot to procurement. Telecom groups—such as Vodafone, Telstra, and regional partners in Southeast Asia—are becoming the primary channels for enterprise-grade satellite services, selling integrated offerings that mesh with existing network and cloud architectures.