Telesat invests US$5 million in Farcast to develop fully integrated User Terminals for Telesat Lightspeed satellite network (plus an update on Telesat's Q3 results)
OTTAWA, CANADA and SAN FRANCISCO, USA – November 4, 2025 – Telesat (Nasdaq and TSX: TSAT), one of the world’s largest and most innovative satellite operators, today announced an expanded relationship with Farcast, a San Francisco-based startup that is building advanced satellite User Terminals. Under the new agreement, Farcast will deliver an enterprise-class Flat Panel Antenna (FPA) User Terminal that is fully integrated with the Telesat Lightspeed modem and ready for volume production. Additionally, Telesat is making a US$5 million equity investment in Farcast and will take a seat on Farcast’s board of directors to support the company’s alignment with the goals of the Telesat Lightspeed program.
Farcast has developed a unique technology that can simultaneously transmit and receive data from the same aperture in an FPA. This proprietary Active Electronically Scanned Antenna (AESA) technology uses electronic beam scanning to compensate for the movement of satellites and users, and the single-aperture, full-duplex FPA results in reduced Size, Weight, Power, and Cost (SWaP-C). This competitive SWaP-C will further enhance the value proposition for Telesat Lightspeed customers, delivering superior enterprise-class performance worldwide.
Telesat and Farcast have worked together since 2022 on a pre-production development program to ensure Farcast’s technology reaches the maturity level required to operate on the Telesat Lightspeed network. As a prerequisite for this new agreement and equity investment with Telesat LEO ULC, various iterations of the hardware have been built and successfully tested. The availability of terminals that are fully integrated with Telesat Lightspeed modem is planned for 2027.
“Throughout prototype development, we’ve seen firsthand Farcast’s innovative approach to extending satellite communications capability and reach through small form factor FPAs that deliver outstanding performance,” said Michel Forest, Chief Technology Officer for Telesat. “We see value not only in what Farcast can provide for Telesat’s telecom and enterprise customers, but also the wider satellite industry for mass-produced, high-performing terminals, including aviation and defence applications.”
“Our collaboration with Telesat has been a cornerstone of our journey to date. By working hand in hand, we are developing FPA technology that will meet the stringent performance and reliability requirements to ensure mission-critical connectivity for Telesat’s customers,” said Siamak Ebadi, founder and CEO of Farcast. “We believe partnerships like this are vital to creating an open, collaborative satellite ecosystem—one that drives innovation and expands access.”
Noah Note: Good move on Telesat’s part. They already have an established relationship with Farcast, so this fits naturally. It also marks the second major investment the company has secured this year, with Lockheed Martin putting in $2 million back in June.
Along with this announcement, Telesat released its third-quarter numbers, and while I would describe them as middling, I do think the company is taking the right steps.
Telesat’s performance was largely in line with expectations as it continues its strategic pivot, managing the decline of its legacy business while pouring major investment into the future Lightspeed LEO network.
For the quarter ending September 30, 2025, Telesat reported consolidated revenue of $101 million, a 27 percent year-over-year decline. This drop was driven by the expected impact of a lower renewal rate and a contract expiration with a major North American direct-to-home television customer.
Reduced services for an Indonesian rural broadband program and another DTH customer added to the decline. The nine-month results followed the same pattern, with revenue down 27 percent to $324 million compared to the same period in 2024.
The revenue drop was paired with a 26 percent rise in quarterly operating expenses, reaching $58 million. This increase came from higher legal and professional fees and expanded headcount for the LEO segment.
Lower revenue combined with higher costs had a severe effect on profitability. Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter fell 51 percent to $47 million, with the margin tightening to 46.3 percent from 69.5 percent in Q3 2024.
The company reported a net loss of $121 million, a sharp reversal from the $68 million in net income posted a year earlier. The shift was driven by reduced revenue, a foreign exchange loss on its US-dollar-denominated debt, and a loss tied to the fair value of Telesat Lightspeed Financing Warrants.
Despite the tough GEO-segment numbers, CEO Dan Goldberg emphasized progress on the company’s strategic priorities. The central focus remains the Telesat Lightspeed LEO network, which remains on track for an initial satellite launch late next year and already holds a contracted backlog of about $1.1 billion. The legacy GEO business, though declining, still maintains a backlog of $900 million.
Telesat also executed a major corporate restructuring during the quarter, distributing 62 percent of the equity in its Telesat Lightspeed business to an indirect subsidiary. This entity is classified as a non-guarantor under Telesat Canada’s existing debt documents, a move intended to optimize the company’s corporate and capital structure and widen its financing options.
The company has also begun working with advisors for holders of its GEO-segment debt. In August, Telesat appointed Donald Tremblay as its new Chief Financial Officer.
The launch of Lightspeed will be a major shift in Canada’s space sovereignty. Telesat Lightspeed will deliver a high-throughput, low-latency, Canadian-controlled LEO network designed for Arctic and Northern connectivity. It will give Canada a domestic and secure orbital network built specifically for national requirements.
It will form the backbone of Canada’s future space architecture, alongside other assets that have either been contracted recently or are moving through development, including:
CHROUS: MDA Spaces Next-Generation, commercial Earth Observation Satellite constellation
EarthFence: Thoth/MDA ground-based, deep-space radar system, designed to detect, track, and characterize objects in high orbits, particularly Geostationary Orbit (GEO)
The future replacement for RADARSAT under the Defence Enhanced Surveillance from Space - Project
The Protected Military SATCOM (PMSC) Projects
The Follow-On Wideband SATCOM project
The Surveillance of Space 2 project, which will acquire both a replacement for SAPPHIRE and a new, soverign Ground-Based Optical capability.
This is on top of yesterday’s announcement that Budget 2025 will provide $182.6 million over three years, starting in 2025–26, for DND to establish a sovereign space launch capability.
To say that Canada has taken a renewed, invigorated role in space is an understatement. Many of you already know that I am a major advocate for space-based capabilities.
Canada is a space nation. We have been part of space exploration from the very beginning. We have played a role in many of humanity’s monumental moments beyond the atmosphere. Yet we allowed ourselves to slip at a time when space is becoming more contested and space-based assets more valuable.
Canada has always punched above its weight here. It was Canada that placed the first domestic communications satellite into orbit with Anik-1. The Anik series would go on to achieve several firsts, including the world’s first dual-band communications satellite with Anik-B. Canada was also the third country to launch a domestic satellite with Alouette-1.
We have always been present in space, and its revival makes me genuinely excited. We will soon see a dedicated space-based trade established. 3 CSD is set for a major expansion that would see it grow to nearly one thousand personnel by 2040.
There has never been a better time to be in the Canadian space industry than right now. The sky truly isn’t the limit!