Bloomberg Law
Feb. 7, 2022, 10:00 PM

Intelsat, SES Trial Starts as Rivals Dispute C-Band Payments

Daniel Gill
Daniel Gill
Reporter

Intelsat SA and competing satellite company SES Americom Inc. took to court to hash out how to divide billions in federal payments for surrendering access to C-Band spectrum so mobile carriers can use it for 5G technology.

SES maintains that Intelsat breached a 2017 agreement to split 50/50 any C-Band compensation from the Federal Communications Commission. By accepting some $900 million more than SES, Intelsat illegally broke a historic deal between two “arch rivals” working together to achieve a common goal, SES said.

SES asserted a claim against Intelsat of $421 million, representing half of what Intelsat is projected to ...