What’s up with… Telesat, Thierry Breton, AT&T

• Telesat secures $1.9bn funding for LEO network
• Thierry Breton quits the EC
• AT&T strikes come to an end with union deals

In today’s industry news roundup: Canadian satellite firm Telesat secures funding for the launch and operation of its low-earth orbit constellation; influential European commissioner Thierry Breton quits in acrimonious circumstances; AT&T staff strikes have been called off following two deals with the CWA union; and much more!

As if there weren’t enough low-earth orbit (LEO) satellites heading into space already, Canadian giant Telesat has confirmed it will be adding to the growing deluge of communications satellites now that it has secured CAN$2.54bn (US$1.87bn) in funding for its long-planned launch in 2026. The company has completed its funding agreements with the government of Canada and the government of Quebec for its Lightspeed LEO constellation, which will ultimately comprise 198 ‘birds’, with the first satellites due to be launched into orbit in mid-2026, courtesy of a deal struck last year with Elon Musk’s SpaceX (which, of course, has its own LEO network in the form of Starlink). Commercial services are slated to begin in 2027. Telesat has contracted 14 launches on SpaceX’s Falcon 9, with each launch carrying up to 18 Telesat Lightspeed satellites. According to Telesat, the Lightspeed network “is expected to play a critical role in bridging the digital divide by expanding the reach of internet and 5G networks in unserved and underserved communities in Canada and throughout the world, with affordable, high-speed broadband connectivity. In addition, the Telesat Lightspeed network is expected to help governments – including the government of Canada – modernise their satellite communications technology and make meaningful contributions to North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) modernisation to bolster defence for Canada and its allies.” Dan Goldberg, Telesat’s president and CEO, noted: “We are pleased to conclude these funding arrangements with the governments of Canada and Quebec as we make strong progress on the build-out of the revolutionary Telesat Lightspeed constellation, the largest space programme in Canada’s history. Telesat Lightspeed will help bridge the digital divide in Canada and throughout the world, create and sustain thousands of high-quality jobs in Canada, deliver billions of dollars of investment in the Canadian economy, spur domestic innovation and exports, and ensure that Canada and Quebec are at the forefront of the rapidly growing new space economy,” he added. 

Thierry Breton, the European Commission (EC)’s head of internal market and services and regarded as an influential move and shaker and friend of the telco community within the EC’s corridors, has quit the commission with immediate effect. Breton noted in his resignation letter, which he posted on X, that, in not so many words, he had been stitched up by EC president Ursula von der Leyen, who he accused of “questionable governance”. Von der Leyen is in the process of forming her next ‘College of Commissioners’ and clearly didn’t want Breton as part of her team for another five years as the EC decides how to improve Europe’s standing in the world: The digital service provider community will be watching closely to see what happens in the communications networking and services sector following the publication of a major and multi-sector competitiveness report last week that proposed multiple regulatory reforms. The French government doesn’t seem to care, as it has been handed a more influential role in the EC in return for dropping Breton as one of its candidates: Breton has already been replaced as France’s nominee by outgoing French minister of foreign affairs Stéphane Séjourné, reportedly a close ally of French President Emmanuel Macron. It remains to be seen whether Breton’s departure will weaken the influence of the telecom sector in Brussels. 

Good news for AT&T… The US telco has reached “strong tentative agreements” with the Communications Workers of America (CWA) for new union deals and an end to the strikes that saw thousands of AT&T staff walk out. The union has struck two separate agreements, one with AT&T Southeast, covering 17,000 staff, and another with AT&T West, covering 8,500 employees. “The agreement in the south-east ends the 30-day strike – the longest telecommunications strike in the region’s history – with union members across nine states pressuring the company to negotiate in good faith,” noted the CWA union in this announcement. “I believe in the power of unity, and the unity our members and retirees have shown during these contract negotiations has been outstanding and gave our bargaining teams the backing they needed to deliver strong contracts,” said CWA president Claude Cummings Jr. “I’m not just talking about AT&T members in the south-east and west, although the determination of our striking AT&T Southeast members was remarkable. CWA members and retirees from every region and sector of our union mobilised in support of our bargaining teams, including by distributing flyers with information about the strike at AT&T Wireless stores,” added Cummings. 

Here’s further news that will send the blood pressure of many in the industry soaring… Huawei, so long the target of US trade sanctions that, amongst many things, has resulted in the Chinese vendor being unable to use Google’s Android mobile device operating system (OS), is about to launch its own mobile device, dubbed HarmonyOS Next, which is completely home-grown and will fuel the vendor’s efforts to compete with Android and Apple’s iOS in the giant Chinese market, reports The South China Morning Post. 

It’s the public notification about which every cybersecurity company must have nightmares – ‘We’ve been hacked!’ Unfortunately that’s what has happened to network security systems vendor Fortinet, which has reported “a recent security incident”. The company has noted that “an individual gained unauthorised access to a limited number of files stored on Fortinet’s instance of a third-party cloud-based shared file drive, which included limited data related to a small number (less than 0.3%) of Fortinet customers.” The vendor says there is, so far, “no indication that this incident has resulted in malicious activity affecting any customers,” while there is “no evidence of additional access to any other Fortinet resource… The incident did not involve any data encryption, deployment of ransomware, or access to Fortinet’s corporate network.” That might seem like a disaster, but for many people, particularly those in the security sector, it’s what happens once a breach has been identified that matters most. According to Fortinet, the company “immediately executed on a plan to protect customers and communicated directly with customers as appropriate and supported their risk mitigation plans.” In addition, it “immediately began an investigation, contained the incident by terminating the unauthorised individual’s access, and notified law enforcement and select cybersecurity agencies globally. A leading external forensics firm was engaged to validate our own forensics team’s findings. Moreover, we have put additional internal processes in place to help prevent a similar incident from reoccurring, including enhanced account monitoring and threat detection measures.” Did it act quickly enough and do enough as soon as it knew of the incident? Customer reaction will tell that tale in the coming months. 

– The staff, TelecomTV