Satellite operator Intelsat has rejected SES’s claims of $1.8bn in damages for an alleged breach of contract as part of the C-Band Alliance (CBA), arguing that SES’s claims have no merit.
The alliance was formed in 2018 by Intelsat, SES, Eutelsat, and Telesat to facilitate the FCC C-band spectrum clearing process.
Intelsat argued instead that SES’s action cost Intelsat more than $1.6bn in potential C-band clearing payments.
In court filings from July, SES had asked the court for no less than $1.8bn in damages, claiming Intelsat breached fiduciary duties as part of the CBA when it lobbied the FCC for a larger share of the payments it was offering the satellite operators.
In the filings, Intelsat argued that the accelerated relocation payments it may receive are due to its own spectrum clearing efforts and unrelated to any work done in the CBA. “SES has not, will not, and cannot play any role in whether Intelsat receives a payment or how much it will receive,” Intelsat wrote.
Intelsat also said: “The simple fact is that the [CBA’s] agreement’s payment scheme does not work outside the private market-based approach, because the agreement was only intended to cover, and only covers, a private market-based approach. The shoe will not fit the approach adopted by the FCC.”
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