Speaking at the Washington Telecommunications Forum of the International Institute of Communications (IIC) in late September, Mr. Conny Kullman, Director General and CEO-Designate of the International Telecommunications Satellite Organization (Intelsat), outlined his vision of the organization’s future role as a fully commercial, private entity in the competitive international marketplace.
The IIC, an independent forum of international policy-makers, completed its two-day discussions yesterday on recent changes in the US and international telecommunications environment, industry competition, and the status of the WTO Basic Telecoms Agreement.
In his speech, Mr. Kullman highlighted the steps Intelsat has taken towards privatization, including the creation of an independent, Netherlands- based, spin-off company, New Skies Satellites N.V. He stressed Intelsat’s further commitment to commercialize through a complete, pro-competitive, privatization that will help the organization meet evolving industry demands while continuing its guarantee of lifeline connectivity to all countries of the world.
Mr. Kullman noted that, “The global revolution in regulatory policy is affecting more than just our business and customer profile — it is affecting the composition of Intelsat’s ownership, its mode of operation and its role in the overall telecommunications market. For example, today, the majority of Intelsat’s equity is held by shareholder-owned companies which are private, partially private, or on their way to being privatized.” In addition, he remarked that “the number of Intelsat’s non-Signatory customers is also growing dramatically, with an over 30 percent increase in these customers during 1998 alone.”
Addressing concerns about the satellite industry and a potential international capacity glut, Mr. Kullman expressed strong belief that, on the basis of Internet growth alone, user demand will justify industry supply. “The Internet is our fastest growing area of business. In the last year, we have implemented over a dozen high-speed backbone links at speeds of 34 and 45 megabits per second. By mid-1999, this should account for 12 to 18 percent of Intelsat’s revenues,” Mr. Kullman said.
Intelsat owns and operates a global communications satellite system. With 1997 revenues of over US$960 million, the Intelsat system provides voice/data, video, and Internet services to over 200 countries and territories via satellite.
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