The telecommunications downturn and the still-sluggish global economy have finally begun to eat into fixed satellite service operators’ revenues, with two of the top-five companies saying business is slower than they predicted just three months ago.
Loral Space and Communications of New York and SES Global of Luxembourg, which both operate global fleets of satellites for television, voice and data transmissions, told Wall Street that their previous forecasts were too optimistic.
Officials at another satellite operator, New Skies Satellites N.V. of The Hague, Netherlands, is confirming an earlier assessment that its sales will be flat for 2002.
Each of these companies has specific issues that are affecting its business.
Loral has lost a broadband-data customer and is reporting a 10 percent drop in new transponder sales, a phenomenon the company says only became visible in May.
