Intelsat Riverside Teleport in Los Angeles, California USA

Intelsat Riverside Teleport in Los Angeles, California USA

Intelsat is world’s largest communications satellite services provider. Originally formed as International Telecommunications Satellite Organization (INTELSAT), it was, from 1964 to 2001, an intergovernmental consortium owning and managing a constellation of communications satellites providing international broadcast services.

Intelsat currently operates a fleet of more than 55 communications satellites, which is one of the world’s largest fleet of commercial satellites. All of the Spacecraft operations are controlled through ground stations in Hagerstown, Maryland (USA), Riverside, California (USA), and Intelsat’s biggest Teleport Fuchsstadt in Germany. The company is serving approximately 1,500 customers worldwide and employs a staff of approximately 1,100 people.

On July 18th in 2001, 37 years after formation, Intelsat became a private company. Prior to Intelsat’s privatization in 2001, ownership and investment in Intelsat (measured in shares) was distributed among Intelsat members according to their use of services. Investment shares determined each member’s percentage of the total contribution needed to finance capital expenditures. The organization’s primary source of revenue was satellite usage fees that, after deduction of operating costs, were redistributed to Intelsat members in proportion to their shares as repayment of capital and compensation for use of capital. Satellite services were available to any organization (both Intelsat members and non-members), and all users paid the same rates.