Orange and Telesat have put into service in France the first European ground station for Telesat Lightspeed, Telesat’s future low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellation. The infrastructure is installed at Orange’s teleport in Bercenay-en-Othe and will connect via a high-speed terrestrial network to Telesat’s future point of presence (PoP) in Paris. The goal is to prepare the ground segment of a network aimed mainly at enterprise customers, telecom operators, government agencies, and other users that need low-latency, high-availability connectivity.
Telesat Lightspeed at a glance
- Orange and Telesat have activated Lightspeed’s first European gateway in Bercenay-en-Othe, France.
- The station will support the planned initial deployment of 225 low Earth orbit satellites.
- Orange will connect the gateway to Telesat’s future Paris PoP via a secure, high-speed network.
- The network will use optical inter-satellite links to keep part of the traffic in space.
- Telesat expects Lightspeed to enter global service in the first quarter of 2028.
The activation doesn’t mean the full constellation is already operational. The gateway is part of the ground infrastructure Telesat is building ahead of its satellite deployment. The company still targets global entry into service during the first quarter of 2028.
The choice of Bercenay-en-Othe positions France as one of the project’s European anchor points. The site belongs to Orange’s teleport network and holds Tier-4 certification from the World Teleport Association (WTA), according to both companies.
A gateway connected to Paris
The new station doesn’t operate in isolation. Orange will be responsible for providing terrestrial connectivity between Bercenay-en-Othe and Telesat’s future point of presence in Paris through a secure, high-speed network.
This connection is part of Lightspeed’s ground-segment design and is meant to deliver the availability and latency Telesat is targeting for applications it considers critical. The users the company is aiming at include enterprises, telecom operators, government bodies, and defense-related customers.
The gateway also includes advanced antennas supplied by Intellian Technologies. These antennas are part of the infrastructure needed to connect the ground network to the future satellite constellation.
The French site already had experience with satellite connectivity. Orange and Telesat had announced a multi-year agreement in March 2025 under which the Bercenay-en-Othe teleport would host a Lightspeed landing station and provide terrestrial connectivity to Telesat’s PoP in Paris. That agreement also called for Orange to add Telesat Lightspeed capacity to its service portfolio for enterprises and telecom operators.
The activation announced now therefore marks the step from that infrastructure agreement to bringing the first European gateway into service.
225 satellites for the first phase
Telesat is designing Lightspeed as a LEO satellite constellation meant to deliver enterprise-grade connectivity. The Bercenay-en-Othe ground infrastructure is built to support the planned initial deployment of 225 satellites.
The company isn’t presenting those 225 satellites as an already-deployed constellation. It’s the number planned for the initial phase around which the ground segment is being built.
The announced timeline puts global entry into service in the first quarter of 2028. That still leaves much of the space deployment and the integration of the network’s various ground elements ahead.
Telesat’s strategy also differs from an infrastructure based solely on direct satellite-to-ground-station links. Lightspeed is designed to use optical inter-satellite links, a technology that lets traffic move between different satellites before it’s brought down to a landing station or a customer’s private facility.
Traffic can stay in space
Optical inter-satellite links are one of Lightspeed’s most significant technical elements.
According to Telesat, the design will let customer traffic stay in space until it reaches the point where it needs to be handed off to a Telesat landing station or a customer’s private facility. The company links this architecture to greater route control, data sovereignty, and flexibility for certain enterprise, telecom, government, and defense users.
That statement should be understood as a feature of the planned network design, not a guarantee that all traffic will always stay in space or that every customer will use a private facility.
The architecture could be especially useful for organizations that need to connect remote locations without relying solely on the terrestrial networks available in each territory, an alternative that is drawing renewed attention as satellite connectivity puts pressure on European fiber in areas fixed networks don’t reach as easily.
For Orange, the partnership also expands its connectivity offering across different orbits. The Bercenay-en-Othe teleport is part of its international connectivity infrastructure, and the company wants to use it to host more satellite operators through its ground-segment services.
Jean-Louis Le Roux, Executive Vice President of Orange International Networks, said Orange’s goal is to turn the French site into a European reference point for new satellite networks. That’s an ambition expressed by the company, not an independent designation of the teleport as a European hub.
An alternative where fiber doesn’t reach
Lightspeed’s commercial appeal centers on customers that need reliable, low-latency connectivity, especially in places where terrestrial infrastructure can fall short.
Telesat cites enterprise and government applications as well as telecom and defense users. Orange, for its part, frames the partnership within its global connectivity offering and its services for remote areas.
Satellite doesn’t automatically replace fiber or mobile networks. Its usefulness depends on location, the type of service, capacity requirements, and the connectivity architecture each customer needs — the same trade-off shaping how Amazon’s own LEO constellation is preparing to compete with Starlink.
In this case, the proposal combines three elements: Telesat’s future LEO constellation, the ground gateways that connect it to communications networks, and the Paris PoP from which traffic will be integrated with other infrastructure.
The partnership also has a resilience dimension. Telesat is positioning Lightspeed for operations where connectivity continuity matters, while Orange contributes its ground infrastructure and satellite network experience.
The French teleport also holds Tier-4 certification from the World Teleport Association, a point Orange and Telesat cite among the reasons for selecting Bercenay-en-Othe.
Ground infrastructure is running ahead of the satellites
The gateway’s activation shows a common feature of large communications constellations: deployment isn’t just about launching satellites.
Ground stations, antennas, transport links, points of presence, and connections to operator networks all need to be built. In Lightspeed’s case, Telesat is developing that ground infrastructure at the same time it prepares the space deployment.
Bercenay-en-Othe is now one of those pieces. The station is installed and in service, but Lightspeed’s overall operation still depends on the rest of the project moving forward.
Telesat puts the first quarter of 2028 as the expected date for global entry into service. Until then, the company will keep building ground infrastructure and deploying the planned constellation.
For Orange, the activation also opens the door to later adding Lightspeed capacity to its connectivity services for enterprises and operators. That plan was already part of the agreement announced in 2025, and now the project has its first operational European gateway.
The move puts France in a significant position within the European infrastructure Telesat is preparing for its LEO network. It doesn’t mean Lightspeed is already available globally, but it does mean one of its main European ground pieces has moved from planning to operation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Telesat Lightspeed’s first European gateway?
It’s installed at Orange’s teleport in Bercenay-en-Othe, France, which holds Tier-4 certification from the World Teleport Association.
How many satellites will Telesat Lightspeed initially have?
Telesat plans an initial deployment of 225 satellites for the Lightspeed constellation. The French ground infrastructure is designed to support that deployment.
When will Telesat Lightspeed be operational?
Telesat still targets global entry into service during the first quarter of 2028. The Bercenay-en-Othe gateway is already installed and commissioned, but the full constellation is still being deployed.
Who is the Telesat Lightspeed network designed for?
The company is designing it mainly for enterprises, telecom operators, government agencies, and defense users that need low-latency, high-availability connectivity with specific security and control requirements.
