Northwestel and Telesat formalize Telesat Lightspeed agreement
OTTAWA, ON and IQALUIT, NU, April 02, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Telesat (Nasdaq and TSX: TSAT), one of the world’s largest and most innovative satellite operators, and Northwestel, the largest communications provider in Canada’s North, today announced that Northwestel has signed a multi-year contract for Telesat Lightspeed Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite services.
Northwestel will leverage the advanced LEO network to deliver low latency, sovereign broadband connectivity to communities across Northern Canada. By leveraging the Government of Canada’s Telesat Lightspeed capacity pool, Northwestel plans to provide high speed broadband, offering plans with at least 50 Mbps download and 10 Mbps upload speeds and unlimited monthly usage.
Today, Northwestel serves 97 communities across Canada through a combination of fibre-powered and satellite technologies that are integrated with last mile solutions to serve its customers. For remote communities where fibre backhaul is not available, the resilient Telesat Lightspeed LEO network will serve as a critical component to bring faster internet speeds to households, businesses and institutions.
Trusted, sovereign broadband connectivity is vital to ensuring northern communities can fully participate in the digital economy. As an empowering technology, high speed broadband drives economic growth and opens doors to education, healthcare, new jobs, and government services delivered remotely. Northwestel plays a central role in this transformation as a local employer with a strong presence throughout the North, backed by support from dedicated technicians who understand the unique needs of the region.
“Northwestel’s leadership and vision for Northern connectivity, combined with the advanced Canadian Telesat Lightspeed LEO network, represents a powerful partnership to deliver high performing Northern broadband networks,” stated Michèle Beck, Telesat’s Senior Vice President of Canadian Sales. “Together we are ensuring that Canadians—no matter how far north they live—can fully participate in our nation’s digital future, while reinforcing Canada’s Arctic sovereignty.”
“This agreement reflects our commitment to Canadian innovation that directly serves Canadian needs.” says Tammy April, Vice President of Strategic Growth at Northwestel. “By partnering with Telesat and leveraging their advanced LEO network, we are investing in domestic technology that strengthens Northern connectivity, supports sovereignty, and delivers reliable broadband where it matters most.”
About Telesat
Backed by a legacy of engineering excellence, reliability and industry-leading customer service, Telesat (Nasdaq and TSX: TSAT) is one of the largest and most innovative global satellite operators. Telesat works collaboratively with its customers to deliver critical connectivity solutions that tackle the world’s most complex communications challenges, providing powerful advantages that improve their operations and drive profitable growth.
Continuously innovating to meet the connectivity demands of the future, Telesat Lightspeed, the company’s state-of-the-art Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite network, has been optimized to meet the rigorous requirements of telecom, government, maritime and aeronautical customers. Telesat Lightspeed will redefine global satellite connectivity with ubiquitous, affordable, high-capacity, secure and resilient links with fibre-like speeds. For updates on Telesat, follow us on LinkedIn, X, or visit www.telesat.com.
About Northwestel
Northwestel is the largest telecommunications provider in Canada’s North, serving 97 communities across the Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, British Columbia, and Alberta. Beginning in 2020, Northwestel’s Every Community Project significantly improved broadband services for northern residents, governments, and businesses using the latest fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) and Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite technologies. Now, over 95% of homes in Yukon and NWT have access to high-speed, unlimited fibre-powered internet, either FTTH or fibre-to-the-neighbourhood. Northwestel is proud to provide services on the traditional territories of Indigenous peoples across Canada’s North.
Media Contacts:
W2 Communications for Telesat
telesat@w2comm.com
Northwestel Media Relations
media@nwtel.ca
+1 867 455 4209
Telesat Forward-Looking Statements Safe Harbor
This news release contains statements that are not based on historical fact and are “forward-looking statements’’ within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and Canadian securities laws. When used herein, statements which are not historical in nature, or which contain the words “will,” “plans,” “intends,” or similar expressions, are forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from the expectations expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements as a result of known and unknown risks and uncertainties. All statements made in this press release are made only as of the date set forth at the beginning of this release. Telesat Corporation undertakes no obligation to update the information made in this release in the event facts or circumstances subsequently change after the date of this press release.
These forward-looking statements are based on Telesat Corporation’s current expectations and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond Telesat Corporation’s control, are difficult to predict, and could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or forecasted in the forward-looking statements. There are numerous risks and uncertainties associated with Telesat’s business and the Telesat Lightspeed constellation. Known risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to: inflation and rising interest rates; tariffs; Telesat’s ability to meet the funding conditions of its funding agreements with the Government of Canada and Government of Quebec; technological hurdles, including our and our contractors’ development and deployment of the new technologies required to complete the constellation in time to meet our schedule, or at all; the availability of services and components from our and our contractors’ supply chains; competition; risks associated with domestic and foreign government regulation, including access to sufficient orbital spectrum to be able to deliver services effectively and access to sufficient geographic markets in which to sell those services; Telesat’s ability to develop significant commercial and operational capabilities; risks associated with operating satellites and providing satellite services, including satellite construction or launch delays, launch failures, in-orbit failures or impaired satellite performance; and volatility in exchange rates. The foregoing list of important factors is not exhaustive. Investors should review the other risk factors discussed in Telesat Corporation’s annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2024, that was filed on March 27, 2025, with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and the Canadian securities regulatory authorities at the System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (“SEDAR”), and may be accessed on the SEC’s website at https://www.sec.gov/ and SEDAR’s website at https://www.sedarplus.ca/ as well as our subsequent reports on Form 6-K filed with the SEC and also available on SEDAR.
