Satellite heavyweights SES and Intelsat to combine in $3.1B merger

Two of the commercial satellite industry’s biggest players are joining forces to fortify their position against the onslaught of emerging low-Earth orbit broadband constellations led by SpaceX’s Starlink network. In a $3.1 billion deal announced Tuesday, Luxembourg-based SES will acquire rival operator Intelsat—creating a combined fleet of around 100 satellites in geostationary orbit (GEO). The…