By Nick David, Editorial Lead, SatNews
A Canadian satellite constellation would spend about 2% of its time over Canada. That math is why Terrestar Solutions joined Equatys.
Space42 and Viasat, the co-founders of the Equatys direct-to-device venture, signed a memorandum of understanding with Terrestar on Wednesday. The goal is an open, standards-based interoperability framework linking Equatys with CaStar, Terrestar’s planned Canadian LEO constellation. The companies called it the first example of Equatys’ “sovereign shell” model, which pairs a global commercial system with constellations built for specific countries or regions.
Later that morning, Terrestar’s Jason Trembley laid out the logic on the “Orchestrating the D2D network of networks” panel at Silicon Valley Space Week’s Satellite Innovation track.
“That’s a lot of words to say we’re building our own satellite constellation, but understanding that that constellation only spends 2% of its time over Canada. You need to be within an ecosystem, and you need to find other like-minded partners,” said Trembley, vice president of commercial solutions at Terrestar. He also represents the Mobile Satellite Services Association, which Terrestar co-founded.
His analogy: “It’s like renting out an apartment and it only being available 2% of the time. The economics just don’t work, right?”
The far north, and “chaos north of 49”
Terrestar operates the Canadian side of the EchoStar T1 geostationary satellite and holds 40 MHz of mobile-satellite spectrum. CaStar is designed to cover the far north, Trembley said, which lines it up with other northern countries. The Equatys deal doesn’t stop Terrestar from partnering with anyone else, he added. “We think of it as an open network and one that would work in harmony with other networks.”
Spectrum makes partnership unavoidable. Terrestar’s holdings sit on the Canadian side of the same band SpaceX bought from EchoStar. “Coordination is going to be key because if there’s no coordination, it’s going to be chaos north of 49,” Trembley said.
Satellites and launch capacity can be added over time, he argued. Spectrum can’t: “spectrum is a scarce resource.”
What Equatys still needs
On the same stage, Iridium Chief Technology Officer Greg Pelton described the recipe he thinks it takes to compete at scale: launch, satellite manufacturing, spectrum and a high-value service. By his read, Equatys has spectrum, service-provider capability and satellites in orbit with more planned, but doesn’t necessarily have launch yet.
Terrestar President and CEO Jacques Leduc put the bet plainly in the announcement: “The future of mobile satellite connectivity won’t be built by countries or constellations acting alone.”
Viasat, an Equatys co-founder, is a Silicon Valley Space Week presentation sponsor.
About the Author
A storyteller at heart, Nick David covers space policy, satellite markets, defense, and the technologies reshaping how humanity operates beyond Earth. With a background in creative direction, brand strategy, and editorial storytelling, he brings a modern lens to complex subjects and a relentless curiosity about what comes next.
