What COMSAT does

COMSAT (legal entity Goonhilly USA Inc.) is a US-headquartered satellite ground segment operator providing uplink, downlink, antenna hosting, and end-to-end managed satellite communication services. It operates three teleports (Southbury CT, Santa Paula CA, and Goonhilly Earth Station in Cornwall, UK) with over 90 hosted and leased antennas covering LEO, MEO, and GEO orbits across VHF, UHF, L, S, C, X, Ku, and Ka frequency bands, and is one of the first US teleports to hold WTA Tier 4 certification, a designation it has continuously maintained since 2018. Its core product set consists of ground segment services (uplink/downlink, antenna hosting/leasing, TT&C), protected MILSATCOM and COMSATCOM solutions for US Government and military customers, and commercial services such as business continuity/disaster recovery connectivity and Differential GPS location services delivering sub-0.5m precision.

The company's revenue model is anchored in subscription-style antenna hosting and managed satellite communication services, sold through a direct enterprise field sales motion under bespoke, quote-based contracts. It serves two primary segments: Government/Military (NISPOM-cleared, security-cleared personnel and facilities supporting UHF, S-band, X-band, and Ka-band protected communications) and Commercial Satellite Operators and Service Providers (uplink/downlink, VSAT, network gateways, TT&C for operators such as Astranis). Named customers include the US Government, Astranis, Anuvu, and HTechCorp. COMSAT was a publicly traded company from 1963 to 2023 before being acquired by UK-based Goonhilly Group, and in May 2026 Intuitive Machines (NASDAQ: LUNR) announced its acquisition of the company, pending UK regulatory review with close expected in Q3 2026; upon closing, COMSAT will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Intuitive Machines while retaining its brand and customer relationships.

Name

COMSAT

Legal name

Goonhilly USA Inc.

Website

https://comsatteleports.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1963

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

COMSAT (Goonhilly USA Inc.) provides satellite ground segment services — uplink, downlink, antenna hosting, and TT&C — through three teleports in the US and UK, serving US Government, military, and commercial satellite operator customers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Satellite Ground Segment Services

NAICS

Satellite Telecommunications (5174), Satellite Telecommunications (51741)

SIC

Radiotelephone Communications (4812)

akta.pro primary industry

Satellite Ground Segment & Gateway Services (Teleports, Gateways, Ground Station-as-a-Service) (HDAIAJAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Satellite Network Operations & Capacity Services (NOC, Capacity Leasing, Managed Payload Services) (HDAIAJAI), Satellite Wholesale Capacity & Backhaul (transponder/HTS capacity, teleport services) (HDAIAEAJ), Avionics Communication Systems (VHF/UHF/SATCOM/Data Link) (IMABAFAG)

Keywords

• Satellite ground segment
• Teleport services
• MILSATCOM solutions
• Antenna hosting leasing
• Differential GPS services

Headquarters

HQ city

Helston

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Infrastructure, Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Antenna Hosting and Leasing: Providing access to COMSAT's portfolio of over 90 hosted and leased antennas for satellite operators and service providers
2. Ground Segment Services: Secure satellite communication services including uplink, downlink, and end-to-end solutions from teleport facilities
3. Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Services: Satellite connectivity solutions for maintaining operations during terrestrial network disruptions
4. Government and Military Satellite Capacity: Commercial satellite capacity across multiple bands meeting government and military demand for scalable bandwidth with high security standards

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

COMSAT provides satellite communication ground infrastructure through a network of three teleports (Southbury, CT; Santa Paula, CA; and Goonhilly, UK) offering uplink/downlink services, antenna hosting and leasing, MILSATCOM and COMSATCOM solutions across multiple frequency bands (VHF, UHF, L, S, C, X, Ku, Ka) supporting LEO, MEO, and GEO satellites. The company serves government, military, satellite operators, and commercial customers with mission-critical communications, business continuity/disaster recovery, and differential GPS location services.

Product overview

COMSAT provides satellite communication ground infrastructure services through a network of teleports in the US and UK. The portfolio consists of satellite ground segment services (uplink/downlink, antenna hosting and leasing), MILSATCOM solutions for government/military (UHF, S-band, X-band, Ka-band), and COMSATCOM solutions for commercial customers (VHF through Ku-band). Additional services include Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery and Differential GPS Location Services. Operations are conducted through three teleports: COMSAT Southbury (Connecticut), COMSAT Santa Paula (California), and Goonhilly Earth Station (UK). The company maintains over 90 hosted and leased antennas supporting LEO, MEO, and GEO satellite communications.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Uplink & Downlink Services Secure and reliable uplink and downlink satellite communication services supporting government and commercial operations across MEO, GEO, and LEO orbits, including VSAT terminal connections to corporate or government networks.
• Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery Satellite connectivity solutions ensuring business remains connected during terrestrial network disruptions from power outages, natural disasters, fire, extreme weather, or cyberattacks.
• Differential GPS Location Services GPS enhancement service providing location precision within 0.5m using a worldwide network of reference stations calculating corrections for GNSS systems (GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, Galileo). Used for commercial aviation, oil and gas, agriculture, IoT, and autonomous vehicles.
• MILSATCOM Solutions Protected military satellite communications including UHF, S-band, X-band, and Ka-band solutions with mission-critical data communication, control and mission planning capabilities, and interfaces to US Department of Defence Global Information Grid.
• COMSATCOM Solutions Scalable commercial satellite communications offering VHF, UHF, L, S, C, X, Ka, and Ku-band connectivity with end-to-end uplink and downlink services in LEO, MEO, and GEO, including Mobile Satellite Services and Fixed Satellite Services.
• Antenna Hosting and Leasing Access to COMSAT's portfolio of over 90 hosted and leased antennas for satellite operators and service providers, providing ground segment infrastructure and antenna operations.

Quantifiable outcome

• 99.999% network availability with SLAs
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Intuitive MachinescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 May 2026Intuitive Machines (NASDAQ: LUNR) announced acquisition of COMSAT (Goonhilly USA Inc) to expand integrated space-to-ground network and communications capabilities. Upon completion, COMSAT will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary maintaining its established brand and customer relationships while gaining access to expanded investment and resources for advanced ground-station solutions.
• Goonhilly GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023COMSAT teleports joined the Goonhilly Group, a UK-based satellite and space communications provider. The partnership brings together over 120 years of combined industry experience, offering customers increased coverage and access to Goonhilly's lunar and deep-space network capabilities. COMSAT is registered as Goonhilly Inc and became part of the Goonhilly Group in 2023.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Atlas Space Operations: Provides ground station-as-a-service and TT&C for LEO satellite operators through a federated antenna network. Comparable as a modern, software-led ground segment provider competing for the same LEO operator customers as COMSAT.
• RBC Signals: Provides global ground station services, TT&C, and data delivery for satellite operators and government users. Comparable as a multi-site ground segment provider serving similar commercial and defense satcom customers.
• KSAT (Kongsberg Satellite Services): Operates a global network of ground stations providing TT&C and data downlink services to satellite operators. Directly comparable as a multi-site ground station operator serving LEO/MEO operators, with a longer LEO heritage than COMSAT but similar service portfolio.
• Leaf Space: Operates a global ground station network offering TT&C and payload data services to smallsat and constellation operators. Comparable as a competing ground station network targeting the same new-space LEO customer base as COMSAT.
• Kratos Defense & Security Solutions: Provides ground systems, antennas, and RF products for satellite communications and defense customers. Directly comparable in supplying teleport and ground-segment infrastructure to government and commercial satellite operators, overlapping with COMSAT's MILSATCOM and gateway offerings.

Broad incumbents

• Viasat: Major satellite operator and ground network owner providing global broadband and MILSATCOM capacity. Comparable as a vertically integrated satcom incumbent that, like COMSAT, sells commercial and government connectivity across multiple bands and orbits, though Viasat's scale and own constellation set it apart.
• Intelsat: One of the world's largest satellite operators providing global managed services and ground infrastructure. COMSAT was a founding member of Intelsat in 1964 and remains a meaningful ground segment peer through shared heritage and overlapping commercial/government customer base.
• SES: Global satellite operator with multi-orbit (GEO/MEO) capacity and an extensive ground network. Comparable in offering managed satellite communications and ground segment services across bands, but as a much larger operator with own fleet.
• Hughes Network Systems (EchoStar): Provides satellite broadband, managed networks, and gateway infrastructure for government and enterprise customers. Comparable as a satcom ground segment and managed services provider with overlapping government/MILSATCOM customers.

Emerging players

• AWS Ground Station: Hyperscaler-managed ground station service offering pay-per-satellite-pass downlink and uplink via AWS. Comparable as an alternative ground segment procurement option for satellite operators; competing on scale and bundled cloud economics rather than on premium certified services.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/comsatteleports
• Xx.com/COMSATteleports

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about COMSAT