Editing Intelsat (section)

=== Privatization ===
On 18 July 2001, Intelsat became a private company, 37 years after formation. Prior to Intelsat's privatization in 2001, ownership and investment in Intelsat (measured in shares) was distributed among Intelsat members{{clarify|were these all governments or government orgs at the time|date=May 2020}} according to their use of services. Investment shares determined each member's percentage of the total contribution needed to finance capital expenditures. The organization's primary source of revenue was satellite usage fees which, after deduction of operating costs, was redistributed to Intelsat members in proportion to their shares as repayment of capital and compensation for use of capital. Satellite services were available to any organization (both Intelsat members and non-members), and all users paid the same rates.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Wilson |first1=Kevin G. |title=Deregulating Telecommunications: U.S. and Canadian Telecommunications, 1840-1997 |date=2000 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-0-8476-9825-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QDiH0zLUamIC |language=en}}</ref>{{rp|149}}

[[Galaxy 27|Intelsat Americas-7]] (known formerly as [[Galaxy 27|Telstar 7]] and known as Galaxy 27 since on 1 February 2007) experienced a several-day power failure on 29 November 2004.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://portal.wikinerds.org/node/152|title=Wikinerds.org posting concerning IA-7 outage|access-date=2005-08-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051027113449/http://portal.wikinerds.org/node/152 |archive-date=2005-10-27|url-status=dead}}</ref> The satellite returned to service with reduced capacity.<ref>{{cite web|last=Krebs|first=Gunter D. |title=Telstar 5, 6, 7 → Intelsat Americas 5, 6, 7 → Galaxy 25, 26, 27|publisher=Gunter's Space Page|access-date=4 December 2022|url=https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/telstar-5.htm}}</ref>

[[File:Intelsat headquarters.JPG|thumb|The former [[Intelsat headquarters|Intelsat administrative headquarters]] in [[Washington, D.C.]]]]

Intelsat was sold for US$3.1 billion in January 2005 to four [[private equity]] firms: [[Madison Dearborn Partners]], [[Apax Partners]], [[Permira]] and [[Apollo Global Management]]. The company acquired [[PanAmSat]] on 3 July 2006, and was then the world's largest provider of fixed satellite services, operating a fleet of 52 satellites in prime orbital locations.{{citation needed|date=May 2020}}

In June 2007, [[BC Partners]] announced they had acquired 76% of Intelsat for about €3.75 billion.<ref name=spacemart20070620>{{cite web |url=http://www.spacemart.com/reports/BC_Partners_Wins_Control_Of_Satellite_Group_Intelsat_999.html|title=BC Partners Wins Control Of Satellite Group Intelsat|publisher=SpaceDaily|date=20 June 2007}}</ref>