Editing Intelsat (section)

=== Bankruptcy ===
Intelsat filed for a [[Chapter 11, Title 11, United States Code|Chapter 11 bankruptcy]] in U.S. courts on 13 May 2020, just before the new [[5G]] [[spectrum auction]]s, with over US$15 billion in total debt.<ref name=sn20200514>{{cite news|title=Intelsat declares bankruptcy as means to fund C-band spectrum clearing|url=https://spacenews.com/intelsat-declares-bankruptcy-as-means-to-fund-c-band-spectrum-clearing/ |last=Henry|first=Caleb|publisher=SpaceNews|date=14 May 2020|access-date=15 May 2020}}</ref><ref name=bloomberg20200514>{{cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-05-14/intelsat-files-for-chapter-11-before-5g-spectrum-sales|title=Intelsat files for Chapter 11 before 5G spectrum sales|publisher=Bloomberg News|date=14 May 2020|access-date=14 May 2020}}</ref>

Public reporting showed that the company had been considering bankruptcy protection as early as February 2020,<ref name=satellitetoday20200205>
 
 [https://www.satellitetoday.com/business/2020/02/05/intelsat-reportedly-hires-bankruptcy-firm/ Intelsat Reportedly Hires Bankruptcy Firm Kirkland & Ellis, Considering Chapter 11],
  Rachel Jewett,
  Satellite Today,
  5 February 2020,
  accessed 14 May 2020
</ref>
as Intelsat formally withdrew from the [[C band (IEEE)#C-Band Alliance|C-Band Alliance]]. The C-Band Alliance was an industry consortium of the major satellite operators. The consortium had been formed to lobby U.S. [[Regulatory agency|regulator]], the [[Federal Communications Commission]] (FCC) regarding the reassignment and payment for the legacy 5G spectrum of its members.<ref name="sn20200220">
  {{cite news
      | title=Intelsat to FCC: C-Band Alliance is dead, we deserve more money
      | url=https://spacenews.com/intelsat-to-fcc-c-band-alliance-is-dead-we-deserve-more-money/
      | last=Henry
      | first=Caleb| publisher=SpaceNews|date=20 February 2020
      | access-date=23 February 2020
  }}
</ref><ref name="sn20200514" />

According to company statements, the company was hoping to restructure so that it could raise requisite capital to launch new satellite technology in 2022/2023, at a cost of some US$1.6 billion. The technology could compress existing licensed C-band spectrum customers into just forty per cent of the spectrum used in 2019. The release of spectrum would enable the company to receive up to US$4.86 billion in "spectrum clearing payments" from the FCC for clearing the spectrum by December 2023, two years ahead of the FCC baseline plan.<ref name=sn20200514/>