An interview with Mr. Luigi Pasquali, GEO, Telespazio
AT: Mr. Luigi Pasquali, could you please tell us about the activities of Telespazio how was it created, what path of development has it travelled and what sort of achievements does it have today?
Telespazio today is a leading player in the space market worldwide, active in space missions definition, implementation, management and exploitation. We are present in all segments of space exploitation market, namely Communication, Monitoring and Positioning, with a broad and rich portfolio of service platforms, ground segment solutions and applications.
Current company’s organization largely differs from its legacy presence mainly focused in the communication field and is the result of a clear strategic view of our Shareholders that consider Space as one of the pillars of their respective portfolios.
Today Telespazio presents an almost unique mix in terms of markets (civil, military, dual), technology segments (SatCom, Remote Sensing / Earth Observation, Location / Navigation), and specific capabilities (cfr for example our strong legacy in Space Operations, with particular reference to constellations of satellites like Iridium, Globalstar, COSMO-SkyMed, Galileo; we can also mention our capability to operate Space Centres and large Ground Infrastructures of National / European interest, with an “institutional approach” coupled with strict financial management and performance / cost optimization as every private company does).
AT: How do you consider what is the guarantor of your stability? What is the reason of customers’ confidence?
I believe our stability largely rests on our peculiar market mix and on the legacy of the Space Alliance framework that our Shareholders have formed pooling their respective space assets in the creation of Telespazio and Thales Alenia Space, our manufacturing sister company, legacy. Our Customers perceive the advantage of interfacing a company like us and appreciate our ability to create and maintain “intimacy” with them, that is to be finely “tuned” on their requirements, as we “link space and users”.
AT: Which successes you could obtain at the market since 2013 year?
We have constantly growth in revenues since almost a decade, with a stable and clear evolution of our offer towards “turn-key” solutions provision, integrating systems, operations and services provision in a full range of options that we tailor on a case to case base in accordance with the specific opportunity we are facing. I am sure this will still be the distinctive feature of our market proposition for a long way to come.
AT: How would you characterize the market situation on your market of services? Is competition in the segment of the market high?
If we consider the communication segment, competition is increasing in quantity and quality, as is the pressure on prices, that often obliges the players even to reconsider their business model. New technologies like Ka push traditional satellite operators to go downstream, addressing final customers, and integration among players is increasing in many vertical markets. This forces players like us to respond, and we have started already to reorient our presence and business model, also integrating upstream whenever advantageous.
AT: With the advent of the 21st century, Azerbaijan built two major infrastructure projects towards the West: the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline. In the second decade of the century, Azerbaijan is going to implement another major project which will deliver “big” Caspian gas to Europe. Apart from that, Azerbaijan has very ambitious plans in the field of developing the whole communication infrastructure in the country. We know that your company is interested in the Azerbaijani market. What is the reason for this interest?.
We consider Azerbaijan in the legacy of the highest development potential countries in the world, and I am certain that our capabilities and solutions perfectly fit with the need the country has to support its ambitious development plans with modern infrastructures based on advanced and innovative technologies. We look forward to giving our contribution to Azeri present and the future.
