The building site for an expansion MDA Space in Montreal on Feb. 10, 2025.Andrej Ivanov/The Globe and Mail
MDA Space Ltd. MDA-T has added $750-million to its contract to build satellites for Globalstar Inc., a U.S. telecommunications company backed by Apple Inc. AAPL-Q, which is funding Globalstar’s satellite constellation as part of its own push into the telecom services sector.
Analysts had expected the Monday announcement: Brampton, Ont.-based MDA had already been awarded a $350-million contract for a first batch of satellites in 2022 and had disclosed that it had received a new contract from an undisclosed customer in 2023.
That brings the total size of the contract to $1.1-billion. MDA’s stock was up 10 per cent in early trading.
It will now manufacture more than 50 low Earth orbit satellites for Globalstar, a company competing with Elon Musk’s Starlink for satellite-based services. Globalstar provides service for satellite phones, low-speed data transmission and Earth observation.
As global companies vie to serve the growing satellite broadband, direct-to-mobile and connected devices market, MDA is “firing on all cylinders,” chief executive officer Mike Greenley said in an interview.
While U.S. President Donald Trump’s 25-per-cent tariffs on all Canadian goods, scheduled to go into effect in March, present a major obstacle for Canadian manufacturers, Mr. Greenley said the company has not yet seen any of its American buyers back off on deals in the pipeline.
“All of our customer dialogue in the United States continues full steam ahead as this tariff conversation continues in the backroom,” he said. He added that the company is considering strategies to mitigate the effects of those levies but declined to provide specifics about how the company could be affected.
MDA is currently building a new, high-volume manufacturing facility in Montreal, which will double its output of digital satellites, thanks in part to robotic assembly and augmented reality assistance for staff completing complex processes.
It’s also thanks to Apple’s push into space. Last November, Globalstar announced it had raised US$1.5-billion in financing from the tech giant to fund the construction of a new low Earth orbit satellite constellation. As part of the deal, Apple took a 20-per-stake in a Globalstar-controlled entity that will own the resulting infrastructure.
Apple’s investments suggest it is “focused on controlling its own satellite infrastructure, rather than relying on third-party operators like Starlink,” Bank of Montreal analyst Thanos Moschopoulos said in a note Monday. MDA could stand to gain from that, he added.
“We see the potential for a significantly larger follow-on revenue opportunity for MDA longer term, given Apple’s apparent focus on expanding the scope of satellite services being provided to Apple users,” Mr. Moschopoulos said.
Apple currently provides customers using its latest-generation phones with satellite-based emergency SOS services in cellular dead zones. But the company seems to have ambitions to expand its own coverage. In January, it secured a patent for new satellite handoff technology, which could allow it to offer satellite-based voice calling and internet browsing in the future.
Canadian companies, too, are exploring satellite-to-mobile phone technology. Rogers Communications Inc. has formed partnerships with SpaceX and Lynk Global Inc., while Telus Corp. has tested the technology with partner TerreStar Solutions Inc. and satellite connectivity provider Skylo, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce analyst Stephanie Price said in a note Monday.