Telco executives speaking on SATELLITE 2021’s EMEA + Asia Digital Forum on Wednesday, May 19th. Executive leaders from four regional telco and Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) did not pull any punches when discussing their sometimes frustrating relationship with satellite service providers during SATELLITE 2021’s EMEA + Asia virtual conference on Wednesday. While telco/MNO panelists expressed excitement for new satellite technologies and services, especially in Low-Earth Orbit (LEO), they also shared concerns about satellite industry value chain issues that they believe are driving up the costs of bandwidth. Safaricom Transport and IP Planning lead David Adhiambo best explained what’s at stake for satellite operators in maintaining good relationships with telcos. If satellite operators are genuine about reaching the billions of unconnected customers on the other side of the digital divide, they need to provide regional telcos with large amounts of bandwidth at low costs, according to Adhiambo.