The Globe and Mail reports in its Tuesday edition that satellite operator Telesat and Ottawa have agreed to terms of a $2.14-billion government loan to support the construction of Telesat's low-Earth-orbit satellites, a project that has faced years of delays after pandemic disruptions and challenges around finalizing funding. The Globe's Irene Galea writes that the company said on Monday that, after months of negotiations, it had agreed to the loan with a 15-year maturity and an interest rate 4.75 percentage points above the Canadian Overnight Repo Rate Average. That measure, which is meant to track the Bank of Canada's policy interest rate, is about 5 per cent. This means Telesat will pay nearly double the BOC rate for the loan to finance its Lightspeed constellation. The feds will also receive warrants, which entitles Ottawa to buy shares at a certain price over the term of the loan, for 10 per cent of the company's shares based on a $3-billion (U.S.) valuation. The investment provides the remainder of the necessary funding for Lightspeed's first 156 satellites. The company aims to start launching its satellites in the summer of 2026, and to offer broadband Internet service via the constellation by the end of 2027.