Laser Light Launches the Next Frontier, a Satellite Network Local Companies Can Participate In

The next chapter in Laser Light’s expansion officially opened this week in Paris, and it’s a moment that could reshape how Puerto Rico figures into the company’s trajectory, including having local companies participate as suppliers for global aerospace and defense innovation, as anticipated by Caribbean Business.

Earlier today at the World Space Business Week in Paris, Laser Light Holdings announced the formal Request for Information (RFI) process for its planned High Articulation Laser Optics (HALO) satellite constellation.

The announcement came weeks after the company secured $75 million in investment backing, a commitment that both validates the business model and launches the actual work of building the system.

HALO is designed as a medium-earth-orbit (MEO) satellite constellation that will form the space component of Laser Light’s integrated optical network spanning terrestrial, subsea, and space infrastructure.

The constellation is positioned as fundamental to what the company calls the AI economy, a high-speed, on-demand global network architected to move data faster, more securely and more efficiently than traditional telecommunications can deliver.

The Puerto Rico Opportunity

The RFI doesn’t simply solicit a single prime contractor to build all 12 satellites. The company is creating a dual-path procurement structure, one for prospective prime contractors and another for subsystem, component and service suppliers.

“There are several companies with Puerto Rico operations that I would actively approach,” said Gail Nolan, CEO of Laser Light Caribe, the Puerto Rico subsidiary of Laser Light Holdings.

Nolan, who also presides over the Puerto Rico Aerospace Council, expects Puerto Rico entities to bid for roles in what is already shaping up as a complex, multi-billion-dollar program. The HALO constellation alone represents 12 satellites in MEO. The full ecosystem—ground networks, subsea infrastructure, compute and storage assets—extends the opportunity considerably further.

For Puerto Rico companies, the procurement strategy Laser Light has outlined includes categories in which the island is highly competitive, including optical satellite system payloads, spacecraft bus components, optical terminals, sky-sensing technology, ground network infrastructure, satellite operations centers, network operations centers, and integration services for the StarBeam orchestration software that will manage the entire ecosystem.

“That makes the Puerto Rico opportunity considerably broader than it first appears,” Nolan added. “HALO is a global procurement, but Laser Light wants qualified Puerto Rico companies represented in the supplier pool presented to the competing primes.”

Laser Light is asking expressions of interest by October 2, 2026. Non-disclosure agreements must be completed by October 9. The full RFI details will be released by October 12, with detailed responses due by November 2. If a prime contractor is selected and all benchmarks are met, HALO satellites are expected to become operational within 30 to 36 months of an order.

“The message I’m sending to Puerto Rico companies is straightforward. This is open, it’s real, and the timeline is tight.”

Gail Nolan, CEO, Laser Light Caribe

Integrated network of space assets

For Puerto Rico’s aerospace sector, which has grown considerably over the past five years but still relies heavily on a handful of major contractors and subcontractors, the HALO RFI represents something different: a chance to participate in a company whose entire architecture is being built from the ground up and whose leadership in Puerto Rico is actively seeking local participation.

In its $75 million capital raise announcement earlier this summer, Laser Light emphasized the strategic value of its Puerto Rico footprint, not just as an operating base but as a proof of concept for how the company could build and expand telecommunications infrastructure in markets beyond the continental United States.

Puerto Rico’s regulatory environment, its proximity to the Caribbean and South American markets, and its existing ecosystem of aerospace and technology talent have all figured into that calculus.

When Laser Light announced the capital raise, it was forward-looking. Now, with the HALO RFI formally open, the company is putting money and opportunity on the table. The question for Puerto Rico companies is whether they’re ready to answer.

Chairman and CEO Robert “Bob” Brumley framed the RFI as a milestone in itself. “This RFI marks the final stage in bringing Laser Light’s validated architecture to market,” he said. “With key patents approved, our ground, subsea, compute, and storage assets under contract and expanding, and StarBeam orchestration software in development, we are positioned to deliver an industry-first, multi-domain global data ecosystem, built to meet the communications demands of the AI era at the global, regional, and edge levels.”

That ecosystem is what distinguishes HALO from other satellite constellation projects. Rather than building satellites in isolation, Laser Light is designing an integrated network where space assets communicate with terrestrial fiber networks, subsea cables, and optical ground nodes.

The company’s proprietary StarBeam network orchestration system sits at the center, managing data routing and distribution across all domains—space, ground, and subsea—to create what amounts to a global utility for data movement.

If Puerto Rico companies can position themselves as suppliers in that ecosystem, they’re not simply winning a satellite contract, but also gaining entry into a long-term partnership with a company whose ambitions extend far beyond the initial constellation, explained Nolan.

The aerospace sector in Puerto Rico has grown substantially since 2020, driven partly by government incentives, partly by proximity and regulatory advantages, and partly by the work of organizations like the Puerto Rico Aerospace Council in building professional networks and signaling stability for long-term investment.

“The message I’m sending to Puerto Rico companies is straightforward. This is open, it’s real, and the timeline is tight,” Nolan said. “If you have capability in optical systems, spacecraft components, ground infrastructure or any of the services this project requires, you need to act now.”

For companies that do pursue the opportunity, the stakes are as high as the opportunity. A role in HALO could establish Puerto Rico as a credible supplier hub for advanced optical and aerospace technologies at precisely the moment when global demand for satellite-based data infrastructure is accelerating.