Ciel is a Canadian owned and controlled organization that is supported by a strong combination of partners, including: BPC Telecommunications Corp, a company controlled by Borealis Infrastructure which is part of the OMERS Pension Plan's group of companies; Canadian satellite pioneer Brian Neill; and SES AMERICOM, an SES S.A. Company (Luxembourg and Paris Stock Exchanges: SESG).

In March of 2006, Ciel commissioned Thales Alenia Space to build Ciel-2, a Spacebus 4000 C4, the largest Spacebus class satellite ever built. The Ciel-2 satellite is scheduled to launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on a Khrunichev manufacturedProton Breeze M launch vehicle On December 10th at 19:43 hours, Baikonur local time (13:43 GMT, 08:43 EST). The satellite is designed to operate for at least 16 years. The satellite's payload will be Ku-band (BSS) with coverage for Canada and CONUS. The payload will offer 32 transponders (100 to 200-watt TWTA). The orbital slot will be 129° W. The launch services are being provided by International Launch Services, Reston, VA.