Government/Military

By James Careless There is a new word in the TV lexicon: ‘centralcasting’. It is the cost-saving strategy of producing a whole range of TV channels in a central facility, then distributing them to their respective markets by satellite. Functionally, centralcasting is a form of networking. It is built upon the same one-to-many distribution structure...

by Nick Mitsis As the global commercial satellite industry enters the final months of 2004, business executives are examining which of the undertaken ventures worked and what strategic objectives they will need to execute in the coming years in order to increase revenues and improve their respective company’s bottom line. It is no secret that...

by Gerry Oberst Europe took a number of important steps in mid-summer this year toward turning its proposed Galileo satellite radionavigation system into a reality. In late June, the European Union (EU) and the United States reached an agreement on the use of Galileo alongside the existing U.S. Global Positioning System. Then in mid-July, the...

By Peter J. Brown Hats off to India for taking a very ambitious step forward in the early 21st century with its decision to launch Edusat, which, at least at press time, is scheduled to fly in the second half of this month. It is indeed uplifting to see a country that not only sees...

By Owen D. Kurtin With its changing landscape, The enlargement of the European Union (EU) will have direct implications on future space business conducted both regionally within Europe as well as globally within the commercial and military satellite sectors. On May 1, 2004, the EU grew from 15 to 25 member states. This joining in...

By Peter J. Brown The U.S. Defense Department (DoD) is constantly looking for the best ways to use cutting-edge satellite technology, while at the same time using increasing amounts of commercial satellite bandwidth. There is a high priority placed on any space-related activity when it comes to national security. The search is on for high-capacity...

By Peter J. Brown Satellite technology plays a pivotal role in homeland security today and will play an even greater role tomorrow. Many satellite companies are trying to establish new ties with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), or trying to expand ongoing relationships with existing clients in the form of one or more...

The English language is full of clich�s. One of these is, "it’s an ill wind that doesn’t blow somebody some good." Apparently conceived in the days of sailing ships, this truism simply means that one person’s misfortune is another person’s opportunity. But the growing global demand for reliable communications, especially by agencies and governments charged...

by Christopher Mecray In recent years, the U.S. military has increasingly relied on commercial capacity to carry broadband signals in support of global operations. For providers swimming in excess capacity, this somewhat nontraditional market has been a welcome sponge of transponder space. Lately, however, we have heard more concerns about the sustainability of this market,...

By Susan Trott Remember when business television (BTV) was only synonymous with talking head CEOs relaying corporate information to their staff? Well, times have changed. Although the one-way broadcasts associated with such executive talks still occur, BTV’s trend is moving toward two-way interactive, multimedia broadcasts that look more like well-produced TV programs. Moreover, BTV is...