Focus: Broadcasting

[Satellite Today 03-19-09] GlobeCast has launched its second MCPC platform on the AsiaSat 3S satellite, GlobeCast announced March 18.     The C-band platform is located at 105.5 degrees East with a footprint covering the Middle East to East Asia, Australia and New Zealand, targeting a potential audience of more than 95 million households.     German...

[Satellite Today 03-17-09] Fujitsu Computer Products of America’s IP-9500 MPEG-4 AVC encoder now features DVB-S and DVB-S2, the company announced March 16.     Fujitsu said that the integration of DVB-S/S2 capabilities into the IP-9500 eliminates the need for separate modulators, enabling broadcasters to maintain HD picture quality produced by the IP-9500 while reducing overall costs...

[Satellite Today 03-17-09] NDS has secured a contract win with Comstar-United TeleSystems (Comstar), a subsidiary of Russian company Sistema, to supply a number of services, including content protection and a next-generation user interface, NDS announced March 16.     Comstar-UTS has more than 147,000 double-play subscribers in Moscow for its Stream-branded pay-TV channels.     Comstar will...

[Satellite Today 03-16-09] Ion Media Networks has signed a multiyear distribution agreement with SES Americom to launch a suite of television networks in HD, Ion announced March 12. Ion HDTV will debut on SES’ AMC-1 satellite with a pair of networks with more set to follow later this year. “Ion has tapped expanded distribution capacity...

[Satellite Today 03-16-09] Unique Broadband Systems (UBS) and Abertis Telecom have deployed a pilot network using digital video broadcasting equipment based on the DVB-SH standard, UBS announced March 12. During a live mobile TV demonstrations of the network earlier this month, UBS-designed terrestrial repeaters were deployed on top of Abertis Telecom towers and relayed satellite...

[Satellite Today 03-16-09] Thales Alenia Space won a contract to build Eutelsat’s W3C satellite, Eutelsat said March 12. W3C satellite will be based on the Spacebus 4000 platform and be equipped with 56 transponders. The satellite is scheduled for launch in the third quarter of 2011 and is intended to provide Ku-band coverage of Europe...

[Satellite Today 03-16-09] SES Astra has increased the number of digital television-equipped homes reached by the Astra satellite system in Germany by 13.9 percent, SES Astra announced March 12. The company now boasts a total customer base of 11.1 million digital TV households, according to the results of the Astra’s latest Satellite Monitor, an internally...

Measat Satellite Systems received confirmation from Intelsat that the Measat-3a satellite has been scheduled for launch in June.     The launch of the satellite on a land launch Zenit-3SLB vehicle, contracted with Intelsat, had been postponed from August due to an incident during pre-launch operations at the launch site.     Measat-3a, manufactured by Orbital Sciences,...

ViaSat has appointed Satcom Direct as a value-added reseller and customer support liaison for its new Yonder mobile broadband service, ViaSat announced Mar. 5.     The deal provides coverage over North America, the North Pacific, the Caribbean, the North Atlantic, Europe and the Persian Gulf. ViaSat said it is cooperating with maritime broadband service-provider, KVH...

Thuraya has launched a satellite-based Public Calling Office (PCO) service in Zambia and Cameroon, the company announced March 10.     Thuraya’s PCO is a telephone unit providing voice, data and fax communication for communities based in remote and rural areas that have no access to terrestrial networks. It enables users to call and send text...