Focus: Broadcasting

By James Careless From the Americas to the Middle East, satellite services continue to increase profit margins for many doing business within certain regions of the world. Even during the challenging economic times of the past few years, some satellite-enabled applications have proven to be real moneymakers. Topping the list are emergency communications, IP data/broadband,...

By John Quale, Brian Weimer, and John Beahn The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently completed the auction of 192 Multichannel Video Distribution and Data Service (MVDDS) licenses, raising a total of $119 million from 10 winning bidders. Consisting of 500 MHz blocks of unpaired spectrum in the 12.2-12.7 GHz band, the MVDDS licenses reuse spectrum...

by Peter J. Brown In a perfect world, all television viewers would be reclining in front of a big screen High Definition Television (HDTV), wearing heads up displays–a device like a pair of glasses that allows the user to watch a program while also viewing real-time information–accessing multiple fully enabled, always-on interactive television streams seamlessly...

Interactive TV (ITV) is just one of many attractive entertainment options for content providers and Direct-to-Home (DTH) and Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS) operators alike. Satellite-based ITV opportunities include rich interactive programming guides (IPG), home shopping opportunities, interactive games, advertising, reality TV voting and remote betting, which in the United Kingdom and elsewhere is often referred...

There is a quiet revolution taking place in the global satellite services industry. This revolution has winners all around, and virtually no losers. This revolution is a move toward hybrid networks. Simply put, a hybrid network combines both space and terrestrial connections to deliver customer signals efficiently and economically. Broadcasting and content service providers are...

Peter J. Brown With its ability to instantly deliver Internet Protocol (IP)-based video, voice and data anywhere in the world, the satellite industry is simply giving the public and private sectors more options. A few vertical industries where satellite technology offers solutions include health care, energy, public safety, transportation and Homeland Security, each of which...

Satellite Puts Canada’s Native Communities on Television by James Careless It was not so long ago that Canada’s native peoples weren’t often seen on domestic television. At best, Hollywood stereotypes such as the Lone Ranger’s "Tonto" might turn up on air. But as for Canada’s real breadth of native peoples: the Dene, Inuit and Metis,...

By John Quale and Brian Weimer On October 15th, Rainbow DBS, the satellite division of Cablevision Systems Corp., unveiled its new direct broadcast satellite (DBS) service called "Voom." Voom will compete with rival DBS providers DirecTV and Echostar’s Dish Network–as well as cable operators–in the increasingly competitive multichannel video programming distribution (MVPD) market. Voom’s draw...

The year 2003 has left the North American satellite industry with a bit of uncertainty as the Fixed Satellite Service (FSS) arena adjusts to a swirl of activity surrounding Loral Space and Communications Corp., which filed for bankruptcy this summer and promptly drew competing offers for company assets from Intelsat Ltd. and Echostar Communications Corp....

By Nick Mitsis When one thinks of satellite communications and the Middle East, 24-hour-a-day combat operations executed in part through the use of space-based technology materialize in one’s mind. Even though the recent political unrest plaguing this part of the world has proven to be advantageous for satellite service providers fighting their own corporate financial...