Focus: Telecom

The three-way deal announced by T-Mobile, Sprint, and Dish on Friday was a catalyst moment that will completely change the wireless landscape, according to T-Mobile CEO John Legere. “With its acquisition of Boost Mobile, and the mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) agreement we put in place… Dish has a real significant opportunity to be a...

What does it mean when people say that the satellite industry is becoming more “software-defined?” Does it mean that physical infrastructure is being replaced with more flexible, adaptive software? Does it mean that the satellite industry is becoming a lot more like the software industry? Or both?  In this episode of On Orbit, we interview Kratos...

One of the largest telcos in the United Kingdom, O2, has partnered with Spanish satellite operator Hispasat, the Universities of Oxford and Glasgow, the European Space Agency (ESA), and a consortium of startup companies for a major project to test satellite and 5G technologies to support connected and autonomous vehicles. The four-year trail program will...

Russia successfully launched the Proton M/Breeze M integrated launch vehicle from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on May 30 at 8:42 p.m. (Moscow time), and injected the Yamal-601 telecommunication satellite into orbit. The Yamal-601 project is part of the Targeted Federal Program for the Development of Television and Radio Broadcasting in the Russian Federation. According to the...

David Tolley will join Intelsat as its new Executive Vice President and CFO, effective June 3. He most recently served as the CFO of OneWeb and served on the operator’s executive committee. Prior to OneWeb, Tolley served as a Senior Managing Director in the Private Equity Group at Blackstone, where he led satellite services strategy...

African Communications Satellite Company NigComSat has officially rolled out a new Direct-to-Home (DTH) satellite TV platform in Nigeria called NextTV, which will be operated as a joint-venture with Nigus International and China Great Wall Industry Corporation (CGWIC). The satellite TV service will carry 140 channels provided by a consortium of unnamed media companies. Nigus will be...

Telebras, a Brazilian state-controlled public telecommunications company, and Viasat revealed the final approval of their contract by The Tribunal de Contas da União (TCU), also known as the Brazilian Federal Court of Accounts. Today’s TCU ruling gives Viasat and Telebras the ability to quickly provide internet service across all of Brazil. In October 2018, the...

SoftBank is developing an aircraft that delivers telecommunications connectivity from the stratosphere. The company launched a High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS) business through HAPSMobile, a joint venture between SoftBank and U.S.-based company AeroVironment. With the aim of constructing a HAPS system that delivers telecommunications network connectivity from the sky for a global business, HAPSMobile developed “HAWK30,”...