Focus: Telecom

The European Space Agency’s (ESA) next miniature satellite will be its first able to change orbit, the agency announced. Thanks to a compact thruster resembling a butane cigarette lighter, the cereal box-sized satellite will fly around its near-twin to test their radio communications. Ready to be launched with its counterpart from China on Feb. 2,...

Honeywell and Karamba Security announced the two companies are collaborating to showcase an end-to-end automotive cybersecurity solution for monitoring and securing vehicle communications and reducing exposure to cyber threats resulting from increasing vehicle connectivity. Honeywell Transportation Systems (TS) and Karamba Security are focused on pairing TS intrusion detection technology software and security operations centers with...

The United Nations specialized agency for information and communication technologies, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), has now adopted the main technical principals of enhanced aircraft Automatic Dependent Surveillance (ABS) via satellite to track in-flight aircraft worldwide. At any given time, there are approximately 59,000 aircraft in flight worldwide. The ability to effectively track, monitor and...

Ericsson will continue to be responsible for NBN fixed wireless network operations, ground systems operations for Sky Muster — the operator’s satellite service — as well as customer connections and assurance for both technologies. NBN’s fixed wireless and Sky Muster services cover more than 980,000 homes in regional and remote Australia with more than 290,000...

Timor Telecom (TT) has expanded its partnership with SES Networks to enable international voice traffic between Timor-Leste and the rest of the world, SES announced. Under the new agreement, TT will contract capacity on the NSS 12 Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) satellite to establish a point-to-point link connecting Dili, Timor with Sintra, Portugal. Residents of...

Intelsat has appointed satellite industry executive Samer Halawi as its new Chief Commercial Officer (CCO). Assuming the role effective Jan. 9, 2018, Halawi will lead the company’s global commercial operations, including the broadband, mobility, media, and government businesses, as well as the sales and marketing teams. Intelsat created the new role to accelerate the commercialization...

Airborne Wireless Network (AWN) announced it has entered into a support agreement with GE Aviation, anticipating that the relationship should significantly accelerate the development of its hybrid radio and free-optics communications system to be demonstrated in 2018. Per the agreement, GE will provide tactical-grade Inertial Reference Units (IRUs) with embedded GPS that AWN will use...

MDA, a business unit of Maxar Technologies, announced that it has signed four contracts with the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) with a total value at approximately CA$53.75 million ($41.8 million). Two contract amendments will provide funding for continued support to the robotic operations of the Mobile Servicing System (MSS). According to CSA, the enhancements will...

Like any year in the fast-paced satellite industry, 2017 was brimming with new innovations, earth-shaking business deals, and some competitive drama for good measure. Just in case you missed anything, here’s a wrap-up of our top 10 most read stories of the year. 1. Is This the End of DSTV’s Reign in the Nigerian Pay...

SES is expanding its efforts to support 5G developments as part of the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Advanced Research in Telecommunications Systems (ARTES) project, SATis5, where it will be enabling demonstrations of satellite-terrestrial integration for 5G networks. The testbed infrastructure will comprise SES’ fleet of Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) and Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellites, which...