Focus: Telecom

[Satellite News 10-15-08] The discussion between financial analysts and satellite executives at the ISIS Satellite Investment Symposium was dominated by talk of the recent financial crisis on Wall Street.     Craig Moffett, managing director of Sanford Bernstein, urged his panel of mobile satellite service executives and members of the audience to readjust their business model....

[Satellite Today 10-14-08] ViaSat Inc. has been awarded a $1.5 million order to manufacture KG-200 and KG-201 In-Line Media Encryptors (IME) for the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA), ViaSat announced Oct. 13. The NSA-certified units will secure data up to the top secret level, transparently encrypting and decrypting data written to and read from computer...

[Satellite News 10-14-08] The rebuilding of Iraq’s communications infrastructure topped the agenda at Iraq Telecoms 2008, and satellite is one of six main areas the Iraqi government is focusing on as it looks to rebuild the system.     Fixed line and mobile telephony penetration rates are still low, and with a lack of a comprehensive...

[Satellite Today 10-14-08] Intelsat signed a multi-year contract with Mobil Satellite Technologies and a multi-year extension with Vista Satellite Communications Inc., Intelsat announced Oct. 14.     Mobil Satellite Technologies, a network operator and communications provider, will use the capacity on the Galaxy 26 and Horizons 2  to expand its services offering throughout the United States,...

[Satellite Today 10-14-08] Avanti Communications signed a contract to provide broadband services to Prime Satellite Broadband (PSB), a provider of satellite broadband services in Western Europe, Avanti announced Oct. 14.     Under the contract for a Virtual Network Operator service, Avanti will provide a fully managed service. PSB manages its own sales, installation, customer service...

[Satellite Today 10-14-08] Thaicom’s plans in the Australian broadband market have been boosted by the news that a number of IPStar partners have been selected to be part of the Australian Broadband Guarantee (ABG) subsidy program, Thaicom said Oct. 14.     The program managed by the Department of Broadband Communications and the Digital Economy grants...

[Satellite Today 10-13-08] Avanti Communications signed a contract with Remote Data Services (RDS) to provide broadband services in U.K. and abroad, Avanti announced Oct. 13.     The initial contract is valued at 250,000 British pounds ($435,000) and includes a fixed, three-year commitment to dedicate bandwidth on Avanti’s broadband satellite, Hylas, plus associated hardware and services....

[Satellite Today 10-13-08] Orbital Sciences Corp. has completed final testing on the SES New Skies NSS-9 commercial communications satellite, the company announced Oct. 13.      Orbital said its engineering team completed all pre-shipment procedures for the NSS-9 satellite, which will be stored at the company’s Dulles, Va. facilities until the company is notified of the...

[Satellite News 10-10-08] TerreStar is leveraging its research, chipset development efforts, base stations and financing from its U.S. subsidiary into European programs as part of a push to create a pan-European integrated satellite and complementary ground component network.     Ben Gore, a director at TerreStar Europe, told Satellite News that the current wireless environment in...

[Satellite Today 10-10-08] Frank McKenna, president of International Launch Services (ILS), said the key focus for the company over the next year will be implementing a quality initiative launched in April.     “This broad-based plan with 46 initiatives is being implemented in phases, and Khrunichev has taken initial steps that allowed us to return to...