Focus: Telecom

[Satellite Today 09-26-08] Iridium will introduce GoChat, a prepaid crew-calling plan with global service and OpenPort, an enhanced-bandwidth marine satellite communication service scheduled to be commercially available in October, the company announced Sept. 25. GoChat eliminates off-peak value pricing in favor of an, around-the-clock standard per-minute rate using larger denomination prepaid cards with progressive discounts....

[Satellite Today 09-26-08] Eutelsat Communications signed a deal to boost its satellite broadband prospects in France, as Numéo S.A will distribute Eutelsat’s Tooway satellite broadband service in rural areas of the country, Eutelsat announced Sept. 25.     Numéo, a provider of Internet services for rural areas, has been marketing wireless broadband access solutions for underserved...

[Satellite Today 09-26-08] Proactive Communications Inc. (PCI) has launched its PCI Network Configurator, an estimating tool to help companies understand basic system requirements for satellite communications networks, the company announced Sept. 25.     The tool involves an interactive online form that converts basic input variables and generates customized VSAT requirements based on geography, number of...

[Satellite Today 09-25-08] Mobile Satellite Ventures (MSV) is cooperating with the Fairfax (Va.) County Office of Emergency Management and the Fairfax (Va.) County Department of Public Safety Communications to create and manage the South East Satellite Mutual Aid Radio Talkgroup (SE-SMART) operating on the MSV satellite communications network, the company announced Sept. 25.     The...

[Satellite Today 09-25-08] DigitalGlobe has extended its service agreement with Google to provide high-resolution satellite imagery for Google Maps and Google Earth, DigitalGlobe announced Sept. 25.      Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed, but the expansion adds a multi-year, non-exclusive content agreement to DigitalGlobe’s imagery commitments to Google, which date back to 2002....

[Satellite Today 09-25-08] ViaSat Inc. and Hughes Network Systems have received Inmarsat case approval for their Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN) terminals, the companies announced.     The approval for ViaSat’sVRT-100 allow it to be used throughout the Inmarsat BGAN network, complimenting the recently-approved ViaSat AN/PSC-14. The ViaSat AN/PSC-14 integrates BGAN with HAIPE IS Type 1...

[Satellite News 09-25-08] With demands for broadband services increasing in many regions around the globe, VSAT players see opportunities in markets such as Pakistan, Brazil and Africa, according to attendees at the Comsys VSAT 2008 show in London Sept. 24.     Heinrich Nothnagel, general manager, MWEB/Afsat, Africa, a communications solutions provider, said while other technologies...

[Satellite Today 09-25-08] VSAT players are excited about their prospect in markets such as Pakistan, Brazil and many markets in Africa, but lack of satellite capacity is constraining growth in many markets, according to executives that attended the Comsys VSAT 2008 show in London,     “We need to find suitable capacity,” Heinrich Nothnagel, general manager...

[Satellite Today 09-24-08] Vizada unveiled new additions to its Solutions portfolio, which aim to optimize the basic broadband and IP-based connectivity services of mobile satellite network operators, Vizada announced Sept. 24.     These additions, which will work on services such as Inmarsat Fleet and FleetBroadband and the planned Iridium OpenPort, include the SkyFile anti-virus software...

[Satellite Today 09-24-08] Special guest Roger Rusch, president of TelAstra comments on the acquisition of Iridium on Satellite Today’s blog:     “There is no question that Iridium has done an outstanding job of building a respectable business out of depleted assets, but as I listened in on the Greenhill & Co. and Iridium conference call...