Focus: Telecom

Satellite-based services support everything from pay TV and cellular phone services to robust broadband and niche VSAT markets throughout Africa. While the market is growing, Africa remains a continent where even more satellite connectivity is needed urgently. The most important goals for the Regional African Satellite Communications Organization (RASCOM) include obtaining “coverage of the entire...

Internet Protocol (IP)-based virtual private networks (VPNs) have become more popular as companies realize that when it comes to secure and reliable  networking, owning a dedicated network is not the only option. While VSAT solutions are adapting to a world where the emphasis now is on a hybrid approach using satellites and terrestrial solutions, many...

It is, quite simply, a spectacular 18 seconds of video. The explosion that destroyed Sea Launch’s Zenit-3SL rocket and SES New Skies’ NSS-8 satellite, creating a fireball that engulfed the Odyssey Launch platform, are a stark reminder that launching a satellite remains a difficult task. The good news is that Sea Launch personnel were on...

[2/19/07 edition] Iridium Satellite will spend more than $2 billion to build and deploy its second-generation satellite constellation, dubbed Iridium Next, the company announced Feb. 15. Plans call for the 66-satellite system to be rolled out incrementally in order to ensure a smooth transition from the current constellation: In 2007 and 2008, Iridium will focus...

[2/19/07 edition] SES Global has agreed to repurchase 103.1 million shares of SES from GE in a transaction valued at 1.2 billion euros ($1.6 billion), SES announced Feb. 14. In exchange for its stake, GE will receive shares in a new company, SES International Holdings Inc., to include the on-orbit AMC-23 satellite and its related...

Degraded performance from Globalstar’s constellation of satellites led the company to warn its customers that they may lose two-way voice and data service as early as next year. Many of the company’s 40 satellites are suffering from degraded performance in their S-band antennas, and the rate of degradation has accelerated, Globalstar said in a Feb....

Iridium Satellite has appointed eight new value-added partners offering Iridium-based products and services for remote asset management and other machine-to-machine data applications, Iridium announced Feb. 9. Among new resellers are GeoTrac International, Implicit Solutions, IonEarth, Premier GPS and ROM Communications. New developers include BriarTek, CosComm International and SatTrans. "All of these companies are actively involved...

Anaren Inc. will develop and produce the integrated beamforming assemblies for the Globalstar-2 satellite payload, Anaren announced Feb. 7. The contract, awarded by prime contractor Alcatel Alenia Space, is valued at more than $8 million and covers design services and manufacture of up to 48 beamforming networks. Work is to begin immediately, with production deliveries...

The dramatic launch failure of the NSS-8 satellite means business plans will have to be altered throughout the the length and breadth of the satellite industry. SES New Skies has lost a 100-transponder satellite and the challenge for recently appointed CEO Robert Bednarek is to pick up the pieces and make sure the business grows...

The December announcement that Loral Space and Communications and a Canadian public pension fund will purchase Telesat Canada from Bell Canada Enterprises should not have surprised industry observers. In December, we looked at the possibilities for further consolidation across the satellite operator, manufacturer and launch service provider sectors in 2007. One possibility we outlined was...