Focus: Telecom

The Measat-3 satellite was placed into orbit Dec. 12 by a Proton launch vehicle, marking the final 2006 mission for International Launch Services (ILS), the launch provider announced. The satellite built for Measat Satellite Systems by Boeing Satellite Systems International Inc. will provide C-band coverage over more than 100 countries as well as direct-to- home-quality...

Telenor Satellite Broadcasting announced details Dec. 12 of a request for proposal (RFP) for a new satellite to replace Thor 3. The new satellite, scheduled to be launched in 2009, will be positioned at 1� West to cover the Nordic and Central European markets with direct-to-home capacity. Thor 3, launched in 1998, is scheduled to...

Academic researchers can now scan the United States and Canada via a newly available, high-resolution satellite image catalog developed under a deal between the University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB) and Terra Image USA, the company announced. The catalog contains imagery collected by French Spot satellites dating back to 1986. The collaboration between UCSB...

Mobile Satellite Ventures (MSV) announced Dec. 11 that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office awarded MSV its 16th patent relating to ancillary terrestrial component (ATC) technology. The latest patent identifies systems and methods for prioritizing frequencies based upon the geographic distance between ATC coverage area and the satellite spot beam using those frequencies.

Arianespace performed the fifth and final Ariane 5 mission of 2006, placing the WildBlue-1 and AMC-18 spacecraft into orbit Dec. 8, Arianespace announced. WildBlue-1, manufactured by Space Systems/Loral, will triple the capacity available to Colorado-based WildBlue Communications to provide its satellite broadband service. WildBlue currently offers service using leased capacity aboard Telesat Canada’s Anik F2...

Boeing Co. has been awarded a contract to launch a pair of commercial satellites in 2007 for the Italian Space Agency, Boeing announced Dec. 11. Under the contract from Alcatel Alenia Space Italia, the prime contractor for the Italian Space Agency, two Delta 2 launch vehicles will each carry a Cosmo-SkyMed spacecraft from Vandenberg Air...

Shin Satellite Public Co., operator of the IPStar satellite system, has partnered with RaySat Antenna System LLC, a provider of satellite antenna technology for two-way mobile applications, to offer a mobile broadband system for vehicles using IPStar’s Thaicom-4 satellite. The iMove service uses a RaySat antenna on the vehicle to track Thaicom-4, providing passengers with...

Intelsat announced Dec. 11 that it has renewed and expanded its agreement with the National Basketball Association (NBA) for international distribution of the league’s games. The NBA’s distribution network will include full-time and upgraded Intelsat capacity throughout Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America. NBA games and NBA TV, the league’s 24-hour TV network,...

The mobile unit of RTL Interactive has signed a contract to use SES Astra’s Blucom service, which allows broadcasters to provide interactive services, SES Astra announced Dec. 11. The Blucom signal is sent to satellite-TV users and their mobile phones via digital set-top boxes and with the support of Bluetooth technology. The return channel operates...

Archetype Corp. of Birmingham, Ala., has appointed Alva Wright as director of West Coast sales, the company announced Dec. 11. Wright will manage operations at Archetype’s satellite offices in San Diego, Calif. Archetype provides GSM-based, Web-enabled GPS tracking solutions for applications such as homeland security, logistics, enterprise resource planning and supply chain management. Wright will...