Focus: Telecom

With a budget surplus and roaring economic growth, Brazil has set it sights on some significant new satellite and space initiative. The South American giant has recorded some moderate success throughout its space history, but the country’s latest efforts, spread across several fronts, are intended to put Brazil on a more equal footing with the...

2006 saw the culmination of the Fixed Satellite Service (FSS) consolidation process begun in 2004, and also brought ferment in the Mobile Satellite Service (MSS) sector with Inmarsat’s and Globalstar’s initial public offerings and plans for ancillary terrestrial component (ATC) service and fleet replacement by Mobile Satellite Ventures, Globalstar, Iridium and ICO. The year also...

The European Space Agency (ESA) has awarded a contract for the development of next-generation DVB-S2 satellite multicasting products to the International Datacasting Corp. (IDC) as part of ESA’s "Telecom Start-up Project Initiative," where ESA plays an investment role by supporting the development of new satellite systems and technologies in preparation for future services. The objective...

A new report, "Deutschland Online 4," from Deutsche Telekom (DT) and German media professors warns that Germany "runs the risk of losing touch with the U.S. and Asian rivals when it comes to innovative developments based on the broadband society." Presented Nov. 29 in Berlin, the report forecasts the number of broadband connections in Germany...

While the 1957 launch of Sputnik 1 inspired fear and trepidation in the West about satellites, the 1962 launch of AT&T’s Telstar 1 inspired boundless optimism about the potential for the Space Age to improve the daily life of the average American and to connect the entire globe. The commercial satellite industry did indeed change the world,...

The Global VSAT Forum (GVF) and iDirect Technologies have entered into an agreement to produce Web-based training courses for iDirect’s VSAT terminal installations, the organizations announced Nov. 29. The courses, available at http://www.gvf.org, will be prepared and hosted by Satprof Inc. of Dallas.

Futron Corp. on Nov. 30 announced its appointment of Peggy Slye as director of its space and telecommunications division. Slye will lead the division providing market forecasts and analyses, technology assessments, launch and satellite databases, and its FCC filings subscription service. Slye arrives from Intelsat, where she served as senior director of integration, focusing on...

Big satellites are the workhorses of the satellite industry, but smaller spacecraft are performing more and more missions as a growing number of customers are finding that small satellites are rugged, affordable and can perform many jobs. According to Luca Maresi, a systems engineer at European Space Agency’s (ESA) European Space Research and Technology Center,...

Emcore Corp. received a multi-year order for solar cells from an unnamed satellite manufacturer, Emcore announced Nov. 28. Under the three-year, $41 million extension to an existing purchase order, Emcore’s Photovoltaics Division will supply solar cells for about 10 satellites. Production is expected to begin in the 2007 first quarter.

Andrew Corp., a global provider in communications equipment and systems, expanded its milsatcom offerings Nov. 28 with introduction of a new 2.4-meter transportable antenna to serve military and large commercial customers. The lightweight 2.4-meter Rugged Quick Deploy Transportable Antenna offers high radio frequency performance, efficient gear-driven pedestal mount for high accuracy, and quad- band operation....