Focus: Telecom

With the recent consolidation of some of the largest players in the Fixed Satellite Services sector, spectrum allocation shifts favoring terrestrial buildouts in the mobile services arena; and with the ever-growing importance of hardware and launch insurance, companies such as ManSat LLC are playing an increasingly pivotal role in shaping the global satellite communications landscape....

The launch of Satmex 6 on an Ariane 5 ECA May 27 was the best news Satelites Mexicanos S.A. de C.V. (Satmex) and the Latin American region has received for some time. But in the near term, the Latin American market will face more challenges before it becomes robust enough for sustained growth. Analysts at...

High-definition (HD) TV remains one of the hottest talking points among European digital television markets. HD developments in Europe have trailed that the United States and Asia, but with consumer interest piqued by the World Cup this month, HD content providers and distributors must focus their efforts on capitalizing on the momentum generated by the...

By Nick Mitsis The year 2005 was a robust year for services and hardware within the global satellite communications industry, with even stronger activity forecasted for the next few years. Once again, Via Satellite took a closer look at the industry developments that shaped business endeavors in 2005. Based on our database that tracks geostationary...

U.S. military and commercial satellites, long considered out of harm’s way, are vulnerable to multiple types of attack, an assault a determined enemy someday will attempt, according to military, government, industry and think tank experts testifying before the House Armed Services Committee strategic forces subcommittee June 21. "It would be imprudent for us to not...

Echostar Communications Corp. and DirecTV Inc. will market satellite broadband Internet service offered by Wildblue Communications Inc., the companies announced June 9. As part of the agreements, Wildblue will be the only satellite-based Internet solution the two U.S.-based satellite-TV providers can offer their customers for the next five years. The deals, combined with a similar...

Less than a year ago, the final report of NASA‘s sweeping Exploration Systems Architecture study squashed the idea of using technology developed under the U.S. Air Force’s Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program on the agency’s moon/Mars Cargo Launch Vehicle. "No RS-68-powered variant of an EELV-derived heavy-lift cargo vehicle demonstrated the capability to meet the...

ETL.PA Eutelsat‘s announcement that it signed a facilities agreement for a 1.9 billion euro ($2.4 billion) loan is "positive news," Sarah Simon, a media equity analyst at Morgan Stanley, said in a research note. Simon believes the Fixed Satellite Services (FSS) sector remains attractive to investors and Eutelsat is Morgan Stanley’s "preferred pick" in the...

Cisco has unveiled a module that allows Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd.‘s to provide customers satellites services via Cisco routers, the companies announced June 12. Gilat hopes the deal will introduce VSAT services to a wider audience. The technology combination enables enterprises to deploy a VSAT satellite wireless networking solution that can be used for primary...

Russia’s satellite sector is promising, but not when it comes to manufacturing telecom satellites. Teal said in its recent report on the geostationary satellite market that as many as 176 new satellites will be launched in the next decade at a cost of $28.3 billion. But Russia’s sole manufacturer, NPO-PM: The Applied Mechanics Research and...