Focus: Telecom

The competition between satellite pay-TV operators in Poland already is intense and the pay-TV market as a whole is being stoked even more by the growing presence of cable services. Satellite operators Canal+ (Cyfra) Polska and Polsat have about 1.5 million subscribers between them in a country in a population of close to 40 million,...

Intelsat, PA Intelsat Ltd. and Panamsat have planned debt offerings in connection with Intelsat’s planned acquisition of Panamsat Holding Corp., the companies announced. Intelsat will offer $1.9 billion in senior notes due 2013 and 2016, while Panamsat Holding will offer about $725 million of senior notes due 2016 and Panamsat Corp. intends to offer approximately...

Satellite operators have enough Ka-band capacity to meet market demand, but new Ka-band service startups across the globe are faced with a lack of demand when it comes to serving each distinct market. North America remains the main user of Ka-band capacity, analysts said, but According to Patrick French, regional director, Europe and senior analyst...

National, state and local government officials will be crossing their fingers and praying for a calm hurricane season, which started June 1. After all, little has been done to advance the stage of emergency preparedness, so there is not much else they can do at this late date. Even though today, we truly know better...

The next World Radiocommunication Conference will be held by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) from late October to early November 2007. Preparation for WRC-07 already is in full swing, and the European communications satellite sector has staked out its position on frequencies for the next generation of mobile systems. These issues will be discussed at...

With the exception of the frequent Proton launches at Baikonur, Central Asia does not often draw much attention in terms of satellite activities. In Kazakhstan, the countdown should soon begin for the launch of the first Kazakh domestic communications satellite, Kazsat, according to the Federal Space Agency of Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan is one of nine countries...

By Peter J. Brown In the Asian Pacific region, there are new opportunities for direct-to-home (DTH) service providers and other entrepreneurs. High-definition television (HDTV) is coming to the region slowly, and cellular phone backhauling, Internet protocol (IP) broadband and enterprise sector activities are picking up. Add it all up and one can see why the...

By Nick Mitsis Terrestrial networks such as Ancillary Terrestrial Components (ATC) can enhance availability, efficiency and economic viability of Mobile Satellite Services (MSS) by reusing at least some of the frequency bands that are allocated to cellular systems. Without ATC, it may be challenging for MSS operators to reliably serve densely populated areas because the...

By Jason Bates The factors that led some of the largest fixed satellite service operators to abandon satellite insurance providers and rely more on self insurance look to be easing, according to industry officials. Improvements in satellite quality, increases in utilization rates and new satellite technologies may have many operators seeking coverage from providers in...

Has the small satellite wave crested? Despite many predictions of industry trending to smaller, lighter, cheaper, more standardized, off-the-shelf space segment components, both fixed satellite service (FSS) and mobile satellite service (MSS) operators continue to opt for large, at least partially custom-built, geostationary (GEO) space stations at roughly the same rates as in recent history....