Focus: Telecom

Worldspace Inc. reported revenues of $3.5 million in the first quarter of 2006, up 35 percent from revenues of $2.6 million in the 2005 first quarter due to increased subscriber numbers, the company announced May 9. Subscription revenue doubled to $1.6 million for the first quarter of 2006, compared with $800,000 for the first quarter...

It has been a busy week for U.K. satellite pay-TV operator, BSkyB. Along with being involved in a frenetic auction for English Premier League soccer rights, the operator announced details of an intriguing trial with U.S. wireless technology vendor Qualcomm to test mobile content delivery technology. The two companies will conduct technical trials of Qualcomm’s...

DISH Echostar Communications Corp.‘s first quarter profit was nearly cut in half, hampered in part by a charge related to a lawsuit from Tivo Inc. over digital video recorder technology, Echostar announced May 11. Echostar, which operates the Dish Network, reported net income of $147 million for the quarter ended March 31, down from a...

Ka-band, long struggling to attract a market, looks to be attracting new customers thanks to a growing menu of services. Applications enterprise and government high-speed data services to consumer two-way broadband and high-definition TV (HDTV) are being provided via an increasing number of Ka-band payloads, with operators in Japan and North America leading the way....

Eutelsat‘s results have been met with favourable results by analysts who believe the company has performed strongly in recent periods. The operator reported revenues of 590 million euros ($745.2 million) in the nine-month period which ended March 31, an increase of 5 percent compared to revenues of about 562 million euros ($709.9 million) in the...

High-end, expensive satellite news gathering (SNG) trucks are facing stiff low-cost competition these days, as satellite service providers and equipment manufacturers market faster, better, and cheaper solutions. In doing so, these cut-rate competitors are opening up the SNG market to smaller stations, and attracting news users from the military and emergency services communities. A case...

Satellite pay-TV operators throughout Europe are facing more competition in the digital TV space. As well as competing against revitalized cable operators who are beginning to offer services such as video on demand, the competition from Internet Protocol (IP) TV also is increasing. While the cable threat has existed for years, the emergence of telcos...

XMSR The stock of XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. took a small stumble after the company posted a wider first quarter loss and reveled that the U.S. government is investigating XM’s billing and marketing practices. XM added 569,000 net new subscribers in the first quarter of 2006, bringing the company’s total subscriber base to 6.5...

With the expiration of its two-year no-compete deal with Intelsat, Loral Skynet once again can offer Fixed Satellite Services (FSS) to customers in North America via its Telstar 12 and Telstar 14/Estrela do Sul satellites, as well as third-party capacity that Loral can access. For Loral Skynet, which completed the sale of its six North...

By Peter J. Brown Robust, appealing and affordable Ka-band solutions are attracting new customers thanks to a growing menu of services. Applications ranging from enterprise and government high- speed data services to consumer two-way broadband and high-definition TV (HDTV) are being provided via an increasing number of Ka-band payloads, with operators in Japan and North...