Focus: Telecom

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...

By Jason Bates When the first commercial imagery satellites were proposed, owners and investors had visions of billions of commercial dollars dancing through their heads. But the commercial market forecasts for the industry were proven to be wildly exaggerated, and the satellite operators struggled for years. Today, the industry has righted itself, thanks to help...

Intelsat Ltd. lost $325.3 million in 2005, compared to $38.7 million in 2004, due to higher operating expenses, Intelsat reported April 18. The satellite operator reported revenue growth of 12 percent to $1.2 billion in 2005. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) increased $79.7 million to $655.9 million, or 56 percent of revenue,...

Intelsat has high hopes for its new satellite-based, open-architecture content delivery and management service, which the company unveiled April 12. Intelsat is targeting telcos who wish to enter the Internet Protocol (IP) TV market and cable operators in the United States who wish to improve their video offerings to customers with the service, dubbed Ampiage....

The launch of Digitalglobe’s next-generation Worldview 1 commercial imagery satellite has slipped by an estimated six months to mid 2007 but is not expected to create a gap in coverage, according to company and U.S. government representatives. Digitalglobe, which already operates the Quickbird imagery satellite, is building Worldview with Ball Aerospace and ITT Industries for...

High-definition (HD) TV has more than proven itself technologically, and according to industry analyst reports, HDTV will be in 52 million households by 2009, up from the current 4 million households. Northern Sky Research estimates that 500 channels will be broadcast in HD by 2010. One of the few things hampering HDTV growth at the...

Thales‘plan to acquire Alcatel‘s 67 percent stake in satellite manufacturer Alcatel Alenia Space undoubtedly is one of the most significant deals of the year in the European satellite arena. One analyst however believes that Alcatel, which will receive more than $2.1 billion in cash and Thales stock, is the winner in this particular deal. Karim...

LEO or GEO? That’s the question being pondered by Globalstar, as its first-generation fleet of 40 low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites ages. With the fleet designed to last into 2010, "we believe that now is the time to get moving on its replacement," Megan Fitzgerald, Globalstar’s senior vice president, Strategic Initiatives & Space Operations, said. In...

Thales agreed to acquire Alcatel‘s 67 percent stake in satellite manufacturer Alcatel Alenia Space, the companies announced April 5. Thales will issue 26.7 million shares of stock to Alcatel and will pay 673 million euros ($819.9 million) in cash at the close of the deal, bringing the total value of the deal to more than...

Turksat CEO Osman Dur believes satellite communications will play a vital role on the Turkish communications landscape, and the government-owned operator is involved in many projects to bring higher quality of services to the citizens of Turkey. Turksat, which recently ordered its new Turksat 3A satellite, "has acquired many e-government projects assigned by the Turkish...