Focus: Telecom

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...

Hughes Network Systems LLC introduced last week its new HughesNet brand, replacing Direcway. The new brand unifies the company’s range of broadband solutions and services, going beyond Direcway’s traditional "broadband by satellite" offering, for its enterprise, government, small business and consumer segments. In essence, HughesNet was created as the new brand for Hughes broadband-related products...

Digiturk plans to launch a high capacity personal video recorder (PVR) in Turkey in 2007 as the direct-to-home operator bids to bring leading edge technologies to the Turkish digital television market. "Our subscribers will be able to choose how and when they want to watch TV," Hatice Memiguven, Digiturk’s COO, told Satellite News. "This box...

Spanish satellite operator Hispasat is targeting a strong performance in Latin America throughout the coming years, encouraged by the strong early performance of its Amazonas satellite. The spacecraft, the cornerstone of Hispasat’s geographic expansion into Latin America, has a capacity equivalent to 63, 36 megahertz transponders operating in the Ku- band and C-band frequencies has...

LORL Loral Space & Communications Inc. lost $74 million in 2005, excluding a gain related to its bankruptcy proceedings, compared to a loss of $177 million in 2004, the company announced March 28. Loral, which emerged from bankruptcy Nov. 21, recognized a $1.1 billion gain in 2005 due to the elimination of pre-bankruptcy obligations, as...

Wildblue Communications Inc. will offer free installation for its high-speed Internet via satellite service — except in the U.S. Midwest, where company subscriber numbers are doing quite well, Wildblue announced. The free installation offer is a continuation of Wildblue’s efforts to push satellite broadband out to rural and remote customers now, before terrestrial alternatives enter...

By Peter J. Brown With IPTV, maintaining quality of experience brings its own set of challenges and a greater degree of emphasis on IP network management, operations support systems and video quality of service. Ian Roy, vice president of product management at Netcracker Technology, likes to talk about the IP enablement of TV via satellite...

By Peter J. Brown The rapid emergence of Internet Protocol TV (IPTV) solutions has created quite a stir in satellite circles. The timing is remarkable, as IPTV arrives just as the next generation of dazzling display technologies, rich media-enabled mobile and portable content delivery options and easily implemented interactive elements are becoming available. IPTV will...

By James Careless Talk to many satellite operators in Latin America, and they will tell you the same thing: The Latin American market is not for the faint of heart. The combination of uncertain ‘roller coaster’ economies, political volatility and the continuing habit of incoming Latin American regimes to rewrite telecom rules as they see...

By Jason Bates In a short period of time, digital signage networks have evolved beyond the phase where they are viewed as simply a new technology that provides an interesting way to relay information in a consumer environment. Today, digital signage networks are receiving stronger consideration when matched side-by-side with older, more established advertising venues,...