Focus: Telecom

The BBC filed news reports on the mudslide in the Philippines using Inmarsat’s Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN), the first news reports filed using the mobile satellite service, Stratos Global Corp. claimed. The mudslides hit Guinsaugon village in the Philippines’ southern Leyte Province Feb. 17 and a BBC journalist and cameraman began reporting from the...

Ouranos Networks, which has taken over Aramiska’s assets and brand name, aims to target new markets and have a better cost structure in place based on lessons learned from where Aramiska went wrong under the old management. Ouranos Networks CEO Michel Davoudian believes the company’s new business model, focusing on cutting costs, could see it...

SIRI, XMSR With the Howard Stern sales blitz history and the companies reporting their 2005 performance, Wall Street is offering projections for the stock performance of Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio in 2006. The stock of both satellite radio companies has been rated "outperform" by Bear Stearns & Co. "Despite [fourth quarter 2005]...

One of the biggest threats that satellite pay-TV operators face is the threat of piracy. People accessing content through an illegal smart card and not paying the operator for the service is a billion dollar industry, according to industry analysts. Smart card piracy is big business and conditional access (CA) vendors who provide security systems...

Sirius Reports Record Revenue, Subscriber Growth In 2005 Sirius Satellite Radio recorded revenue of $242.2 million in 2005, compared to revenue of $66.9 million in 2004, the company reported Feb. 17. The gains were driven by a net subscriber increase of 2.2 million during 2005, driven by the addition of Howard Stern to Sirius’ lineup....

Bellsouth extended its marketing alliance with DirecTV Inc. but also has made moves toward expanding its Internet protocol (IP) TV services going forward. As part of its longstanding deal with DirecTV, Bellsouth is able to bundle local, long distance, wireless, Internet and digital video services in a single offering. As part of its new five-year...

Direct-to-home (DTH) operators must continue to look away from their satellite roots as they strive for business expansion and increased revenues. With new platforms such as Internet protocol (IP) TV and on-demand mobile content emerging, the platforms offer opportunities as well as threats to traditional satellite pay-TV operators. In Europe, BSkyB remains one of the...

Satellite communications continue to be a requirement for a group of people attracted to attempting record-breaking treks around the globe. Steve Fossett, who recently set a record for the longest non-stop solo flight around the world, relied on satellite communications links provided by Blue Sky Network. The company supplied all the satellite communications capability on...

If money were no object, Africa would be among the world’s hottest satellite services markets. With the exception of some major cities, the continent’s terrestrial communications infrastructure is not as advanced as it needs to be. Even though a number of international fiber optic cables do make landfall on Africa’s shores, few are actually connected...

It now is widely recognized that access to information and knowledge through affordable communications provides a significant opportunity for social and economic development, regional cooperation and integration, and increased participation in the emerging global information society. Addressing deficiencies in access to low-cost communication services now is regarded as an imperative for improving the quality of...