Focus: Telecom

By James Careless Distance learning via satellite is as close you can get to a true killer app. However, to fully provide competitive satellite distance learning solutions, you need to understand the medium’s strengths and have a keen grasp on what type of advanced, interactive content is being developed by corporate trainers. In today’s highly-competitive...

By Owen D. Kurtin Early last year, we predicted that just as the story of 2004 was the entry of private equity firms into the satellite operator sector, the story of 2005 would be their faster- than-expected exits through initial public offerings (IPOs) and otherwise. It was not much of a prediction, but it proved...

From increased financing to providing connectivity when other technologies failed, the satellite industry achieved a great deal in 2005. It has indeed turned the corner and all indicators point to sustained growth for the coming years. This is good news, not only because we want the industry to prosper as it has so many times...

By Peter J. Brown Spreading the news that the Church of Sweden has inked a deal with Satlynx SA to equip all of its 3,500 churches throughout Sweden with satellite dishes is about as close to religion as this column is ever going to venture. But when it comes to cognition, the process of acquiring...

By Peter J. Brown In a world where iPods and Slingboxes are part of a new generation of consumer products, satellite TV and satellite radio service providers continue to deliver value to consumers. Satellite broadband services also remain a favorite for households seeking higher speed access in otherwise underserved or unserved areas. And yet, the...

By Jason Bates As the makeup of the global satellite operators comes into focus, industry attention is shifting toward the regional operators. Industry executives and customers want to know which regional operators will continue to compete with the global giants as independent businesses and which niche operators will be swept up in an anticipated wave...

By James Careless The satellite offices of the major news conglomerates are on the front line for regional, live news coverage that gets global exposure. Today, however, advanced equipment and services requirements from broadcasters who rely on satellite-enabled technology to get the news out are changing. Now more than ever, TV network affiliates depend on...

By Owen D. Kurtin Last year, we predicted that 2004 might go down in history as the year that the satellite business started to rationalize itself, turned the corner of the disastrous first years of the 21st century and positioned itself to take on both terrestrial competition and the challenge of new service offerings going...

By Peter J. Brown Satellites have always enjoyed an advantage over terrestrial alternatives when it comes to beaming one-way transmissions over vast distances. Broadcasting the same signal to any number of receivers spread over thousands of square miles is one of the applications where satellites excel. However, when it comes to two-way services, the satellite...

By Owen D. Kurtin Earlier this year, this column devoted a four-part series to the earlier-than-anticipated exits of private equity purchasers of Fixed Satellite Services (FSS) companies into initial public offerings (IPOs). The announcement of Intelsat’s acquisition of Panamsat in the final week of August indicates a strategic consolidation of the sector – a very...