Focus: Telecom

By James Careless There was a time when satellite and terrestrial networks were viewed as incompatible enemies, constant competitors eager to steal each other’s traffic and garner the most marketshare. No longer. Today, saner heads realize that both satellite and terrestrial networks have their places. Specifically, nothing beats satellites for delivering point-to-multipoint coverage, especially when...

by Peter J. Brown The satellite broadband sector is poised for a burst of new energy as the launch looms for Ka-band projects in North America like CO-based Wildblue Communications, along with new services elsewhere such as IPStar in Asia. To date, satellite broadband services aimed at consumers have run a poor third to DSL...

By James Careless Even though the global satellite industry is performing stronger today than in recent years, the numbers for 1Q 2005 were not as robust as executives would have liked, and as it always happens when the market experiences financial challenges, satellite executives are now embroiled in self-analysis, trying to figure which market segments,...

by Owen D. Kurtin Last time out, we started off looking at the series of upcoming initial public offerings (IPOs) by which last year’s private equity purchasers of Fixed Satellite Service (FSS) operators are planning to partly or wholly divest themselves of their holdings, far ahead of their traditional three- to five-year exit horizon, and...

For the motion picture industry, much is on the horizon when it comes to content protection and dissemination, which may provide an even stronger business success model for satellite-enabled transmission companies. The unprecedented explosion of the digital age and the popularity of consumer devices for playing, viewing and hearing digital content is creating new opportunities...

by Peter J. Brown As I was sitting here on my snow-covered island awaiting news of a possible broadband via satellite breakthrough, the Bezos space connection suddenly blossomed into view. I was quite unprepared to hear news that billionaire Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon.com, has plans to set up shop in West Texas, buying...

By Peter J. Brown When it comes to satellite links, customer satisfaction is assured whenever the link in question performs above and beyond the call of duty. When it comes to innovative broadcasting, efficient content delivery to multiple venues is the name of the game. Add a dazzling array of new display options, and you...

by James Careless Bullish: That is the word that describes Dr. Arunas Slekys’ outlook on private satellite network sales to enterprise customers. As vice president of Hughes Network Systems (HNS), which has more than 750,000 broadband satellite systems shipped or installed worldwide, Slekys is able to speak about this market segment with authority. So how...

By Owen D. Kurtin In a two-part article in this space last year, "Private Equity: First the Good New/Now the Bad News," we examined the emergence of private equity buyers in the Fixed Satellite Service (FSS) sector, the defining event in satellite finance for 2004. In the series, we opined that one test of the...

By Peter Brown The good news for the satellite industry is that consumers remain eager and satisfied with old and new satellite products alike. Their appetite for satellite-delivered broadcast services worldwide shows no signs of abating. Digital Audio Radio Services (DARS) and Direct Broadcasting Services (DBS) are forces to be reckoned with as subscriber numbers...