Latest News

The Global VSAT Forum (GVF) and iDirect Technologies have entered into an agreement to produce Web-based training courses for iDirect’s VSAT terminal installations, the organizations announced Nov. 29. The courses, available at http://www.gvf.org, will be prepared and hosted by Satprof Inc. of Dallas.

Andrew Corp. Names VP Andrew Corp. has promoted Bill Casey to vice president, corporate marketing and communications and customer care. Prior to joining Andrew in 2005, Casey held management positions at Flarion, Ibiquity, Philips, Alphatel and AT&T. SES New Skies Names CEO Robert Bednarek has been named president and CEO of SES New Skies. Bednarek...

Futron Corp. on Nov. 30 announced its appointment of Peggy Slye as director of its space and telecommunications division. Slye will lead the division providing market forecasts and analyses, technology assessments, launch and satellite databases, and its FCC filings subscription service. Slye arrives from Intelsat, where she served as senior director of integration, focusing on...

Ultra-DNE Announces Net-Centric Network Access Platform Ultra Electronics-DNE Technologies, a provider of tactical voice and data communication solutions, announced the release of its Packetassure product line, a new series of products designed to deliver voice and video Internet Protocol (IP) network traffic over constrained U.S. military network links as simply and reliably as time-division multiplexers....

Emcore Corp. received a multi-year order for solar cells from an unnamed satellite manufacturer, Emcore announced Nov. 28. Under the three-year, $41 million extension to an existing purchase order, Emcore’s Photovoltaics Division will supply solar cells for about 10 satellites. Production is expected to begin in the 2007 first quarter.

Telecommunication Systems Inc. (TCS) received a contract from an unnamed U.S. government agency to supply a secure satellite communications network, the company announced Nov. 29. TCS will provide its Swiftlink deployable communications suite that incorporates satellites terminals, space segment and a communications hub. The hub and remote equipment are provided by iDirect Technologies. Details of...

Uplit and Cox Communications renewed a two-year agreement to provide satellite uplink services for Cox Sports Television (CST), according to a Nov. 29 statement. Since 2002, Uplit has transmitted CST to cable operators throughout the Gulf South. CST is the exclusive regional sports network of the NBA New Orleans Hornets, NFL New Orleans Saints, and...

To assist Dish Network customers losing their distant network channels, DirecTV on Nov. 29 launched a nationwide offer to provide those customers with $150 cash back. The offer also includes: no equipment or start-up costs, free standard professional installation for up to four rooms, 100 percent digital picture and sound on every channel, and a...

A substitute satellite for the failed Sinosat-2, planned to be China’s first direct-to-home broadcasting satellite, will take at least three years to develop, according to a Sinosat spokesman quoted by Xinhua. In the company’s first public admission that Sinosat-2 suffered a Nov. 8 technical failure, spokesman Fan Xinming said the satellite failed when the solar...

Alcatel announced Nov. 28 the successful demonstration of Europe’s first broadcast of live TV channels on mobile handsets in S-band. Using the new satellite services for handhelds (DVB-SH) standard currently being drafted by the DVB Project, Alcatel was assisted by UK broadcasters Sky, ITV and BBC in Alcatel’s London offices. Representatives from European mobile operators,...