Latest News

Telenor Group is selling its Telenor Satellite subsidiary to Space Norway, the company announced last week.  Both entities are owned by the Norwegian government. Telenor is Norway’s majority state-owned telecommunications company, and Space Norway is owned by the Norwegian Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries and is a key part of the country’s activities in...

Satellite communications and technologies specialist Tototheo Maritime has passed the 1,000-ship mark in Fleet Xpress terminal installations. Inmarsat, which offers Fleet Xpress, announced the milestone on Nov. 20. Inmarsat is now fully part of Viasat, and maritime remains a key target market for the company. The 1,000 terminal installations have included container and general cargo...

Intellian Technologies is establishing a new entity in Dubai as a hub for operations in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region. This is Intellian’s 10th global city.  This new entity is strategically positioned to meet the needs of Intellian distribution partners and strengthen the brand in key areas across maritime and enterprise markets. The...

Orange, one of Europe’s biggest telcos, is bringing satellite broadband to its customers in mainland France. Orange revealed details of the new ‘Orange Satellite with Nordnet’ offer, Nov. 16. This new satellite offer from Orange is particularly aimed at customers not eligible for fiber and those with ADSL speeds of less than 8 Mbps. It...

Astranis will build a second broadband satellite for the Philippines, the company announced this week as part of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) conference in San Francisco.  Satellite service provider Orbits Corp ordered a second MicroGEO broadband satellite from Astranis, after its initial order, announced in July. One satellite will on Astranis’s next launch, set...

Canadian manufacturer MDA is starting work on a new constellation for an undisclosed customer, the company announced Friday.  The announcement was light on details, but MDA received an authorization to proceed for a Non-Geostationary Orbit (NGSO) satellite constellation. The initial contract is worth $180 million, and the full constellation is valued at a minimum of...

AST SpaceMobile is working to close strategic investment to fund the buildout of its satellite-to-cell fleet as the company approaches launch of its first commercial satellites.  The company released its third quarter update on Nov. 14. Its first five commercial satellites to provide satellite direct-to-cell service are expected to launch in the first quarter of...

Hughes Network Systems announced Thursday that the Jupiter 3 satellite successfully deployed its solar arrays and antennas and passed readiness testing by manufacturer Maxar Space Systems. Hughes is now testing the satellite communications with ground equipment.  The satellite, which SpaceX launched in late July, is moving closer to commercial service. Parent company EchoStar said in...

Viasat is launching direct-to-device satellite service with Skylo and Ligado’s SkyTerra satellite network. Thursday marked an official announcement from Viasat after a non-binding MoU in March.  Skylo has a tech stack that connects standard IoT devices directly to satellite, compatible with 3GPP release 17 standards. Skylo has been operating its service over Inmarsat’s L-band satellites...

Amazon’s Project Kuiper takes a step forward after successful tests bring the constellation closer to a commercial reality. Amazon announced Thursday that Project Kuiper has validated all systems and subsystems on board its prototype satellites, and demonstrated the first two-way video call over Amazon’s end-to-end communications network. This follows after ULA launched the first two...