People

ERI Names Development Director

Electro-Radiation Inc.(ERI) named John Thoma to the position of director of business development. His responsibilities include all sales and marketing activities.

Prior to joining ERI, Thoma held key roles in product management, business development and program management at Axonlink, OnePath Networks, Tellium Inc., and ADC Broadband Communications.

GLOBECAST Appoints CEOs

Globecast appointed David Sprechman CEO of Globecast America. He will be responsible for overall direction and management of Globecast North and Latin American operations.

Sprechman joined Globecast in 1998, as the company’s COO and CFO. Previously he was CFO of Hero Productions.

Globecast also appointed Darby Sanchez CEO of Globecast Asia. She will be responsible for the management of the company’s operations in Asia Pacific.

Sanchez joined Globecast in 1999, as the vice president of Latin America sales. Prior to Globecast, she was the director of sales, Latin America for L3 Communications-Satellite Transmission Systems.

HELIUS Welcomes Industry Veteran

Helius Inc. appointed Ron Heinz as president and CEO. In a parallel move, former Helius CEO Myron Mosbarger will assume the chairman and chief technology officer roles for the company.

With more than two decades in the technology business, Heinz was the former CEO of Phobos Corp., a Utah-based technology company that was acquired by SonicWall in December 2000. Since the merger, he served as COO and senior vice president of SonicWall.

MTN Names CFO

Maritime Telecommunications Network (MTN) named Ronald Hays to the new position of chief financial officer.

Prior to joining MTN, Hays was chief financial officer for BellSouth’s Venezuelan subsidiary, Telcel, CA, of Caracas.

ND SATCOM Staffs New U.S. Subsidiary

ND Satcom AG of Germany founded ND Satcom Inc. as a U.S. subsidiary to cover operations in the Americas. The company is opening up a facility in Dallas, TX, which will house sales, operations, engineering and customer support staff.

This U.S. subsidiary will be lead by Chris Morris as president and CEO and Robert Scott as vice president of sales.

Morris most recently served as general manager of the IDB Systems division of Worldcom.

Scott held several positions within Vertex Communications, most recently as vice president of marketing and sales.

Services

EURASIASAT Launches Internet Via Satellite

Eurasiasat and IABG are launching Internet via satellite services throughout Central and Eastern Europe, Asia, Near- and the Middle East as well as all Central Asia via its Eurasiasat 1 satellite at 42 degrees E.

Labeled Eurasianet, the service aims at providing Internet access for carriers and ISPs, with high-speed access directly from a major European node. Thanks to a 5.6-meter dedicated antenna, IABG will provide IP and teleport services with a 24/7 monitoring and hotline service via its Eurasiasat 1 east beam coverage.

LORAL SKYNET Offers Customers Combo Service

Loral Skynet has completed the integration of its business activities with Loral Cyberstar allowing the new Loral Skynet to offer its customers a combination of fixed satellite and network services from a single source.

As part of the integration, Loral Skynet named Robert Hedinger to the position of executive vice president of sales, marketing and client services. He is responsible for Skynet’s three product lines–Satellite Services, Network Services and Professional Services.

Contracts

BITCENTRAL Selected By NBC News

Bitcentral Inc. was selected by NBC News Channel to provide network infrastructure and services to support 24-hour-a-day delivery of news content to more than 250 NBC affiliate stations and other clients.

NBC News Channel will now be powered by Bitcentral’s Mediapipe software, which integrates broadcast, IP-over-satellite and MPEG file technologies. It is designed to eliminate re-feeds, automate or streamline certain processes, eliminate videotape storage and provide better access to archived material.

CPI SATCOM Wins Contract From DirecTV

CPI Satcom won a contract from DirecTV Inc. to provide 70 high efficiency klystron power amplifiers (Gen 4 KPAs) and peripheral equipment for uplinking television programming to the new DirecTV 7S satellite. The Gen 4 amplifiers combine Multi-Stage Depressed Collector (MSDC) technology with Ethernet capability.

MSDC klystrons were developed for satellite communications by CPI’s Microwave Vacuum Electronics Division for use in Satcom Division’s Gen 4 KPAs. The high efficiency of the klystron allows for improved product life and up to 60 percent prime power savings, according to CPI.

GLOBECAST Expands Platform

Globecast reported that the Hungarian network Duna TV is now available via Globecast’s proprietary digital DTH platform Optus B3 across Australia and New Zealand.

Globecast is providing Duna TV with end-to-end signal backhaul from Europe to Globecast’s Optus B3 gateway in Australia. In addition to DTH transmission, Globecast Australia manages subscriber management services for the broadcaster, including a call center, reception installation and activation, installer referrals and technical support.

INTELSAT Teams Up With SmartJog

Intelsat is working with SmartJog to provide digital store-and-forward delivery of video content over satellite to customers. Broadcasters and content owners in North America and Asia are able to use this service to distribute content to broadcasters and pay-TV platforms in the Asia-Pacific Region.

By combining SmartJog’s digitized content with capacity on the Intelsat 701 satellite located at 180 degrees E, the companies will offer a solution capable of replacing manual content delivery, saving broadcasters and distributors time and money by eliminating the need to ship video tapes through the mail.

INTERNATIONAL DATACASTING Chosen As Winning Bidder

International Datacasting Corp. (IDC) was selected as the winning bidder in a competitive tender to provide satellite datacasting services to the Canadian Forces deployed in various locations around the world. The contract, which calls for the distribution of digital multimedia content from the IDC teleport located in Ottawa, is for one year of service. Valued at an initial $3.6 million, the contract includes options for renewal for an additional two years of service as well as expansion of service as new requirements arise.

LEVEL 3 Signs Deal With Panamsat

Level 3 Communications Inc. and Panamsat Corp. signed an agreement that will enable Panamsat to optimize the delivery of entertainment content and information to cable broadcasters, network television affiliates, news agencies, ISPs and other customers around the globe.

As part of the design of this hybrid network, Panamsat is using Packet ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode), a data communications protocol and CrossRoads Internet access services from Level 3 in several U.S. markets. Packet ATM is a layer 2 wide-area networking service that enables Panamsat to exchange video and data traffic with its customers over Level 3’s Multi-Protocol Label Switching network. CrossRoads is a wholesale Internet access service that connects Panamsat’s network to Level 3 and to the other networks that comprise the Internet.

Technology

DNE Adds New Rates For Converter

DNE Technologies added seven additional user-selectable rates to its CV-8448 NRZ to CDI protocol converter line. These added rates bring the number of available user-selectable data rates to 50. New data rates were added to the CV-8448 line to expand DNE’s interoperability with deployed tactical communications equipment, allowing maximum throughput of critical communications. (DNE Technologies Inc., 50 Barnes Park N., Wallingford, CT 06492; Tel: 203/265-7151; Fax: 203/284-8414; Web: http://www.dnetech.com)

FOXCOM Releases Outdoor Enclosure Unit

Foxcom Ltd. released its family of fiber optic transmitters and receivers designed for outdoor operation.

The unit can house any combination of two fiber optic transmitter and receiver modules accommodating a variety of application options. For downlinks, each of the transmitters can handle one of two satellite polarities. In terms of uplinks, each receiver at the antenna site can feed a standalone upconverter or any number of hub-mounted TWTAs or SSPAs. Lastly, the Series 4000 can be configured as a transceiver for VSAT or other interactive data applications. (Foxcom, Beck Science Center, 8 Hartom St., Har-Hotzim, P.O. Box 45092, Jerusalem, Israel 91450; Tel: +972/2 589 9888; Fax: +972/2 589 9898; Web: http://www.foxcom.com)

MICROWAVE FILTER Debuts Ku-band Receive Filter

Microwave Filter Co. introduced the model 9349 Ku-band bandpass filter. This filter not only protects Ku-band receive signals from interference from co-located Ku-band uplink signals (14.0-14.5 GHz) and fixed microwave signals (10.55-10.68 GHz), it also rejects other out-of-band radar and microwave signals closer to the receive band that may cause interference. (Microwave Filter Co., 6743 Kinne St., East Syracuse, NY 13057; Tel: 315/438-4700; Fax: 315/463-1467; Web: http://www.microwavefilter.com)

NORSAT Unveils New Version Of Newslink

Norsat International Inc. unveiled the latest version of its Newslink portable terminal, Model 3200, with all its latest upgrades.

The Newslink incorporates Microsoft Windows software with a new portable sunlight readable LCD screen and sealed keyboard that provides rich functionality such as a built-in dual-trace spectrum analyzer, carrier beacon detector, antenna alignment wizard, transmitter control, and alarming and diagnostic tools. Other features include the PocketPC spectrum analyzer, which displays the received spectrum from the satellite dish on a hand-held PDA allowing easy antenna alignment and peaking. (Norsat International Inc., 300- 4401 Still Creek Dr., Burnaby, BC, Canada, V5C 6G9; Tel: 604/292-9000; Fax: 604/292-9100; Web: http://www.norsat.com)

SATCOM Introduces E-lite System

The new e-lite satellite communications system from Satcom Distribution enables worldwide 64 Kbs/ISDN communications. There are two systems to choose from–the portable e-lite or the e-lite for use on vehicles. Both allow direct access to browsing the Internet, checking email, transferring large data files, conducting videoconferencing, sending a fax or using the telephone anywhere in the world. (Satcom Distribution Ltd., Unit 5, Centre One, South Portway Business Park, Salisbury, Wiltshire, United Kingdom, SP4 6BU; Tel: +44/1722 410800; Fax: +44/1722 410777; Web: http://www.satcomdistribution.com)

SES AMERICOM Presents Signalsat

SES Americom introduced Signalsat, a new satellite-based alternative service that enables broadcast TV Stations to maximize audience reach within their DMA. Broadcast stations that use microwave transmissions and fiber networks to send their signals to off-air repeaters, cable headends and DBS uplink sites, can now use point-to-multipoint C- or Ku-band satellite delivery to reach more households. (SES Americom, Four Research Way, Princeton, NJ 08540; Tel: 609/987-4142; Fax: 609/987-4312; Web: http://www.ses-americom.com)

TANDBERG Slashes Bit Rates

Tandberg Television launched its hardware implementation of the Windows Media 9 Series. The real-time hardware encoding platform, named the EN5920, provides one of the lowest possible bit rates available on the market today for quality video delivery and is designed for use in professional broadcaster, cable, telco and streaming environments, according to Tandberg.

Features include, video pre-processing, noise reduction, very low latency, "high" bit-rate operation (up to 3 Mbs) providing full D1 resolution, PAL and NTSC support, no frame dropping, key frame alignment technology and accurate rate control. (Tandberg Television Inc., 12633 Challenger Pkwy., Suite 250, Orlando, FL 32826; Tel: 407/380-7055; Fax: 407/380-6691; Web: http://www.tandbergtv.com)