Technology

Aeroflex Introduces Equalizer

Aeroflex/Inmet indroduced an equalizer that operates within the Ka-band. This development was accelerated as a result of a funded contract for two fully adjustable 10 dB parabolic slope units that operate across the entire 26-40 Ghz band. ( Aeroflex/Inmet; 300 Dino Drive, Ann Arbor, MI 48103; Tel: 888\244-; Fax: (734) 426-5557; Web: http://www.aeroflex-inmet.com)

DRS Codem Systems Introduces X-Band Antenna

DRS Codem Systems Inc. released its new X-Band satellite communications-on-the-move antenna subsystem. The subsystem combines a rugged mechanical architecture with commercial off-the-shelf-based components for use on vehicles, aboard ships and on aircraft. The antenna subsystem targets the military, homeland security and commercial markets utilizing high-performance radio frequency antenna applications. The antenna subsystem is designed to provide continuous high-bandwidth voice, video and data in a highly dynamic environment. (DRS Codem Systems Inc., 7 Executive Park Drive, Merrimack, N.H. 03054; Tel: 603\429-0111; Fax: 603\429-0155; Web: http://www.drs-cs.com )

Humax Launches HD Satellite set-top box

Humax has launched a high-definition (HD) digital satellite set-top-box in the United Kingdom. The Humax HDCI2000 allows viewers to receive free-to-air HD satellite broadcasts and watch these on any HD-ready TV and is expected to retail at around 299 British pounds ($521.30). The HDCI2000 can receive and decrypt the latest MPEG-4 HD transmissions, as well as display both MPEG-2 HD and standard definition, free-to-air satellite signals. (Humax USA Inc., 17501 Von Karman Avenue, Irvine, Calif. 92614; Tel: 866\486-2987; Web: http://www.humaxusa.com)

iDirect Technologies Adds Mesh to VSAT Platform

iDirect Technologies has added a mesh solution to its iDirect platform. Aimed at providing iDirect customers with more flexibility, iDirect Mesh supports a single-hop connection between remote modems to deliver real-time voice and video. It also can be integrated into existing iDirect hub chassis and operate alongside star and SCPC topologies, all on the same platform. (iDirect Technologies, 13865 Sunrise Valley Drive, Herndon, Va. 20171; Tel: 866\345-0983; Fax: 703\648-8014; Web: http://www.idirect.net)

ILC releases MaxView 5.0

ILC released its new Maxview 5.0 for broadband. Maxview 5.0 is a software platform that lets service providers manage Internet Protocol (IP)TV, voice over IP and other broadband services using a single, integrated world view, even when running hybrid satellite and terrestrial networks. Maxview 5.0 provides direct control of network devices through its software and is scalable. (ILC, One Capital City Plaza, 3350 Peachtree Road, Suite 1000, Atlanta 30326; Tel: 404\504-7400; Fax: 404\504-7401; Web: http://www.ilc.com)

Raysat Unveils StealthRay Antenna

Raysat Inc. has developed a low-profile antenna designed for moving vehicles. Dubbed Stealthray, this Ku-band satellite antenna works with a wide range of bandwidths, supports voice over Internet Protocol and video streaming and can connect to satellites in various parts of the world. Stealthray-equipped vehicles also can serve as mobile hit spots, using Wi-Fi to connect laptop computers and PDAs to the Internet. The Stealthray antenna is built inside a weather-resistant housing, which mounts onto a vehicle’s roof or cargo rack. (Raysat Inc., 8460-D Tyco Road, Vienna, Va. 22182; Tel: 800\561-9280; Fax: 703\584-3775; Web: http://www.raysat.com)

Swe-Dish debuts Fly-Away Satellite Terminal

Swe-Dish Satellite Systems is taking the wraps off its FA150K Lite fly-away terminal, a rugged, quick set-up portable earth station with a 1,5-meter elliptical Gregorian offset antenna. The terminal can be disassembled into components that pack into airline checkable cases. and can be deployed quickly without using tools. The terminal can support broadband traffic at speeds from 64 kilobits per second to 60 megabits per second and will support various types of services, including Internet Protocol. (Swe-Dish Satellite Systems AB; P.O. BOX 6495, S-113 82 Stockholm, Sweden; Tel: +46 8 728 50 00; Fax: +46 8 728 50 50; Web: http://www.swe-dish.com)

Triveni Digital Introduces Secure Data Broadcasting Solution

Triveni Digital developed a secure data broadcasting solution for emergency services networks, which can be carried via satellite, terrestrial digital TV, or cable TV. Branded as the Skyscraper Emergency Services Network (ESN), the product allows for secure, fast, and efficient distribution of first responder communications. Skyscraper ESN packages and transports emergency alerts, weather reports, radar maps and satellite images, operational documentation, and even live video feeds. (Triveni Digital; 40 Washington Road, Princeton Junction, N.J. 08550; Tel: 609\716-3500; Fax: 609\716-3503; Web: http://www.trivenidigital.com)

TSAT Unveils VSAT Solution Design for Harsh Climates

Norway’s TSAT AS introduced its TSAT-3000, a VSAT private network solution intended to support critical applications in harsh environments and remote locations. The ruggedized device meets the latest IEC requirements for communication and control systems, is scalable and is compatible both with legacy asynchronous communications protocols and TCP/IP. It also will operate reliably in remote areas where the earth station is running on solar power. (TSAT AS; 24800 I-45 North, Suite 105, The Woodlands, Texas 77386; Tel: 832\283-3463; Web: http://www.tsat.no)

Services

Americom Government Services To Offer Satellite Broadband to Mobile War fighters

SES Global subsidiary Americom Government Services (AGS) will be offering on-the-move, two-way broadband Internet Protocol (IP) connectivity to warfighter vehicles traveling at 60 miles per hour or faster. Using a combination of ViaSat technology and AGS’ satellite, teleport and terrestrial connections, the service will provide downlinks from AGS’ Global Information Grid Ku-band satellite service at speeds up to 10 megabits per second and uplinks from vehicles at 512 kilobits per second. Among the IP products supported will be voice over IP and two-way surveillance/reconnaissance video.

Arabsat Launches Internet Service

Arabsat has teamed up with Cetel Germany, a provider of teleport and satellite services, to launch a satellite broadband initiative in the Middle East and Africa.

The new service, which will be offered from Cetel’s 7.3-meter antenna in Germany via a C-band transponder on Arabsat 2B, will offer one- and two-way service, as well as the possibility for dedicated connections for big communication carriers between the Middle East and Africa into the European fiber network.

Earthlink Bundling Satellite TV With Internet Service

Earthlink Inc. announced partnerships with Echostar Communications Corp. and DirecTV to offer satellite TV services. Earthlink customers in select markets will be able to receive a bundled package of Internet service and either DirecTV or Echostar’s Dish Network satellite TV services.

Euronews Launches Live TV On 3G Mobile Phones In Spain

Euronews is available to mobile phone users in Spain after being added to the 3G television service of Amena, Euronews announced. Euronews� Live TV service also is available in Austria, Belgium, France, Portugal and Switzerland through nine different 3G operators.

Global Marine Networks Introduces Vessel Tracking Service

Global Marine Networks LLC unveiled an automatic vessel tracking service that uses the Iridium satellite system to transmit location reports from ship to shore. The XGate vessel tracking system provides data such as GPS time, latitude and longitude, course and speed, and selected weather parameters. The information can be embedded in ship-to-shore e-mail messages and/or reported to a central database with each e-mail session. Automatic tracking reports also can be delivered according to a predetermined schedule.

Iridium Introduces Rural Satellite Communications For Africa

Iridium Satellite LLC unveiled a new range of solutions for satellite-based rural communications for Africa and other remote regions. Iridium will provide services such as fixed or mobile public calling office systems, unattended satellite pay phone stations, vehicular systems and asset tracking solutions.

SES Astra Extends services in africa

SES Astra announced that SES Global Africa has extended its services in Africa throughout 2005. By the end of the year, eight out of 41 commercially available transponders into the African continent have contributed to 2005 group revenues, bringing the utilization to 20 percent by the end of 2005. SES operations in Africa comprise 33 transponders utilizing the African beam of the Astra 4A satellite at the orbital position 37.5 degrees West as well as eight steerable Ku-band transponders on the Astra 2B satellite at the orbital position 28.2 degrees East.

Contracts

Alcatel Alenia Space To Build Turksat 3A

Alcatel Alenia Space received a contract from Turksat AS for the manufacture and in-orbit delivery of the Turksat 3A satellite in early 2008. Turksat 3A will be based on Alcatel’s Spacebus 4000B2 platform and carry 24 Ku-band transponders. The satellite will be located at 42 degrees East to provide telecommunication services and direct TV broadcasting to Turkey, Europe and Central Asia. Turksat 3A will be the fifth satellite Alcatel has manufactured for Turksat.

Bellsouth Extends Marketing Agreement With DirecTV

Bellsouth extended its marketing alliance with DirecTV Inc. another five years and also created a new sales channel. Under the marketing agreement, Bellsouth is able to bundle local, long distance, wireless, Internet and digital video services in a single offering. Bellsouth is responsible for the sales and ordering functions, while DirecTV is responsible for the installation and ongoing service for customers who subscribe to DirecTV service through Bellsouth. As part of the extension, DirecTV residential customer across Bellsouth’s nine-state service area will be able to Bellsouth digital subscriber line services directly from DirecTV.

Boeing Receives Additional NGA Contract; Begins Work On Fourth Wideband Gapfiller Satellite

Boeing Co. received a $3.5 million follow-on task order from the U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) to enhance radar imagery data collected during the February 2000 Shuttle Radar Topography Mission. This follow-on tasking, known as Void Fill, will update terrain models of locations where Space Shuttle Endeavour’s radar sensor had difficulty collecting data. The enhancements include the removal of processing anomalies and filling areas with data from alternate sources. The most recent order brings Boeing’s total awards under the program to $35 million.

Separately, Boeing has received a $148 million contract from the U.S. Air Force to begin work on the fourth satellite in the Wideband Gapfiller Satellite system. Boeing already is under contract to build the first three satellites for the system, and the Air Force authorized Boeing to begin engineering and procurement of parts for the fourth spacecraft. The first Wideband Gapfiller satellite is scheduled for launch in June 2007.

BTV+ Selected For Digital Signage Network

BTV+ received a multiyear contract valued at more than $40 million to supply and operate a digital signage network that will serve more than 3,600 sporting and retail locations. BTV+ will provide all technology elements including display and playout hardware, content control software, satellite connectivity, installation, network operations and help desk support.

Eumetsat Seals Agreement With ESA For Metop program

Eumetsat and the European Space Agency (ESA) updated their cooperation agreement for the Meteorological Operational (MetOp) program, clearing the way for the scheduled June launch of the MetOp-A satellite, the organizations announced. The agreement updates a cooperation plan in place since 1999. ESA will be responsible for the development of the MetOp space segment, while Eumetsat will take care of the overall system, including launch services, the ground segment and satellite operations. Designed and developed by ESA and Eumetsat, MetOp satellites will be Europe’s first polar-orbiting satellite dedicated to operational meteorology and will provide data services for improving weather forecasts and climate monitoring.

Globecomm Systems Awarded Earth Station Infrastructure Contract

Globecomm Systems Inc. was awarded a satellite infrastructure contract valued at about $1.1 million from an existing unnamed customer. Under the deal, Globecomm provided a turnkey Intelsat earth station and all related subsystems to a major provider of enterprise network services in the United States.

IDC Wins contracts for Canadian Military; European Satellite Radio Upgrade

International Datacasting Corp. (IDC) won a $2.6 million contract to provide satellite services to the Canadian Forces. Under the deal, IDC will deploy its Superflex DVB-IP satellite datacasting products to carry local Canadian TV and radio programming to Canadian troops posted in the Middle East and Afghanistan. The contract also has a two-year optional extension valued at $4.5 million.

Separately, IDC announced that its wholly owned subsidiary and base of operations in Europe, Profline B.V., has received a new order from the World Family of Radio Maria, to supply equipment for a major satellite radio network upgrade.

Lockheed Martin To Build GOES-R Lightning Mapper

Lockheed Martin’s Advanced Technology Center received a contract from NASA to manufacture an instrument for the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES)-R environmental satellites. Under the $2 million contract, Lockheed Martin will provide the Geostationary Lightning Mapper, which will monitor convection on a global scale. The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration manages the GOES program, and the first GOES-R launch is scheduled for 2012.

Radyne Receives Modem Order

Radyne Corp.’s satellite electronics division received an order valued at more than $1.3 million for satellite modems and frequency converters from a major South Asian integrator. The order is the third in a series that totals almost $5 million from the same customer throughout the past year. The equipment is intended for use in the development of the country’s largest landline and mobile telephone network.

Raytheon Receives Submarine Satellite Communications Contract

Raytheon Co. will deliver 15 submarine satellite communication systems to the U.S. Navy under a $35.9 million contract, the company announced.

The Submarine High Data Rate systems link the vessels to the Global Broadcast service, the Milstar satellite constellation and the Defense Satellite Communication System, providing multi-band communications capability. Raytheon has delivered more than 71 of the systems to the Navy throughout the last six years under contracts valued at more than $160 million.

SES Astra Signs New Globecast Deal

SES Astra signed a second capacity agreement with Globecast, which will enable the broadcaster to enhance its operations in the United Kingdom. The new transmission capacity at 28.2 degrees and 28.5 degrees East will be used by Globecast to serve the United Kingdom as well as support the development of new services such as high-definition TV. Globecast, a France Telecom subsidiary, operates on five continents and uses a worldwide satellite and fiber network to manage and transport 10 million hours of video and multimedia content each year for its broadcast, corporate, government and retail clients.

Skylogic Wins Tuscany Deal

Eutelsat subsidiary Skylogic Italia won a contract to provide satellite broadband access to public administrators in Tuscany, Italy. Under the contract awarded by the region of Tuscany, Skylogic will provide broadband service to officials unable to receive access via terrestrial means. The deployment of this turnkey satellite-based network primarily will be in mountainous areas and islands off the coast of Tuscany. Up to 90 locations will be connected to the Rete Telematica Regione Toscana, whose operating center is in the city of Florence.

Telenor Strikes Strategic Deal With Addvalue Technologies

Telenor Satellite Services and Addvalue Technologies announced that the two companies have entered into a strategic business agreement to provide satellite communications services for the terrestrial, maritime and aeronautical markets. Under the agreement, the companies will design, develop, market and distribute satellite services. The initial focus will be the distribution of Inmarsat’s Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN) communications.

Telesat Selected As Satellite Carrier

Telesat will be serving as the exclusive satellite carrier for Auroras Entertainment, an end-to-end provider of Internet Protocol (IP) TV for the North American market including Alaska and Hawaii. Auroras plans to offer standard-definition and high-definition IPTV content on C-band on Telesat’s Anik F2 satellite, as well as via terrestrial elements. The goal is to allow telephone companies and other broadband operators to deliver high quality programming using Auroras’ IPTV service as content.

Thomson To Manufacture Set-Top Boxes For Tata

Thomson will build the digital set-top boxes for a direct-to-home satellite service planned for launch in India in mid-2006 by Tata Sky, Thomson announced. Under the contract with Tata Sky, a joint venture between the Tata Group and Star, Thomson will manufacture the boxes for the T-Sky service in India and provide services and support for customers.

Executive Moves

Americom Government Services Hires VP Of Sales

Americom Government Services Inc. (AGS), a wholly owned subsidiary of SES Americom, appointed Robert Demers vice president of sales development. Demers most recently served as vice president of government solutions for Inmarsat and also served as general manager of global government services at ICO Global Communications Inc. — a Mobile Satellite Service company later acquired by Craig McCaw.

BSkyB Announces New Executive Roles

BSkyB, the U.K. satellite pay-TV operator, has restructured some key management roles as it targets 10 million direct-to-home customers by 2010. The new roles have been created as BSkyB looks to boost its multi-platform content delivery strategy, as well exploit new business opportunities created by technology changes, such as in Internet Protocol (IP)TV and mobile television.

Jon Florsheim has been named managing director, customer group in addition to his existing title of chief marketing officer. The customer group brings together all of BSkyB’s expertise in sales, marketing and customer operations to create a seamless brand, product and service experience for customers.

Dawn Airey, assumed the role of managing director, channels and services with overall responsibility for the company’s multi-platform content strategy. The existing Sky Networks structure will be folded into the channels and services group, bringing together all of BSkyB’s new media content on interactive TV, online and mobile platforms.

Mike Darcey will be group commercial and strategy director with extended responsibility for a new group that combines BSkyB’s strategy, future technology, research and development, and business development teams.

Echostar President Resigns

Michael Neuman resigned as president and COO of Echostar Communications Corp., the company said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Vice Chairman Carl Vogel and Chief Technical Officer Michael Dugan, will assume Neuman’s duties. Echostar did not disclose why Neuman left the company.

EMS Satcom Appoints Military, Government Account Manger

EMS Satcom appointed Peter Zalizniak account manager of military, government and maritime sales. Zalizniak will focus on the company’s government and military businesses, particularly on land-mobile and maritime solutions. Zalizniak joins EMS Satcom from Iridium Satellite, where he served as regional director of channel development.

Newtec Appoints new CEO

Serge Van Herck has been named CEO of Newtec, replacing Dirk Breynaert. Van Herck most recently served as director, business development for Asia at Newtec and general manager of Skyware. Prior to joining Newtec, Van Herck was senior manager at Accenture. From 1994 to 2001, he served as head of satellite services at Belgacom and was a member of the Eutelsat board of signatories.

Breynaert will focus on research and development as Newtec’s chief technology officer and will remain the company’s chairman.

Novariant Names CEO

Herb Satterlee, the former CEO and chairman of Digitalglobe, has been named CEO of Novariant, which supplies GPS-based positioning products for industrial users. Satterlee stepped down as chairman of CEO of imagery satellite operator Digitalglobe in November and was replaced by Jill Smith.