Inmarsat Appoints RRsat as Distribution Partner for Israeli Government and Defense
Inmarsat appointed Station711, the MSS arm of RRsat Global Communications Network, as a Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN) Distribution Partner. The new distribution agreement expands Station711’s longstanding relationship with Inmarsat; the company has been a fourth generation distribution partner for FleetBroadband maritime service and its GSPS handheld service for several years.

Station711 will offer  Inmarsat’s L-band service to the government and defense markets throughout Israel. These services include BGAN HDR, a new high-data rate (HDR) streaming service, which can be accessed only using the Cobham Explorer 710 terminal. RRsat will leverage BGAN HDR and other BGAN-based services to expand its offerings for both new and existing customers.

Sat Space Africa to Expand African Market Reach Through AfricaSat 1a

Africasat 1a C-band coverage map. Photo: Measat

Measat and Sat Space Africa have entered a three-year agreement for capacity on AfricaSat 1a. The capacity will be deployed to connect end users in Africa with Sat Space’s iDirect Evolution Hub in Rugby, United Kingdom. AfricaSat 1a will provide high-speed Internet services for cellular operators, enterprise VSAT networks and ISPs. Located at 46 degrees east, the satellite carries 24 C-band transponders and 12 Ku-band transponders.

“AfricaSat 1a will enhance our C-band coverage offerings over Africa and provide high capacity connectivity solutions for ISPs, SMEs and the enterprise market,” said Shimri Lotan, managing director, Sat Space Africa.

EIAST Releases First Images from DubaiSat 2

Burj Khalifa as seen by DubaiSat 2. Photo: EIAST

The Emirates Institution for Advanced Science and Technology’s (EIAST) DubaiSat 2 Earth observation satellite, launched on Nov. 21 2013, has successfully been deployed in orbit and all systems have been tested and verified.

DubaiSat 2 provides 1-meter resolution in the panchromatic band and 4-meter multispectral as well as a color 1-meter product. The imaging swath is 12 km and DubaiSat 2 has the ability to image and download more than 18,000 square kilometers a day from its Dubai Ground station based in Al Khawaneej.

Eutelsat to Relocate Eutelsat 33A Satellite for Türksat
Eutelsat has reached an agreement with Türksat to redeploy the Eutelsat 33A satellite in May 2014 from 33 degrees east to 31 degrees east. As part of the agreement, Türksat will operate it under its satellite network filings.

Eutelsat will continue to provide services at 33 degrees east using the Eutelsat 33B satellite, which was redeployed to this position last month. Eutelsat 33B was formerly designated as Eutelsat 25C.

ISOL Selects Ateme Kyrion Encoder for News Coverage in Lebanon
ISOL, a satellite service provider in Lebanon, has selected Ateme’s Kyrion CM5000 for its Digital Satellite News Gathering (DSNG) operations.

ISOL, stationed in Beirut, operates its own fleet of DSNG vehicles and fly-aways. Its clients include domestic and international news broadcasters such as Al Arabiya, Sky News Arabic, CNN, Al Hourra and the BBC. The encoder includes satellite modulation to save costs and space, along with features to simplify field operations, reduce setup time and minimize risks of configuration errors.