Chris Forrester is one of the most experienced and highly regarded journalists in the field. His insight and analysis, particularly in the satellite and pay-TV arena, is highly prized. He has written for all the major business journals in the sector as well as several national newspapers.
This isn’t the first time that Canada-based Telesat, the fourth-largest global satellite operator, has been reported to be up for sale. But this time the long-awaited sale could be a reality. According to press reports, Loral is trying to sell its 62.7 per cent stake in Telesat, which is based in Ottawa. The reason is […]
As an industry snapshot there’s no better grouping of experts at this year’s Satellite 2018 show in Washington than those representing six major satellite manufacturers. While a record low number of commercial satellites ordered last year (just 7) would normally have these panellists wringing their hands in despair, the mood was reasonably upbeat. This was […]
A US-based would-be satellite operator has used an Indian space rocket to launch four small satellites into orbit. The problem is that the satellites are unauthorised and are now considered ‘rogue’ craft. The USA’s Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has severely criticised the company, Swarm Technology, for its illegal deployments. Swarm says it was not aware […]
One of the difficulties is coping with announcement of new satellite constellations is coming up with a superlative to describe a really large number when describing gigantic plans. The latest news, that a Chinese organisation wants to put up 300 satellites, each operating in low Earth orbit (LEO) to provide “global communications”, definitely puts the […]
The correct industry name for an orbiting ‘Space Tug’ and its functionality is for In-Orbit Servicing (IoS) of existing satellites. They can also be called ‘Mission Extension Vehicles’, and quite a few technology companies are building suitable spacecraft capable of rescuing and servicing orbiting satellites. With a typical satellite costing around $300 million to build, […]
A negative report on the satellite industry from equity analysts at Deutsche Bank does not pull any punches in its report on the sector, saying bluntly “The first step is admitting you have a problem”. Analyst Laurie Davison opens the bank’s report with a summary of the past month’s results season on the ‘Big Three’ […]
Greg Wyler (and SoftBank)-backed OneWeb, which is proposing to launch a massive constellation of 900 broadband satellites, used Barcelona’s Mobile World Congress (MWC) to announce its ‘Seamless Air Alliance’ (SAA) for improved In-Flight Connectivity (IFC). The SAA concept brings together Sprint (also 85 per cent-owned by SoftBank), Delta Airlines, Airbus (an investor in OneWeb) and […]
February 22nd saw SpaceX successfully send a rocket into orbit carrying two small ‘test’ satellites for a proposed 4,425 initial satellite constellation. The project, backed by Elon Musk, is designed to bring broadband access to billions of unserved or under-served users around the world in his ‘Starlink’ service. Musk talks of populating the constellation with […]
Eutelsat’s senior management, whilst hosting a dinner for analysts, revealed that its five largest markets are Italy (helped by contracts with public broadcaster RAI), Russia, Poland, Turkey and English-speaking Africa. Analysts from investment bank Exane/BNPP who attended the event said that these five markets account for half of Eutelsat’s Video division revenues, and reported that […]
The stock market has shown mixed reactions with last weel’s financial half-year statement from Eutelsat CEO Rodolphe Belmer. Its share price, having risen dramatically by €2 on February 16th fell back 53 cents on February 19th (2.79 per cent) indicating that Eutelsat is not out of the woods just yet. Perhaps one catalyst was a […]
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