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.
The FCC is kickstarting the process to auction new C-band spectrum for use by US cellular operators and 5G expansion. The auction will wrap by mid-2026, according to FCC’s new Chairman Brendon Carr. Analysts at investment bank BNP Paribas say the news is “positive” for satellite operators SES and Eutelsat. The FCC’s plan covers 3.98-4.2 […]
Armand Musey, a well-regarded financial and valuation consultant at Summit Ridge Group, speaking on February 5th at the Smallsat Symposium held at Mountain View, California, was blunt in his view of recent mergers involving European satellite operators. He delivered a pessimistic report, saying: “The big, large space companies are entering into a deep, dark desert […]
Ligado Networks is in Chapter 11 restructuring, and is fighting to block attempts from Inmarsat and Viasat to halt its financial rescue and refinancing. Inmarsat, now part of Viasat, is looking to recover its former L-band frequencies and capacity from the restructuring. Inmarsat had previously leased the L-band spectrum to Ligado in 2007 for a […]
SpaceX currently cannot operate in South Africa despite some apparent enthusiastic support from Cyril Ramaphosa, the nation’s president. SpaceX has formally asked for local telecoms regulator ICASA to modify its requirements. ICASA is to hold consultations starting on February 5th and 6th with interested stakeholders and the public. The filing is by SpaceX Internet Services […]
Last week a Vodafone engineer, Rowan Chesmer, somewhere in the middle of Wales and very much in a dead zone for cellular connectivity, used an AST SpaceMobile satellite to send a video call to Vodafone CEO Margherita Della Valle and British astronaut Tim Peake. The demonstration led to some enthusiastic celebrations from AST themselves and […]
A negative report from ratings agency Moody’s cannot have helped, but January 29th saw Eutelsat shares drop in value to an all time low of €1.805 per share. January 30th was no better with another fall to €1.79. The falls give the Paris-based satellite operator a market capitalisation of just $850 million. Its actual enterprise […]
According to a recent Bloomberg broadcast, SpaceX is now valued at about $350 billion (€336.2bn). This value has been suggested to split with the Starlink broadband system representing about 65 per cent of SpaceX’s valuation at $227.5 billion and the rocket launch side of the business accounting for 35 per cent at $122.5 billion. SpaceX […]
New Zealand’s Sky TV uses the Optus D2 satellite for their signal reception. But an update from Sky on January 27th talked of the broadcaster having to urgently “undertake an accelerated migration plan” and shift to a new satellite in May. Sky said it was aware that “a growing number” of customers had experienced intermittent […]
Analysts at consultants McKinsey, along with the World Economic Forum reporting from Davos in Switzerland, say that the space economy is projected to be worth $1.8 trillion (€1.72tn) by 2035. “Space is no longer a distant frontier; it’s woven into the fabric of our daily lives, from the morning weather report on your smartphone to […]
Investment bank ScotiaBank, a recent fan of satellite-to-cellular operator, has lowered its price target for AST SpaceMobile from its previous $44.70 to $40.20. The bank maintains its ‘Sector Outperform’ advice to clients for the stock. ScotiaBank’s price expectation is in the mid-range of the $15 to $53 currently suggested by other investment banks and analysts. […]
Ofcom: “BBC should play to its strengths”
Australia: Content quota for streamers becomes law
Brazil: Anti-piracy action takes down 535 websites
Paramount+ partners with Arsenal
BBC Sport agrees La Liga digital clips deal
Magic Light creates The Gruffalo & Friends idents for BBC
ESA secures €22bn in funding
Report: Disabled people underrepresented in broadcasting jobs
Channel 4 reports record Hollyoaks viewership
URC returns to Premier Sports with Black Friday deal