Advanced Television

Inside Satellite

Chris Forrester

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.

Analyst ups AST SpaceMobile guidance

Analysts at investment company B. Riley have upped their share price guidance for would–be satellite 5G cellular operator AST SpaceMobile to $36 (from $26). The rating is the latest in a series of banks and investment houses which have boosted their advice to clients regarding AST. B. Riley held a symposium last week where AST’s […]

September 2, 2024

Deutsche Bank stays negative on Eutelsat

Deutsche Bank has trimmed its share price target slightly from €3.10 to €3 and says it is concerned by continued delays with OneWeb and in particular with repercussions following Eutelsat’s merger with low Earth satellite operator OneWeb. The bank maintains its ‘SELL’ advice to clients. The bank says it believes that the satellite operator’s growth […]

August 29, 2024

India would-be sat-operators increasingly upset

India’s giant telcos, each of which has invested in broadband–by–satellite operations, are increasingly frustrated with the bureaucratic delays which are holding back them launching services. According to Deloitte, India’s satellite broadband service market is expected to reach $1.9 billion (€1.7bn) by 2030, growing 36 per cent per year over the next five years. India’s telcos […]

August 27, 2024

Israel wants its own satellite constellation

NSLComm, an Israel-based company, has asked the FCC for permission to launch its BeetleSat system and to access the US. The scheme calls for 344 small Ka-band satellites in total. The 344 will comprise 264 orbiting at 720 kms and 80 at 810 kms. The satellites are small, weighing just 9 kgs and each capable […]

August 22, 2024

Will Starlink beat AST for direct-to-cellular?

AST SpaceMobile has enjoyed a spectacular rise in its share price over the past few days as enthusiasm for its target satellite–to–cellular service despite only having one test satellite in orbit. However, and despite much criticism, SpaceX’s Starlink might well steal AST’s thunder with its own satellite–based connectivity for smartphones. Starlink is basing a portion […]

August 20, 2024

Lockheed Martin’s major concerns over Rivada

Struggling satellite manufacturer Terran Orbital is being bought – some say rescued – by aerospace giant Lockheed Martin (L-M) in a deal worth around $450 million. L-M is paying $0.25 per share for Terran and will pay off Terran’s debts. The end result will be a new company that is 100 percent owned by L-M. […]

August 19, 2024

Intelsat fined for “unauthorised satellite operation”

The FCC has fined Intelsat $160,000 (€145k) for the satellite operator’s “unauthorised operation of its Galaxy 35 satellite.” Intelsat admitted to violating the FCC’s rules, and agreed to implement a compliance plan, and will pay a $160,000 civil penalty. The FCC’s Enforcement Bureau, in its statement, said that Intelsat in April 2022 “requested authority to […]

August 15, 2024

Bank: EchoStar “underweight”

US satellite operator EchoStar has not had the best of weeks. August 12th saw the company report revenue had fallen by 9.3 per cent and a net loss of $205.6 million (from a profit during the same period last year of $212.7 million). Its share price, already depressed, fell back by 6.1 per cent to […]

August 14, 2024

IRIS2 in BEFO

Europe’s plan for a highly-secure orbital constellation, called IRIS2 (Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite) is widely accepted to be in trouble. Two key members of the winning consortium (Airbus Space & Defence and Thales Alenia Space) have already stepped down. The remaining members of the SpaceRISE consortium, formed specifically to bid for […]

August 13, 2024

China builds orbital Starlink rival

A Chinese state-owned enterprise has launched the first batch of satellites for a mega-constellation designed to rival US company Space X’s Starlink’s near-global internet network. The launch, led by Shanghai Spacecom Satellite Technology (SSST), took place at Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centre, one of China’s main satellite and missile launch centres, located in the northern province […]

August 7, 2024