AST SpaceMobile (AST) is expected to launch the first of its giant ‘second generation’ BlueBird satellites in July, and eventually will have around 250 satellites in orbit and will provide global direct-to-cellular and other broadband services. Bankers are getting increasingly enthusiastic about the company. Deutsche Bank, for example, in one of its ‘Stocks in Focus’ […]
A report on the satellite industry from investment bank BNP-Paribas highlights that a new auction of satellite C-band spectrum (in particular for US 5G use) “is back and too big to ignore”. The report continues: “As is the €800 billion ReArm Europe plan, with its focus on satellite communications. Geopolitical tailwinds are supportive. But amid […]
Visitors to Japanese public broadcaster NHK and its NHK Labs R&D division’s Tech Expo 2025 (opening May 26th) can take an early look at some of the company’s broadcasting developments. Top of the list is NHK’s Scene-adaptive camera. When capturing wide field-of-view footage like 360-degree videos, you often encounter various subjects in bright, dark, or […]
Satellite operator Eutelsat saw its share price fall by almost 12 per cent on its Q3 revenue statement last week. BNP-Paribas, the financial services company, has now issued a report on the satellite operator. Sami Kassab, analyst at BNP-Paribas, headlined his note to clients as “More headwinds ahead” and while stressing that Eutelsat’s financial reports […]
Last week the UK’s High Court rejected an application by cellular operator EE (which was acquired by BT in 2016) for an interim injunction against London-based speciality satellite operator Avanti Communications. The application concerned Avanti’s alleged threat to withdraw its satellite links for EE, unless EE agreed to a “substantially increased fee rate” for its […]
IRIS² is the planned highly-secure satellite mega-constellation being engineered by the European Union and where Europe’s key satellite operators are working together in the SpaceRISE consortium to achieve the flagship scheme. SpaceRISE has issued a statement saying: “At SpaceRISE we are committed to the timely development and implementation of the multi-orbit system, and are delighted […]
Reports from the US say that Charlie Ergen-backed EchoStar is being investigated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) over alleged compliance issues over federal requirements linked to EchoStar’s building of a nationwide 5G network. The news hurt EchoStar’s share price which crashed 17 per cent (by $4.01) and in the words of lawyers from the […]
CABSAT Dubai is now in flow with the event focused on satellites – whether for TV, for Earth observation or other uses. However, the Dubai Emirate is different from its neighbours in the Emirates capital city Abu Dhabi, which is not so keen on unsightly satellite dishes. Last week saw Abu Dhabi’s Department of Municipalities […]
Japan has four cellular network operators with three of them controlling some 80 per cent of the market. Rakuten, currently Number 4 in the hierarchy with about 3 per cent market share, is looking to grow its ‘Direct-to-Consumer’ satellite connectivity share thanks to AST SpaceMobile. NTT Docomo, the largest player, does not – as yet […]
Saudi Arabia’s multi-billion sovereign wealth fund created Neo Space a year ago, and while it is keen on developing space-based technology for Earth observation and other applications it does not see direct-to-cellular from space as being economic – at least for the time being. However, according to an interview in Space Intel Report, Neo Space […]