Deepak Mathur, SES’s SVP/Commercial for Asia-Pac and the Middle East, says that India’s seven competing DTH broadcasters are likely to add more than 25 million new subscribers between now and 2016. Today’s DTH numbers total more than 44.4 million (as at November 30 2011). Mathur says that India is now the largest DTH “bastion” in […]
Spacecom’s Amos 5, launched on December 11th 2011 by ILS from Baikonur, was commercialised on January 25th. Some C-band clients have recently been relocating from Spacecom’s temporary leased capacity (the former AsiaSat-2) to the new satellite at 17 deg East. However, there are also further considerable expansion plans afoot with rumours that a new satellite […]
It is ironic that the frontline in the net neutrality conflict has shifted to a country where broadband speed is more abundant than anywhere on earth. KT Telecom of Korea has announced it will ‘manage’ the broadband capacity it claims is being soaked up by Smart TV users. It says it must do so to […]
Millionaire Elon Musk, who is backing a new lower-cost satellite launching rocket system, is planning a third IPO to raise extra cash for the venture. Musk is also financing the development of the all-electric Tesla car, which was Musk’s first IPO. His second IPO is imminent and covers his SolarCity project in California. South African-born […]
Back in November, Norbert Holzle was departing from SES as the satellite operator’s SVP/commercial for Europe. Now, seemingly, it is all change and Holzle is to stay on. This means that Ferenc Szelényi, only officially appointed on November 30th, is to step aside and leave the company to “pursue other business opportunities”. An […]
Barely a week goes by without someone suggesting that DVR manufacturer TiVo is about to be taken over. Assorted names have been mentioned, not least one or other of the EchoStar family of companies, in EchoStar’s case if only to bring the – now ended – IP litigation to an end. Other would-be ‘buyers’ have […]
Kenya is proving to be something of a graveyard for pay-TV operators. Just over two years ago it was GTV which went bust. Now it is Smart TV which has gone off air, with backers Next Generation Broadcasting having pulled out of the joint-venture with Transmex. GTV was a DTH player while Smart TV is […]
Space Systems/Loral (SS/L), one of the world’s most important satellite builders, has been hit with a lawsuit alleging patent infringements. The plaintiff is ViaSat, a California-based satellite services operator best known for its WildBlue broadband-by-satellite businesses. The writ argues that SS/L used ViaSat-originated technologies in other satellites without ViaSat’s knowledge or approval. ViaSat says that […]
SES and Eutelsat, Europe’s two satellite giants, are again arguing over the size of their organisations. A few days ago Eutelsat proudly claimed it was now carrying more than 4,000 channels. Today (February 3rd), up pops a press release from SES reminding us that they are carrying more than ,5200 channels, of which more than […]
For the best part of 50 years, the International Telecommunications Union has employed a system whereby satellite operators logged their plans to occupy orbital slots with the ITU under a structured and open system of ‘filings’ in a Master Register. If there is more than one filing, then the applicants form an orderly queue under […]