Charlie Ergen’s EchoStar share price rocketed 43 per cent on June 13th on news that Donald Trump has intervened with FCC chair Brendan Carr over the dispute between the FCC and EchoStar. June 16th saw EchoStar’s share price (Nasdaq:SATS) finish the day at $25.11 (€21.72). A week ago they were $15.99. In a nutshell, the […]
Despite missiles raining down – and perhaps to ensure connectivity – Elon Musk has confirmed that SpaceX’s Starlink broadband-by-satellite is now active in Iran. On June 13th, Iran’s communications ministry announced that “temporary restrictions have been imposed on the country’s internet” in response to Israel’s wave of attacks on military and nuclear facilities. The ministry […]
Novaspace, the space consulting and market intelligence firm, has released the 13th edition of its Prospects for Maritime Satellite Communications report, assessing the key trends and developments impacting this rapidly growing market. As the number of vessels using satcom services grows to 125,000 by 2034, reliance on GEO capacity will decrease. Vessels are moving their […]
AST SpaceMobile will pay around $550 million (€474.9m) to Ligado for its L-band spectrum over North America. The news was confirmed late on June 13th. The payment will allow Ligado itself to pay the $535 million it owes to Viasat/Inmarsat. The Viasat payment will then see the end of its objections it has over Ligado’s Chapter […]
The European Space Agency (ESA) is expected to ask its 23 member governments to fund a new constellation of high-resolution satellites and budgeted at some €1.5 billion. This sum is over and above the normal budget requests which will be discussed at the upcoming November 26th-27th meeting between Ministers and ESA, and where ESA’s budget […]
The European Union has “unconditionally” approved the SES purchase of Intelsat (for €3.1 billion plus debt) and joins the UK’s decision to permit the acquisition to go through. Approvals from the US, including permissions to reassign Intelsat’s frequency licences to SES, are still outstanding. “The Commission concluded that the transaction would not raise competition concerns […]
Eutelsat’s new CEO, Jean-François Fallacher, is “racing” to secure fresh funding in order to save OneWeb according to Bloomberg. The constellation of low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites is seeking to challenge Elon Musk’s Starlink and the upcoming Jeff Bezos-backed Project Kuiper LEO system. The industry expects Fallacher to be successful. “After all, why would he have […]
Viasat, a specialist in satellite communications, has announced Satélite Norte has become the first operator to trial its new Digital Bus solution allowing the major transport operator to provide high-quality passenger experiences using satellite and cellular connectivity. Following a successful test phase the solution is now being used by Satélite Norte vehicles between Goiânia, state […]
Starlink has enjoyed considerable positive press these last few days, notably winning operating licences in India and South Korea, for example. But pilots flying some of United’s aircraft fleet are not so pleased. United Airlines has had to disable Starlink transmissions for its passengers on some flights because of interference to the aircraft’s normal operating […]
South Korea’s Hanwha Systems is selling its shares in Eutelsat (equal to a 5.4 per cent stake) for a reported €78 million ($85m). Citi Bank says the shares are on offer at just €3, which is some 13.9 per cent below Eutelsat’s current share price. The move makes a 74 per cent loss for Hanwha […]