Advanced Television

Satellite

Boeing delivers O3b satellites to SES

Boeing has delivered two O3b mPOWER satellites to SES. The pair will be the ninth and tenth members of the O3b mPOWER fleet. The satellites, which feature Boeing’s fully software-defined payload technology to actively allot power to meet user needs, are now en route to Kennedy Space Center, Florida. for a planned launch this summer. […]

July 3, 2025By Chris Forrester

AST SpaceMobile’s FM1 launch date slips

AST SpaceMobile’s first launch (FM1) of its second-generation Bluebird broadband satellites has been delayed. July 1st saw AST write to the FCC asking for permission to ship the satellite from its Texas HQ to the Indian launch site and for the FCC to grant an “experimental authority to launch and test” the satellite. AST is […]

July 3, 2025By Chris Forrester

Airbus shapes new organisation structure

Airbus Defence and Space says it is implementing a new organisation structure to shape the company’s future competitiveness, with over 2,000 jobs to go. The new organisation came into effect on July 1st. The Division has completed all information and consultation processes on European as well as national levels for its adaptation plan and has […]

July 2, 2025By Chris Forrester

Musk planning investment in South Africa

Elon Musk’s plans to start Starlink broadband services in South Africa are currently stymied. But he is reportedly planning an ambitious work-around with a 2 billion Rand (€96m) overall investment in the Southern Africa region to get around local Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) regulations. South Africa’s Business Day reports that Musk will use the investment […]

July 2, 2025

Ofcom opens 3 spectrum consultations

UK comms regulator Ofcom has opened three separate consultations on its spectrum work, which relate to: changing satellite gateway fees; a proposed new non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) gateway licence for Amazon Kuiper; and introducing short notice, short duration licences in the lower 2.3 GHz band to support demand from the Shared Access and PMSE (programme making […]

July 1, 2025By Colin Mann

AST SpaceMobile, Vodafone choose Luxembourg for HQ

Vodafone and AST SpaceMobile have a joint-venture covering AST’s planned ‘direct-to-consumer’ satellite-based cellular service. The pair have chosen Luxembourg as the new company’s headquarters. Mobile operators covering 21 EU member states and other European countries have already expressed an interest in using the service; commercial launches expected from 2026. The planned establishment of the new […]

July 1, 2025By Chris Forrester

France backs OneWeb

There are more than a few ‘rivals’ to Starlink, but only Eutelsat’s OneWeb has a full fleet of satellites in orbit with which to challenge Elon Musk’s broadband satellite service. The other major potential rivals are Jeff Bezos-backed Amazon Project Kuiper and Canada’s Telesat and its Lightspeed fleet. But Kuiper has only just started launching […]

July 1, 2025

Report: Defence spending fuels $182bn EO satellite boom

The 18th edition of Novaspace’s Earth Observation Satellite Systems report finds 5,770 EO satellites set to launch by 2034, fuelling a $182.6 billion (€155bn) market surge, as national defence priorities shape space strategy. As geopolitical instability drives interest in sovereign EO assets, defence and civil satellites are positioned to overtake commercial deployments . “A new […]

July 1, 2025

Softbank sets HAPS launch for 2026

To help bridge the digital divide and provide emergency communications during disasters, Japanese investment company SoftBank Corp has been actively conducting research and development for its High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS) stratospheric telecommunications business since 2017 as a global pioneer in the field. In 2026, SoftBank plans to launch pre-commercial HAPS services in Japan in […]

June 27, 2025

Bank: SES target price of €9.60

Analysts at investment bank Berenberg have reinstated coverage of satellite operator SES in a timely fashion and assuming a successful acquisition of Intelsat. Berenberg says it expects SES to extend its competitive advantage once it closes its acquisition of Intelsat later this year. Berenberg also believes SES will benefit from a rapidly changing geopolitical landscape […]

June 27, 2025