Advanced Television

Satellite

Qatar chooses Gogo for IFE

Qatar Airways has selected Gogo to install its in-flight entertainment and connectivity system. Qatar becomes the first airline in the Middle East to select Gogo’s 2Ku high-speed inflight connectivity and live TV solution on 70 of the airline’s fleet. The launch of high-speed Wi-Fi will be coupled with live TV to passenger devices as well […]

November 20, 2019By Chris Forrester

FCC goes for ‘public’ C-Band auction

The months of extensive lobbying in favour of a privately-held C-band spectrum auction came to naught when FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, in a Tweet on November 18th said: “After much deliberation and a thorough review of the extensive record, I’ve concluded that the best way to advance these principles is through a public auction of […]

November 19, 2019By Chris Forrester

Gilat signs “significant” O3b contract with SES

Despite there being plenty of discussion regarding new and promised ‘mega-constellations’ either being launched or planned, the fact remains that O3b – a wholly-owned subsidiary of SES is alive and already in orbit with its cluster of satellites. November 18th saw Gilat Satellite Networks announce that it has reached a major landmark with the selection […]

November 19, 2019By Chris Forrester

Eutelsat’s KONNECT satellite ready to ship to launch site

The all-electric KONNECT communications satellite built by Thales Alenia Space, the joint company between Thales and Leonardo, for the international operator Eutelsat Communications, is now undergoing final preparation prior to being shipped to the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana, for a launch planned mid-January 2020. KONNECT will provide high-speed Internet services for markets […]

November 19, 2019

Inmarsat GX5 to launch Nov 22

Inmarsat’s latest satellite, their fifth in their latest series of ‘Global Xpress’ craft, is due to launch on November 22nd. Built by Thales-Alenia Space, it was shipped from its Cannes production facility via Nice airport direct to the Arianespace Spaceport Kourou in French Guiana on October 22nd. Inmarsat GX5 is the most powerful of the […]

November 19, 2019By Chris Forrester

CBA suggests major voluntary payments to US Treasury

Most analysts had expected the C-Band Alliance of satellite operators to volunteer 25 per cent of their anticipated revenues in a ‘windfall’ tax paid to the US Treasury. But in a major filing to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on November 15th, they now say they’ll use a ”progressive” formula which ranges from 30 per […]

November 18, 2019By Chris Forrester

Eutelsat explains C-Band strategy

There have been many formal filings to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) by Eutelsat, explaining their strategy as far as the proposed reallocation of C-band is over the US. Inside Satellite spoke to a senior Eutelsat spokesperson on the background to their thinking, and in particular to their controversial proposals to offer up a 50 […]

November 18, 2019

AMOS-17 completes IOT; Commercial operation imminent

Spacecom, operator of the AMOS satellite fleet, has announced that the AMOS-17 communication satellite has successfully completed its In Orbit Testing (IOT) protocol and is in orbit at its 17°E orbital position. The company is scheduling the beginning of commercial operations in days. AMOS-17 is an HTS satellite designed specifically to meet Africa’s fast-growing communication […]

November 18, 2019

CBA a mess, but good news in sight?

It is unlikely that the world’s two major satellite operators, Intelsat and SES, have ever experienced such dramatic collective meltdowns in their share prices. Of course, there have been profit warnings from time to time, but nothing to compare with this week’s catastrophic collapse in their company theoretical values. As this is written, SES has […]

November 15, 2019

LeoSat management team ‘fired’

LeoSat was an imaginative Ka-band satellite concept that would have used laser connectivity to deliver and collect data from specialist business users around the planet. It was planning a super-constellation of at least 78 satellites. Initially, LeoSat had a $50 million Stage 1 financial support from Hispasat and Japan’s JSAT but further financial commitments from […]

November 15, 2019By Chris Forrester