Last week, Eutelsat’s CEO Rodolphe Belmer met with the FCC’s Chairman Ajit Pai. Belmer said that satellite operators should receive an upfront ‘stage’ payment for handing over their spectrum. A report from analyst Sami Kassab at Exane/BNPP gives a detailed background to the event, saying that Belmer discussed the principles that should govern the transition, […]
Korean telco KT Corp has confirmed that its satellite-operating subsidiary, KT SAT, has successfully conducted the world’s first 5G data transmission with a satellite connection. Technicians successfully conducted the transmission with a satellite connection from Seoul, South Korea. The test aimed to expand the fifth-generation technology linked to KT’s 5G network and KT SAT’s KOREASAT […]
An Inmarsat satellite and an Egyptian craft due for launch on November 25th were again forced to accept a delay from Arianespace, this time because of bad weather. The previous hold was on November 23rd when a power supply electrical glitch forced a delay with just 20 minutes on the countdown clock remaining. Arianespace is […]
An FCC commissioner, Jessica Rosenworcel, has confirmed that Intelsat and SES (and by implication Telesat of Canada and Eutelsat) will be compensated for releasing their C-band spectrum to auction. “They’re going to be compensated in some way,” Rosenworcel, one of five FCC commissioners, said in an interview with Bloomberg News. “It has to be an […]
If Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos have their way the planet’s heavens will soon be populated with tens of thousands of new Low Earth Orbiting (LEO) satellites. Musk is due to launch 60 of his ‘Starlink’ satellites in the next day or two. The International Telecommunications Union’s (ITU) World Radio Communication Conference-19 (WRC-19) in Sharm […]
Airbus, ESA and Eutelsat have presented the new multibeam active antenna payload at Airbus in Madrid. Airbus’ ELSA+ (ELectronically Steerable Antenna+) is a first for commercial satellite communications in Europe. The versatility of its performance represents a step change for communications satellites with a spacecraft able for the first time to adapt to the customers’ […]
In its latest research, Euroconsult shows that 11 new FSS (fixed-satellite service) providers have emerged over the last five years including two in 2018. Many of these companies are state-owned national operators, which will mostly serve national interests. Twelve new satellite operators are planning to enter the FSS geostationary (GEO) market by the early to […]
Giles Thorne, an equity analyst at investment bank Jefferies, says that the FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, in deciding to favour an in-house FCC controlled auction of 300 MHz of satellite spectrum over the US, has engineered a “Gordian knot: a public auction that has political and legal legitimacy but a roadmap of relentless disruption by […]
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 […]
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 […]