Alphasat Communications Ltd (of Ireland), which supplied broadband by satellite to customers in rural Ireland, has appointed liquidators. Alphasat, which was headed by former Irish football star turned pundit Niall Quinn, had a shareholder deficit of some €2.8 million, and creditors (in October 2015 when the last set of accounts were filed) of €3.5 million. […]
EchoStar XX1 satellite has successfully completed its in-orbit testing, and the craft has been handed over to EchoStar by builder Space Systems/Loral. The satellite is based at 10.25 degrees East and can now start operating its S-band Mobile Satellite Services payload (operating as EchoStar Mobile) with its HQ in Milton Keynes, UK. “We are pleased […]
SES says it is to change launch vehicles and launch slots for its SES-12 and SES-14 satellites. Under the new agreements, SES-12 will be launched on a Falcon 9 vehicle from SpaceX in Q1 2018 while SES-14 will be launched on an Ariane 5 rocket, also in Q1 2018. SES says the swap of launches […]
Vancouver-based Helios Wire is ploughing $4 million in additional funding to go towards the launch of two specialist satellites for Internet of Things connectivity. “The funds from this round of financing will be put toward the launch of our first satellite this Christmas, as well as the two other satellites scheduled to be launched during […]
Elon Musk’s SpaceX makes regular headlines for its rocket launches – and impressive landings – but there’s every prospect that Musk’s next major venture extends beyond Tesla cars, Hyperloop trains, and even journeys to Mars, with his plans to build two truly massive satellite constellations for global broadband coverage. Plan 1 is for a total […]
A report from Juniper Research has forecast 1.4 billion 5G connections by 2025, an increase from just 1 million in 2019, the anticipated first year of commercial launch. This will represent an average annual growth of 232 per cent. Juniper’s research warned that to be successful, 5G fixed wireless broadband would need to meet expectations […]
David Williams, the much-criticised CEO of London-based satellite operator Avanti Communications, is stepping down. The company say that Alan Harper, a board director, has moved into the position while a “comprehensive search” for a successor to Williams is sourced. Williams leaves immediately. Paul Walsh, Avanti’s chairman, in a very brief statement to the London Stock […]
The Amazonas 5 satellite – destined provide high-performance direct-to-home television services offering coverage over Central and South America – has arrived at the International Launch Services (ILS) launch site in Baikonur after having finalised its manufacture in the facilities at Space Systems Loral (SSL) in Palo Alto. The last series of tests will be run […]
Blue Origin, the rocket-launching business founded by Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos, is to build its all-new BE-4 rocket engine at Cummings Research Park, at ‘Rocket City’, Huntsville in Alabama. ‘Rocket City’ is the name given to Huntsville and is already home to NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center as well as the US Army’s Aviation & […]
Gilat Satellite Networks, a specialist in satellite networking technology, solutions and services, has announced that NTV-Plus has selected the broadband service developed by Eutelsat Networks and powered by Gilat’s high-performance VSATs to offer high-speed Internet to DTH subscribers across the European part of the Russian Federation. Gilat’s satellite solution provides affordable high-quality broadband, leveraging multi-beam […]