Advanced Television

Satellite

Inmarsat and Eutelsat in-flight battle

ARCEP, back in February, gave its approval to Inmarsat for the London-based satellite operator to deploy its ground-based connectivity for Inmarsat’s European Aviation Network. The French regulator joins Ofcom and many other individual European nations in approving the system which will offer Internet access to and from aircraft using Inmarsat as well as the ground-based […]

April 27, 2018

Tshipama heads Eutelsat Broadband in Africa

Eutelsat Communications has finalised the staffing of its teams in charge of broadband activities with the appointment of Jean-Claude Tshipama, who will be heading Broadband in Africa to promote satellite broadband connectivity in Africa. With an executive MBA and a Master’s degree in economics, Tshipama started his career in the telecommunications industry in the 2000s. […]

April 26, 2018

GlobalData: 5G may usher in next wave of sat-comms

By augmenting 5G mobile networks with next-generation satellite capabilities, satellite operators have an opportunity to become a major player in the emerging 5G ecosystem, says data and analytics company GlobalData. Sluggish speeds, high latency and lower reliability compared to traditional fiber and digital subscriber line (DSL) options have restricted satellite’s role to being a provider […]

April 25, 2018

Gates, Wyler team for ‘EarthNow’ live video

‘EarthNow’ is a proposed constellation of specialised satellites capable of providing “live and unfettered” continuous footage of almost anywhere on Earth. Investors in the project include Bill Gates, Japan’s media giant SoftBank, Airbus Industries and Greg Wyler, CEO at OneWeb (in which SoftBank and Airbus have stakes). The company was formed in 2017 having been […]

April 20, 2018By Chris Forrester

Russia rejects OneWeb access

Would-be broadband-by-satellite operator OneWeb has suffered a refusal by Russia for permission to beam its signals over Russia. It is quite possible that OneWeb, backed by Japanese media giant SoftBank, has fallen foul of the current trade war between the US and Russia. Russia’s federal telecoms regulator Roskomnadzor has rejected OneWeb’s application, citing as its […]

April 19, 2018By Chris Forrester

Inmarsat wins Turkish inflight TV deal

Inmarsat has signed an agreement with local inflight connectivity companies Turkish Technic and Havelsan to bring Inmarsat’s inflight broadband and live TV solutions to Turkish Airlines. Ahmet Karaman, Turkish Technic’s CEO said the agreement would provide a “seamless” inflight experience for passengers. Inmarsat looks forward to joining forces with two leading Turkish firms “to provide […]

April 16, 2018By Chris Forrester

Panasonic equips Turkish Airlines with IFE live TV

Panasonic Avionics and Turkish Airlines says they are making a major commitment for inflight entertainment and connectivity (IFEC) solutions to be installed on 50 wide-bodied Turkish Airlines aircraft and with options for a further 10 aircraft to be equipped. Panasonic’s X-Series IFEC system includes inflight Wi-Fi, mobile phone use, and global live television, and will […]

April 12, 2018By Chris Forrester

Avanti issues worrying warning

Just a few days after seeing its latest satellite launched into orbit, and only a few weeks following an announcement over financial restructuring, Avanti Communications says it may not be able to meet its debt obligations. London-based Avanti, which supplies satellite capacity over Europe, the Mid-East and Africa, told shareholders on April 9th that unless […]

April 10, 2018By Chris Forrester

Eutelsat vs ViaSat: Let battle commence!

The surprising announcement that Eutelsat will launch its own consumer-focused ‘broadband’ high-speed satellite, and as a result not proceed with a planned joint-venture with ViaSat, dramatically changes the competitive landscape over Europe. The winner might well be consumers who will shortly gain access to two rival systems offering similar extremely high-speed capacity, and likely to […]

April 9, 2018

Eutelsat sidesteps ViaSat JV

Eutelsat is ordering up a new broadband satellite from Thales Alenia which is replacing a planned joint-venture with California-based ViaSat. Konnect VHTS (Very High Throughput Satellite) is the new craft. Eutelsat, in a statement said: “The investment in Konnect VHTS replaces the project of a joint investment with ViaSat in a ViaSat 3 satellite for […]

April 6, 2018By Chris Forrester