There are no signs of strikers in French Guiana calling off their protests and allowing rocket company Arianespace resuming their launch activity. The strike is now in its 4th week. The strikers have brought the country to a near-standstill with roadblocks throughout the region. Their complaints centre on low wages, extremely high unemployment rates and […]
The past year or two have not been the best of times for satellite operators. In some markets, there has been over-capacity which has led – in some cases – to heavy discounting. In other sectors, it has been government (i.e. military) spending which has been trimmed. One firm of analysts, Northern Sky Research (NSR) […]
Orion, federal satellite operator in Russia and global TV operator SPI International / FILMBOX signed a distribution agreement based on which Orion now offers seven SPI channels on its Telekarta television platform and becomes the exclusive distributor of SPI channels in Russia. In the first stage of cooperation Orion has uplinked seven channels from the […]
The widespread labour strike in French Guiana shows no sign of ending. The action has forced rocket company Arianespace to suspend all work at the spaceport. The strike started on March 20th and now is more or less total with numerous road-blocks affecting all trade in the French colony. Some 37 labour unions are supporting […]
Satellite operator SES’s Board of Directors has approved a restructuring of SES’s go-to-market organisation model with the creation of two highly-focused business units, SES Video and SES Networks, focusing on the video- and data-centric segments in which SES operates. The new organisation, which will be implemented during the course of 2017, will gather all go-to-market […]
In Flight Entertainment and broadband connectivity company Gogo has contracted extra satellite transponder capacity from SES in order to meet what the pair describe as “surging Inflight demand in North America” for its video and broadband services. Gogo is taking an extra 12 transponders to cover North America aircraft flights and their journeys within the […]
Beijing Star Time Telecommunications Technology has emerged as the ‘secret’ business linked with Thailand’s Thaicom to build two giant communications satellites, and perhaps a new LEO constellation. One satellite is already being built by China’s Great Wall Industry Corp (CGWIC) and scheduled for launch in late 2019. CGWIC is one of Beijing Star Times (BST) […]
Satellite operator Yahsat has announced a long-term strategic partnership with UAE communications solutions company X SAT FZE. Under the agreement, X SAT is committed to capacity on Yahsat’s upcoming Ka-band satellite, Al Yah 3, to be launched later in 2017. The two companies signed the agreement during the second day of cable, satellite, broadcast, content […]
SES and Intersat have signed a multi-year agreement to deliver internet services across Africa. Intersat, one of the largest providers of internet solutions on the African continent, will be providing broadband connectivity to businesses and consumers via SES’s NSS-12 satellite, located at 57 degrees East. The latest agreement with SES includes a new C-band capacity […]
Currently a would-be satellite operator has to make its application to place a satellite through an approved licensing process, usually via a national agency which then submits the application to the ITU where it is formally registered. The FCC, for example, demands a returnable bond from applicants which is only repaid once the satellite is […]