Advanced Television

Satellite

Rivada claims IRIS2 is “dead in the water”

Declan Ganley, CEO at Rivada Space Networks, told delegates at the recent Satellite 2025 show in Washinton, that in his view the European IRIS2 scheme to build a super-secure satellite constellation is – in effect – “dead in the water”. Ganley was speaking on an expert panel which included Eutelsat’s CEO Eva Berneke. Ganley praised […]

March 25, 2025

Ofcom consults on satellite D2D

UK media regulator Ofcom has published proposals for enabling MNOs to use their spectrum for direct to device (D2D) services, in partnership with satellite providers. The proposals are open for consultation and it expects responses in by May 20th. That timeframe suggests Ofcom expects to move pretty quickly on this one. “People in the UK […]

March 25, 2025

SES emphasises Dividend policy

One of the main complaints from an SES major shareholder, Appaloosa (which holds 7 per cent of SES) was the company’s poor dividend policy. However, SES used its report to shareholders ahead of its AGM on April 4th to explain in some detail how its dividend policy would evolve, and in some respects answer at […]

March 24, 2025

Starlink claims 1m Roam customers

SpaceX’s Starlink says it now has more than “1 million active Starlink Roam customers”. This is an impressive number, although with a total claimed recent customer base of 5 million, some might say that the Roaming client base is proportionally high. However, Starlink says it is dedicated to providing an incredible high-speed internet experience for […]

March 21, 2025By Chris Forrester

Could Rocket Lab gain ground in D2C race?

There’s no doubt that Elon Musk’s Starlink broadband-by-satellite system currently dominates Direct-To-Consumer (D2C) transmissions. Starlink is also enjoying success in serving Cruise ships and airlines with high-speed connectivity. There’s currently a battle for a would be/could be 2nd Place position between Jeff Bezos and Amazon’s Project Kuiper and AST SpaceMobile. Kuiper has yet to make […]

March 20, 2025

AST SpaceMobile to launch BlueBird 2 in May

AST SpaceMobile (AST) already has five of its BlueBird high-capacity broadband satellites in orbit, and has strong relationships with AT&T, Verizon and Vodafone each of which has stated that they want to start linking their existing cellular clients with AST. But AST needs far more satellites in orbit to provide a global service. The first […]

March 20, 2025By Chris Forrester

Project Kuiper facing regulatory deadline

The massive Amazon-backed broadband-by-satellite system, Project Kuiper, is potentially going to miss its regulatory obligations according to reports. It seems that comments made at the recent Satellite 2025 show in Washington suggest that shortage of rocket launch availability will impact Kuiper’s availability. On March 11th, Kuiper updated the Federal Communications Commission with a small reduction […]

March 19, 2025

Team Europe provides €60m for digital connectivity in rural Asia

EIB Global – the European Investment Bank’s global arm – and the European Commission have signed a financial package worth almost €60 million with SES, a Europe-based provider of satellite-enabled content and connectivity solutions. This initiative aims to deliver satellite connectivity to remote rural areas in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Nearly half of the […]

March 19, 2025

SES denies Appaloosa shareholder proposals

Investment house Appaloosa LP, which holds funds worth more than 7 per cent of satellite operator SES, has been denied its suggestions to modernise its boardroom, shareholder structure and dividend policy. SES, in response to Appaloosa, said: “SES appreciates the perspectives of all our shareholders and their constructive ideas about our business. While the Company […]

March 18, 2025

SES reinstates Cleosat LEO scheme

SES has resurrected its ‘Cleosat’ filing with the ITU which lapsed in 2015. Cleosat calls for an L and S-band constellation of 62 satellites (6×10 @ 850km/86°, 1 @ 533km/97.5° & 1 MEO @ 8062km) for a potential direct-to-handset service. The original Cleosat filing with the ITU, made in 2015, was lost and expired due […]

March 17, 2025