Surrey Satellite Technology (SSTL), based in Guildford, UK, unveiled its portion of Eutelsat’s highly versatile ‘Quantum’ satellite on January 9th. The satellite is being built under a public–private partnership between the European Space Agency (ESA) and the satellite operator Eutelsat with Airbus as the prime contractor. The satellite platform, which has been designed and manufactured […]
UK armed forces and their families stationed overseas, including Royal Navy ships at sea, will access entertainment from home using SES satellites in a new multi-year agreement. The armed forces use British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) as their source of entertainment, and the new deal with SES will enable BFBS to continue to deliver more […]
The biggest media company in the Republic of Belarus – The National State TV and Radio Company of the Republic of Belarus – has selected Globecast to launch the HD variant of its international satellite channel Belarus 24. TV channel Belarus 24 is building upon its decade-long relationship with Globecast with the launch of the […]
It may not be quite a full roar of approval from analysts at Moffett Nathanson (MN), but an upgrade from ‘Sell’ to ‘Neutral’ on Charlie Ergen’s Dish Network is welcome news for the Denver-based DTH broadcaster. The hard facts, however, still make grim reading. Dish’s stock price has crashed 48 per cent this past year […]
Australia’s Minister for Regional Services Senator Bridget McKenzie has announced A$10 million in additional funding to secure the Viewer Access Satellite Television Service (VAST) for regional Australians until 2021. VAST provides commercial and national television services free-to-air to around 500,000 Australian viewers in regional Australia, including 30,000 travellers. “Many Australians living in our regions rely […]
Kacific is a satellite operator concentrating its resources on most of the Pacific islands, stretching from Indonesia and the Philippines in the West to Tonga and Guam, French Polynesia, New Zealand in the South and East Pacific. According to a report in trade publication Space News, the embryonic business is now planning a significant expansion. […]
International TV and broadband company Liberty Global is to sell its DTH satellite TV operations currently serving four Eastern European markets to M7 Group. Liberty Global will sell its DTH operations for a total enterprise value of approximately €180 million on a US GAAP basis, subject to customary debt and working capital adjustments at completion. […]
UK broadcast regulator Ofcom has found that the RT news channel broke broadcasting rules by failing to preserve due impartiality in seven news and current affairs programmes over a six-week period. Earlier in 2018, Ofcom launched a number of investigations into RT to determine whether certain programmes broadcast on the channel had complied with broadcasting […]
The influential Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers (IEEE) says that the proposed mega-constellation of SpaceX’s ‘Starlink’ fleet of satellites will generate “hundreds of fragments” when one of the low-Earth orbiting craft fails in space. The IEEE, in its ‘Spectrum’ report has calculated the risks of an injury or death as 45 per cent over […]
Satellite operator SES has raised a total of €400 million in a syndication of Schuldschein Loans. A Schuldschein loan is one that does not need to have a new prospectus issued, and can replace a private placement. They tend to cost less than a bond issue. The SES borrowing comprises a €150 million 5.5-year floating […]