Advanced Television

Inside Satellite

Chris Forrester

Chris Forrester is one of the most experienced and highly regarded journalists in the field. His insight and analysis, particularly in the satellite and pay-TV arena, is highly prized. He has written for all the major business journals in the sector as well as several national newspapers.

Eutelsat “racing” to find extra cash

Eutelsat’s new CEO, Jean-François Fallacher, is “racing” to secure fresh funding in order to save OneWeb according to Bloomberg. The constellation of low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites is seeking to challenge Elon Musk’s Starlink and the upcoming Jeff Bezos-backed Project Kuiper LEO system. The industry expects Fallacher to be successful. “After all, why would he have […]

June 11, 2025

Starlink causes problems for United Airlines

Starlink has enjoyed considerable positive press these last few days, notably winning operating licences in India and South Korea, for example. But pilots flying some of United’s aircraft fleet are not so pleased. United Airlines has had to disable Starlink transmissions for its passengers on some flights because of interference to the aircraft’s normal operating […]

June 10, 2025

Hanwha dumps Eutelsat OneWeb

South Korea’s Hanwha Systems is selling its shares in Eutelsat (equal to a 5.4 per cent stake) for a reported €78 million ($85m). Citi Bank says the shares are on offer at just €3, which is some 13.9 per cent below Eutelsat’s current share price. The move makes a 74 per cent loss for Hanwha […]

June 9, 2025

Bank: “FCC fires shot across the bows at EchoStar”

Earlier in May the FCC launched a review into EchoStar’s compliance with certain 5G wireless coverage obligations (as part of their efforts to build the fourth national wireless network in the US) and raising questions about the buildout extensions granted in September 2024 and EchoStar’s utilisation of 2GHz mobile-satellite service (MSS) spectrum. EchoStar has filed […]

May 30, 2025

IRIS2 is “dead in the water”

The SmallSat Europe conference at the RAI Congress Centre in Amsterdam heard speaker after speaker express anxiety over the planned European IRIS2 mega-constellation. The project, which will eventually bring together low Earth orbit, mid-Earth and geostationary satellites in a global ring of craft with ultra-secure communications, is looking extremely fragile if the event’s speakers are […]

May 29, 2025

How will Musk square the Indian subscriber circle?

Starlink subscribers around the world pay anything between $120 (USA), A$139 (Australia), €49 (average in Europe) and Ksh 6500 (in Kenya). But SpaceX has a major dilemma in setting its pricing structure in India. Not only is India a market with plenty of established cellular competition, but also vigorous competition from Eutelsat’s OneWeb and RelianceJio/SES, […]

May 28, 2025

Tensions in South Africa over Starlink approval

Elon Musk’s previous comments that South Africa’s government was allegedly “racist” were raised during the tense meeting between President Trump and President Cyril Ramaphosa in the White House last week. Musk was present during the meeting but did not speak. South African billionaire Johann Rupert did speak and moved to quell tensions with remarks that […]

May 27, 2025

Starship #9 authorised for launch

The upcoming launch of SpaceX’s giant Starship has been approved by the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA). The FAA has examined SpaceX’s history on the anomaly which led to the loss of Starship #8 and has now cleared Flight 9 for launch. “The FAA conducted a comprehensive safety review of the SpaceX Starship Flight 8 mishap […]

May 26, 2025

Banks enthusiastic for AST SpaceMobile

AST SpaceMobile (AST) is expected to launch the first of its giant ‘second generation’ BlueBird satellites in July, and eventually will have around 250 satellites in orbit and will provide global direct-to-cellular and other broadband services. Bankers are getting increasingly enthusiastic about the company. Deutsche Bank, for example, in one of its ‘Stocks in Focus’ […]

May 22, 2025

Bank excited by C-band prospects

A report on the satellite industry from investment bank BNP-Paribas highlights that a new auction of satellite C-band spectrum (in particular for US 5G use) “is back and too big to ignore”. The report continues: “As is the €800 billion ReArm Europe plan, with its focus on satellite communications. Geopolitical tailwinds are supportive. But amid […]

May 21, 2025