Advanced Television

C-band

SES vs Intelsat C-band claim gets specific

Intelsat’s bankruptcy court on December 3rd said the dispute between SES Americom and Intelsat would go to trial next June. The news coincides with a 126-page filing to Intelsat’s court from SES which pulls no punches in its claims. At the heart of the legal dispute between SES and Intelsat is an argument over Intelsat’s […]

December 7, 2020By Chris Forrester

FCC readies C-band auction

Next week sees the start of the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) auction of satellite C-band spectrum in the US. Satellite operators are in the process of clearing a total of 280 MHz of spectrum in the C-band (3.7-3.98 GHz) for repurposing for 5G use. Most observers expect the auction to generate billions of dollars to […]

November 30, 2020

Intelsat looks to eliminate $10bn of debt

Intelsat is currently working its way through its Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganisation. Prior to the declaration of bankruptcy, the company’s debt burden was some $15.2 billion. It was massively weighed down by interest payments on that debt, costing the company more than $200 million per quarter-year. Intelsat says it is looking to mitigate a major […]

November 11, 2020

USSI launches C-band transition service

Customised network and broadcast services provider USSI Global has launched a new C-band mitigation interference service for broadcast and cable networks affected by the forthcoming C-band transition. Similar to the recent TV spectrum repack in the United States, the FCC initiative will clear the lower 300MHz of the C-band for 5G services, and reassign affected […]

November 10, 2020

SES scraps plans to split

SES has unveiled its Q3 and nine-month numbers, and also announced that it has cancelled plans to divide the company into two: a Video-based business (responsible for 59 per cent of group revenue) and a Networks company. Group revenues for the nine months were €1.41 billion and down 2.9 per cent on 2019’s €1.45 billion. […]

November 5, 2020By Chris Forrester

SES and Intelsat in $1.8bn C-band dispute

SES is claiming $1.8 billion from Intelsat in an increasingly bitter dispute that is based on an alleged breach of fiduciary duty and which was wrapped up in the C-band process when both parties were involved in the C-Band Alliance. Intelsat is alleging that SES deliberately misled the FCC in distorting an examination of the […]

October 21, 2020By Chris Forrester

Deadline approaches for C-band installs

Earth station operators in the US as well as cable and IP head-ends which have equipment pointing towards SES Americom satellites must decide this by October 14th if they want to self-install the necessary equipment and realign dishes for the new C-band signals. The FCC has identified around 6000 registered/licensed C-band users in the US […]

October 12, 2020By Chris Forrester

Telesat makes Canada C-band proposal

Canadian satellite operator Telesat has welcomed Canada’s Ministry of Innovation, Science and Economic Development’s (ISED) inclusion of Telesat’s proposal to reallocate expeditiously the highly-desirable 3800 MHz, ‘C-band’, mid-band spectrum from fixed satellite use to 5G services in its recently-released consultation on the future of that band. According to Telesat, its proposal is the only plan […]

September 2, 2020By Colin Mann

FCC denies C-band objectors

The FCC has firmly turned down objections from a few satellite operators who were not included in its 5G reallocation of C-band satellite frequencies. The three, collectively known as the ‘Small satellite Operators’ and comprising ABS Global, Empresa Argentina de Soluciones Satelitales, Hispamar and Hispasat of Madrid, had filed their objections to the FCC’s auction […]

September 1, 2020

SES Q2: Networks up 7.1%

Satellite operator SES has included the anticipated receipt of $3.97 billion into its forecast accounts and coming its way as a result of the FCC’s C-band restructuring order.  The first batch of cash will come into the company from “mid-2021”. SES confirmed it is buying four more O3b/mPower satellites, which will result in a 90 […]

August 7, 2020By Chris Forrester