Advanced Television

elon musk

Qatar Airways launches Starlink-equipped flight

Qatar Airways has taken the future of in-flight connectivity to greater heights by operating the world’s first Starlink-equipped Boeing 777 aircraft from Doha to London on October 22nd. Passengers can now stay entertained and connected throughout their journey, streaming their content and live sports, enjoying online gaming, or working seamlessly at 35,000 feet – all […]

October 23, 2024

Musk grabs the booster

History was made the moment the SpaceX ‘mechazilla’ mechanical arms grabbed the returning Super Heavy Starship booster. Even Elon Musk hadn’t wholly expected this level of success for his rocket programme. The Starship’s upper stage continued on its orbital flight to a soft splashdown in the Indian Ocean and sufficiently on target for the landing […]

October 14, 2024

Starlink’s South Africa launch gets closer

South Africa’s president Cyril Ramaphosa has held talks with Elon Musk over Starlink’s availability in the country, and the discussions included potential investments. Ramaphosa told local press that the discussions had taken place recently. Musk was born in South Africa and still has family in the country. “I have had discussions with [Musk] and have […]

September 17, 2024By Chris Forrester

Confusion over Starlink in South Africa

On September 8th Elon Musk told an enquirer on X that Starlink’s satellite broadband service is awaiting regulatory approval in South Africa. However, according to regulator Icasa, it has not received a licence application. Icasa made an unambiguous statement on September 9th saying: “Please note that Icasa has not received an application [from Starlink] as […]

September 11, 2024By Chris Forrester

Starlink Texas factory capable of 4.68m terminals annually

SpaceX’s Starlink factory in Bastrop, Texas, is now the company’s largest hardware manufacturing unit, and is in business and expanding further. Local comments suggest the factory, which opened in July 2023 and is adjacent to Elon Musk’s Boring Company, is approximately double in size. The Texas factory is capable of producing 90,000 Starlink broadband terminals […]

September 10, 2024

Starlink banned in Brazil

Comments made by critics of Brazil’s government on X has resulted in Starlink being banned in the country. There are a reported 250,000 users of Starlink in Brazil, and Elon Musk says that SpaceX will continue to support them and not charge a monthly fee while the dispute continues. Musk said: “SpaceX and X are […]

August 30, 2024By Chris Forrester

Starlink offers free emergency calls

SpaceX’s Starlink broadband by satellite system is offering free connections for emergency calls when smart–phone users are in rural or maritime regions anywhere in the world. Elon Musk, in a post on his X platform, said: “After thinking it through, SpaceX Starlink will provideemergency services access for mobile phones for people in distress for free. […]

August 28, 2024By Chris Forrester

Rivada Networks funding explained

Rivada Space Networks has secured a major slice of the cash needed to build and launch its mega-constellation of an initial 300 satellites. German newspaper Handelsblatt reports that Rivada has collected €10 billion in pre-order commitments from 113 “potential customers”. The report adds that it has also attracted investment cash from 70 investors including a […]

July 4, 2024

SpaceX valued at $200bn

SpaceX is contemplating another fundraising operation by selling shares in a tender offer that could value the closely held company at roughly $200 billion (€185.7bn), according to Bloomberg. SpaceX is reportedly discussing a tender offer — a transaction that enables employees and insiders like investors to sell shares — that may kick in days, said […]

July 1, 2024By Chris Forrester

India’s billionaires gain advantage over Musk

Eutelsat’s OneWeb constellation could soon be active over India thanks to its Indian shareholders Bharti Airtel. The latest reports from India suggest that OneWeb’s permissions to operate over India could be approved later this month. Elon Musk’s Starlink, despite favourable comments from India’s prime minister Modi, is still suffering regulatory delays. Starlink has received permission […]

June 10, 2024