Advanced Television

SES

SES wins O3b order from US military

SES Government Solutions, which says it is working in “close partnership [with] a key US government customer”, has confirmed an order for its O3b fleet of Medium Earth orbiting (MEO) satellites. The order is worth $11.8 million but this is a portion of a much larger value ‘Blanket Purchase Agreement’ worth $516.7 million set aside […]

May 17, 2021By Chris Forrester

Intelsat Chapter 11: Trial and Exit Plan

Reporting on Intelsat’s Chapter 11 reconstruction is not helped by the slew of daily Motions and Filings made to the company’s bankruptcy court, nor by the conflicting arguments lodged by the varied interested parties. Yours truly is assisted in this revision by a source close to the action. There are two important strands: The first […]

May 14, 2021

SES and Intelsat appoint mediator

Intelsat’s bankruptcy court ordered that a mediator be appointed to try and find more common ground between the disputing pair. That has now happened. SES and Intelsat informed the court on May 11th that the two litigants met on April 29th and agreed both the appointment and scope of the referees authority. The two parties […]

May 12, 2021

SES share buy-back boosts shares

The first-quarter results from satellite operator SES were buoyant, and helped by a commitment to buy in €100 millions-worth of its own shares for cancellation helped boost SES’s share price by almost 10 percent. At the end of the day the shares were up 9.3 per cent to – a still miserable in some eyes […]

May 7, 2021

SES Q1: €100m share buy-back

SES used its Q1 results statement to announce a €100 million share buy-back programme, declaring that it had made a strong start to this financial year. Its currently all-important Video division is moving steadily forward. SES has seen Video revenues grow from a minus 8 per cent overall y-o-y fall to a minus 4.6 per […]

May 6, 2021By Chris Forrester

SES banks $35m US military contract

Satellite operator SES has secured a US government contract for its Government Solutions division. The contract award is worth $35 million and will supply connectivity in support of a major US Department of Defense combatant command. SES, in its statement, said: “[The contract] provides reach-back capabilities from forward-stationed units in remote locations to Europe, the […]

May 5, 2021By Chris Forrester

SES vs Intelsat C-band trial delayed

The Court handling Intelsat’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy reconstruction has agreed to delay the trial between SES and Intelsat and the SES claim over how the FCC’s C-band incentive payments are apportioned. SES is claiming that it is entitled to a greater share of the FCC payment and in addition is alleging that Intelsat is deliberately […]

May 4, 2021By Chris Forrester

SES extends Motor Presse TV partnership

German pay-TV broadcaster Motor Presse TV, a subsidiary of Motor Presse Stuttgart, has extended its long-term partnership with satellite operator SES. Motor Presse TV will start using SES’s end-to-end video cloud services, including its new Cloud Playout solution, to manage and distribute its two channels to Germany and Norway – ‘Auto, Motor & Sport TV’ […]

May 4, 2021By Chris Forrester

Bank modifies Eutelsat outlook

This week Eutelsat confirmed it would invest $550 million in broadband constellation OneWeb in return for a 24 percent stake in OneWeb. Ratings agency Fitch has given a “BBB” rating for Eutelsat with a “Stable Outlook”. The ratings report comes as investment bank Exane/BNPP also slightly modified its view of the deal, saying: “This initial […]

April 30, 2021

Musk gets FCC approval to lower Starlink orbits

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has granted Elon Musk permission to lower the orbital heights of its Starlink broadband satellite system. “Specifically, we modify the license by reducing the number of satellites from 4,409 to 4,408; modifying the primary operational altitude specified for 2,814 satellites, to change it from the 1,100-1,300 km range to the […]

April 28, 2021By Chris Forrester