News Analysis

Geneva, Switzerland, February 17, 2012--The World Radiocommunication Conference 2012 (WRC-12)  concluded its deliberations today with the signing of the Final Acts that revise the Radio Regulations, the international treaty governing the use of radio-frequency spectrum and satellite orbits.Over 3000 participants, representing 165 out of ITU’s 193 Member States attended the four-week Conference, braving the extreme winter conditions prevailing in Geneva. Over 100 Observers from among ITU’s 700 private sector members along with international organizations also attended WRC-12.

Nonthaburi, Thailand, February 16, 2012--Satellite operator THAICOM Public Company Limited (released its full-year 2011 operating results reporting  consolidated net operating profits for a second quarter in a row of 46 million Baht  (US$ 1.45 million), an increase of 186.7% over the previous quarter’s consolidated net operating profit of 16 million Baht (US$ 520,000) . The overall performance for the year, with a net loss of 130 million Baht (US$ 4.23 million)  carried over from the first half of the year, on normalized business operations, was an 83.9% improvement over the previous year’s results, when a loss of 806 million Baht (US$ 26.24 million) was recorded.

Singapore, February 14, 2012--SingTel posted 9.6% decline in net profit to S $ 902 million  (US$ 715 million) for the third quarter 2011 covering October to December 2011.  The company has posted a net profit of S$ 998 million  (US$ 792 million) for the same period a year ago.  This was the fourth consecutive quarter that SingTel has posted a decline in its net profit.

Singapore, February 9, 2012--Strong growth in both subscription and service revenue propelled the global fixed broadband market during 2011. Significant subscriber additions last year were made by all fixed platforms: DSL, cable, and optical fiber. In some countries with a high penetration of DSL broadband service, the DSL subscriber base declined slightly, but it was offset by the growth in optical fiber subscriptions, acording to ABI Research.

Sydney, Australia, February 7, 2012--A new study released  by Telsyte confirms the rise of subscription TV over broadband with more than 300,000 Australian homes now accessing an IPTV service. This equates to around one in ten subscription TV services currently delivered over broadband.Telsyte forecasts that by 2015, over one third of all subscription TV services will be provided over broadband.

Paris, February 6, 2012-- Euroconsult announced today that it expects prospects for the satellite industry to remain favorable over the decade in a variety of areas. The next ten years should see continued growth for commercial markets, while at the same time stagnating growth for government spending should be expected at least through mid-decade.

by Peter Galace, Associate Editor

Dubai, UAE, February 1, 2012--Despite  the ongoing impact of the Arab Spring protests and a dramatic re-ordering of political affairs still reverberating, the Middle East region remains a key growth area for commercial satellite industry.

Hong Kong, January 31, 2012--The Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA) has released a powerful first-of-its-kind reach and frequency analysis of the definable returns on media investment in multichannel TV advertising. Commissioned by CASBAA and executed by global media agency Universal McCann, the study measures the benefits of allocating variable percentages of a US$1.75m TV budget on multichannel TV and Free-to-Air (FTA) in seven key Asia-Pacific markets: Australia, Hong Kong, the Philippines, India, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan.

London, January 26, 2012--VSAT operator service revenues grew by 14 per cent to $5.2 billion globally in 2011 according to the 12^th Edition of he COMSYS VSAT Report. The VSAT Report is the result of over twelve months of research, involving site visits and interviews with companies from Australia to Argentina and from Pakistan to Peru.

by NSR

Cambridge, Mass., January 16, 2012--Reports indicate that Iran in the "near future" will start enriching uranium deep inside a mountain to conduct sensitive atomic activities at an underground site for better protection against enemy attacks. The U.S. and Israel are not ruling out strikes against Iran if diplomacy fails to resolve the dispute.