Arabsat and King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) today announced contracts for Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] to manufacture two A2100 communications satellites. In conjunction with the award, Lockheed Martin, KACST and TAQNIA Space Company, a subsidiary of the Saudi Technology Investment and Development Company (TAQNIA), signed an agreement to explore future design, manufacture, assembly and integration of satellites in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Spacecom (Tel Aviv Stock Exchange: SCC), the operator of the AMOS satellite fleet, today announced that it is focusing more capacity to Nepal on the AMOS-4 satellite located at the 65°E prime orbital position. In the aftermath of Saturday's enormously deadly earthquake, many service providers have been disabled. Spacecom is offering capacity Free of Charge to emergency responders in Nepal, and throughout the affected region. Additionally, the satellite operator is adding capacity on AMOS-4 for SNG operators in the region to enable them to quickly resume their businesses.

RSCC's Express-AM6 satellite has completed in-orbit testing and is now operational.  Located at 53˚ E, one of RSCC’s key orbital slots, the Express-AM6 satellite will provide reliable coverage of Russia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia.

The addition of Express-AM6 to RSCC’s satellite constellation bring the total number of satelllites in operation to 11, including seven satellites of the Express-AM series and two DBS satellites of the Express-AT series.

Startup Australian satellite operator NewSat Ltd. has filed for bankruptcy protection in the US state of Delaware.  Control of the company transitioned from the executive team to bankruptcy managers who immediately filed a restraining order against NewsSat's creditors. 

Jason Preston and Matthew Caddy of McGrathNicol have been appointed joint and several Receivers and Managers, and Stephen Parbery and Marcus Ayres of PPB Advisory have been appointed Voluntary Administrators (“Administrators”) to NewSat Limited (ASX Code: NWT) by its secured creditors on April 17, 2015.

At the 2015 NAB Show in Las Vegas, six leading satellite operators and manufacturers announced today the formation of the SAT>IP Alliance, formalising a coalition that was initiated last year to develop compatible hardware and software for the SAT>IP technology. The SAT>IP Alliance consists of SES, HISPASAT, Panasonic, NAGRA, ALi Corporation and MaxLinear.

Social media has become an even bigger part of consumers’ lives in today’s hyper-connected world. Users are finding more ways to play, interact, work and even monetise content through social media. Asia Pacific, presently the world’s largest mobile region accounts for over half of the globe’s social media usersThe social media explosion has not only changed the lives of hyper-connected consumers, it has also caused a rippling effect throughout its ecosystem – businesses, network infrastructure, communication providers and more.

NAB Show, the world’s largest gathering of vendors driving the future of media and entertainment, announced today that the show floor has expanded to over one million net square feet of exhibit space with 244 companies exhibiting for the first time.

The second conference preparatory meeting (CPM) for the forthcoming World Radiocommunication Conference is currently in session in Geneva. Over 1100 delegates from ITU’s 193 Member States and the private sector are examining preparatory studies on the regulatory, technical, operational and procedural aspects of the agenda of the World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-15), which will take place in Geneva, 2-27 November 2015.

Calling 2014 a "year of challenge and transition," Asia Satellite Telecommunications Holdings Limited (‘AsiaSat’ – SEHK: 1135), reported revenues were down 9% in 2014.  The company reported  turnover of HK$1,365 million in 2014, down 9% from the previous year primarily due to the full-year impact from a renewal and extension in 2013 of agreements with a major customer at reduced rates.

In 2013, Asiasat revenues were down 16% from the previous year. 

NAB Show will host 64 international delegations from every continent, including first-time delegations from Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Myanmar and Pakistan. Nearly 30 percent of the event's more than 98,000 attendees will travel from 159 countries to NAB Show, held April 11-16 in Las Vegas. NAB Show is the world's largest annual conference and expo for professionals who create, manage and distribute entertainment across all platforms.

In addition, some 650 exhibiting companies out of the more than 1,700 total NAB Show exhibitors are headquartered outside the U.S.