In my previous column  I previewed GVF High Throughput Satellites 2013: Game-Changer in Action - The London Roundtable. I am very pleased to report that several participants in this latest program in the GVF-EMP Conference Partnership portfolio described the event as “A very successful conference, by any standard.” Here, in this contribution to the final edition of 2013, I wish to provide you, the reader, with the means to access at least some of the flavor of the series of great dialogs which took place in London on 5th and 6th December 2013.

Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) successfully launched the THAICOM 6 satellite for Asian satellite operator THAICOM.  The Falcon 9 rocket delivered THAICOM 6 to its targeted 295 x 90,000 km geosynchronous transfer orbit at 22.5 degrees inclination.  It was the second successful launch for a commercial company by Spaex into geostationary transfer orbit in a little over a month. The Falcon 9 rocket successfully launched the SES-8 satellite last month.

CABSAT, the leading professional content management event in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA), has inked an alliance with the USA’s National Association of Broadcasters Show (NAB Show) which will see the world’s two biggest industry show brands in their field collaborate on a world-class content management conference programme covering the latest trends, technologies and innovations in the global broadcasting and media market.

Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox has sold its 47% stake in Star China TV to China Media Capital (CMC). The joint venture, which was formed in 2010, operates three 24-hour Mandarin channels: Xing Kong, Xing Kong International, Channel [V] Mainland China and the Fortune Star Chinese movie library. The JV was formed in 2010 and is majority-owned by CMC.

Inmarsat today confirmed that it had completed regulatory and other approvals in relation to its US$ 45 million purchase of Globe Wireless, the Florida-basedprovider of value-added maritime communications services to the shipping market.  As a consequence, Inmarsat has now completed its acquisition of Globe Wireless.

Inmarsat’s acquisition includes the business and substantially all of the assets of Globe Wireless. In the twelve months ended June 30, 2103, Globe Wireless generated revenues of US$91 million and currently has an installed customer base of over 6,000 ships.

Reportbuyer.com just published a new market research report entitled "Online TV & Video Forecasts" which predicts global online TV and video revenues (over fixed broadband networks) will reach US in 2018, a massive increase from the US$ 3.98 billion recorded in 2010 and the $15.94 billion expected in 2013, according to the Online TV and Video Forecasts report from Digital TV Research.

By 2018, 520 million homes in 40 countries will watch online television and video (both paid-for and ad-supported), up from 182 million in 2010.

Astrium and Inmarsat have reached a strategic distribution partnership agreement which will see Global Xpress services made available to Astrium Services’s large partner and customer base. Astrium Services will deliver Global Xpress high-speed broadband services through its worldwide distribution channels. The strategic agreement will cover key vertical markets, including the maritime as well as the government and defence sector, initially in Europe.

Inmarsat today announces the acquisition of the business and substantially all of the assets of Globe Wireless LLC  Headquartered in Palm Bay, Florida, Globe Wireless is a  provider of value-added maritime communications services to the shipping market. 

NEP Group Inc. announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Global Television  from Catalyst Investment Managers. Financial terms were not disclosed. The transaction brings together US-based NEP and Australia’s Global Television, uniting two of the world’s most experienced and successful television technical services companies.

NSR's Broadband Satellite Markets 12th Edition report, released today, forecasts the entire broadband satellite market’s installed base of VSAT sites, broadband access subscribers, trunking and backhaul sites will increase by just over 5 million by 2022 and generate US$9.9 billion in revenues. Fully 87% of this growth will come from new subscribers to satellite broadband access services with the North American, Western European and Latin American markets leading the way.