The successful lift-off of the Ariane rocket carrying the EUTELSAT 65 West A satellite into space lit up the night sky today in Kourou, French Guiana. The Ariane launcher ferrying Eutelsat’s newest satellite into space took off on 9 March at 02.20 (05.20 UTC) and delivered EUTELSAT 65 West A into its transfer orbit after a 27-minute flight.

The World Teleport Association (WTA) today announced the winners of the 21st annual Teleport Awards for Excellence during an exclusive luncheon at SATELLITE 2016. The awards are presented each year to organizations and individuals in the teleport industry whose achievements have been deemed exceptional by the international trade association and its awards committees, made up of industry members from across the globe.

CABSAT 2016 opens at Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) Tuesday 8th March, with more than 950 exhibiting brands from over 60 countries due to descend on the 22nd edition of the definitive event for broadcast, satellite and entertainment content sectors across the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA).

With the exponential growth of and consumer demand for anywhere-anytime content dominating the direction of the region’s entertainment landscape, CABSAT 2016 will see the region’s leading satellite industry players converge at Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) from March 8-10.

SES Platform Services (SES PS), a wholly-owned subsidiary of SES, announced an agreement whereby RR Media, a leading provider of global digital media services to the broadcast and media industries, will merge its operations with those of SES PS.

SES will pay a consideration of USD$ 13.291 per share to acquire a 100% interest in RR Media. The consideration corresponds to an Enterprise Value of US$242 million, which will be funded from the group’s existing financial resources. The acquisition is subject to regulatory approvals, which are expected to be completed in Q2/Q3 2016.

SpeedCast International Limited (ASX: SDA), a global satellite communications and network service provider, today announced Full Year 2015 results, with revenues of US$167.6 million. 

Highlights of the report include:

A new report from Juniper Research has valued operator in-flight roaming revenues at nearly US$ 3 billion by 2020, doubling the value estimated for this year. This figure includes mobile voice, data and SMS.

However, in terms of total operator billed mobile roaming revenues, in-flight roaming will only represent around 5% of revenues globally by 2020.

Targeting Data Roamers

Intelsat S.A. (NYSE: I)  today announced preliminary financial results for the three months and full year ended December 31, 2015. Intelsat reported preliminary total revenue of $571.3 million for the three months ended December 31, 2015.

The Board of Directors of Eutelsat Communications (ISIN: FR0010221234 – NYSE Euronext Paris: ETL) reviewed the financial results for the half-year ended 31 December 2015.  First Half revenues were €774 million, up 1.5% on a like-for-like basis.1 Net attributable income was  €188 million, up 17.0%; net margin of 24%.

Other highlights of the results include: 

Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. (NASDAQ, TASE: GILT), today reported its results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2015 reflecting on a good fourth quarter of 2015 nd forecasting profitable growth in 2016.

Highlights of the results include.