SES  announced today that its German HD+ platform reached more than 2.6 million households at the end of the first quarter of this year. More than half a million of them are paying the annual service fee. Nearly three million HD+ receivers have been sold since the launch of HD+ at the end of 2009.

For the first time, the CommunicAsia2012 Summit will see two visionary speakers and over 180 distinguished international speakers at the region’s largest gathering of ICT professionals and industry experts. Ms. Aliza Knox, Managing Director of Commerce for Google Asia Pacific and Ambassador David A. Gross, Partner at Wiley Rein LLP, will deliver Visionary Addresses on Wednesday, 20 June at Marina Bay Sands.

Optimism is high in Asia. With increased digital deployments, multichannel-TV will create more demand for satellite services across the region. But do the needs of Asian broadcasters differ from the rest of the world? Where are the opportunities? Are there potential roadblocks? Leading satellite industry experts will answer these questions and discuss industry issues at the CASBAA Satellite Industry Forum 2012 to be held on June 18 on the eve of CommunicAsia in Singapore.

During Satellite 2012, the Society of Satellite Professionals International (SSPI) bestowed the Industry Innovators Awards on Eutelsat Communications and ViaSat Inc in recognition of the development and launch of their High Throughput Satellites (HTS), KA-SAT and ViaSat-1, respectively. High frequency reuse and multiple spot beam architecture have packed 10 times capacity on these Ka-Band satellites without any deployment cost penalties.

Space is coming to L.A. in the form of a brand-new show called Spacecraft Technology Expo. To be held at the Los Angeles Convention Center May 8-10, this free-to-attend event is dedicated to bringing together global decision makers, engineers and the supply chain involved in spacecraft, satellite, launch vehicle and space-related technologies.

Focused on the design, build and testing of spacecraft, the expo will feature over 120 space-qualified companies promoting testing and design services, software products and component manufacturing through to complete spacecraft.

This month the West Africa Cable System (WACS) that will link Southern and Western Africa with Europe will start providing 15 African countries with 5.12Tbps submarine cable bandwidth capacity. In another month or so, the US $700 million Africa Coast to Europe(ACE) 5.12 Tbs submarine cable that will connect 23 countries will also start carrying broadband Internet traffic commercially.  The two cable systems will play a key role in reducing digital divides across the region and in connecting Africa with the rest of the world.

Bright lights.  Big crowds.  Penn & Teller, Circe de Soleil and showgirls wearing costumes that would make their grandfathers blanch.  If it’s April, it must be NAB in Las Vegas.

Telesat Holdings Inc.  today announced its financial results for the three month period ended March 31, 2012. For the quarter ended March 31, 2012, consolidated revenue was CDN $196 million, a decrease of approximately 3% (CDN $7 million) compared to the same period in 2011. The decrease in revenue was principally the result of a previously disclosed contractual rate reduction on one of Telesat’s Direct-to-Home satellites, partially offset by growth from Telesat’s international satellite fleet and the additional revenue received from the Canadian payload on ViaSat-1.

The power of multichannel TV continues to resonate throughout the Asia Pacific. Attracting over 130 representatives from advertising agencies, clients and networks, CASBAA’s TV Upfronts – The Kuala Lumpur Screenings on April 19th was the most recent stopover for the CASBAA Advertising roadshow.

The need for Military Satellite Communications is increasing in the Asia-Pacific region and GVF and its Membership are elevating the industry's profile through workshops, speaking positions and sponsorship opportuities at events such as SMi's 2nd instalment of MilSatCom Asia, to be held the 9th and 10th of May in Singapore.