News Analysis

EchoStar Completes Spin-Off and Merger of its BSS Business

Englewood, Colo., Sept. 10, 2019 — EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS) has announced the completion of its previously announced spin-off and subsequent merger with DISH Network Corporation (NASDAQ:DISH) of the portion of its business that manages, markets and provides (i) broadcast satellite services primarily to DISH, Dish Mexico, S. de R.L. de C.V. and their respective subsidiaries and (ii) telemetry, tracking and control services to satellites owned by DISH and a portion of EchoStar's other businesses, and certain related assets and business operations. 

The Pacific Endeavor HADR Training Imperative

by Martin Jarrold

I sit down to write this column within days of having returned from a GVF mission to the South Pacific, to Papua New Guinea. There, we – Riaz Lamak, Lead in GVF’s Benchmarking, Validation and High Availabilty Disaster Recovery (HADR) initiatives, and I – were hosted by both the United States Department of Defense Indo-Pacific Command and the PNG Defense Force under the ‘Multinational Communications Interoperability Program’ (MCIP).

Swiss IoT Startup Astrocast Secures US$ 9.2 Mil. in Series A Funding

Ecublens, Switzerland, September 4, 2019--Astrocast, a Switzerland-based Internet of Things (IoT) nanosatellite network, has secured US$ 9.2 (€8.3M)  Series A round of funding to accelerate production of IoT modules, to begin commercial phase and deployment of the its Low Earth Orbit (LEO) IoT network.

Angels, Arianes and English Roses

by Lou Zacharilla

New York City, NY, September 3, 2019--The uncomfortable co-existence among science, technology and religion is a few centuries old.  For a long while the three disciplines tried to stay in their own lane and tried to avoid swerving into the others’ lane.  But a collision was inevitable.  The crash has given us a toxic political and social climate at times, and made us mistrust each of the three disciplines. 

 

The Evolving Broadcast Market

by Elisabeth Tweedie

Los Angeles, Calif., Sept. 3, 2019 — It will come as no surprise to anyone in this industry who is paying attention to what has been happening over the last few years, to hear me say that the industry is in a state of flux.  This is hardly news, but the pace appears to be accelerating and things that have been talked about for the last several years, are either reality or now very close to be becoming so.

 

AsiaSat Shareholders Approve Privatisation Proposal

Hong Kong, Aug. 27, 2019 — Bowenvale Limited and Asia Satellite Telecommunications Holdings Limited (HKSE: 1135; 1135.HK  jointly announced that the proposal for the privatisation of AsiaSat by way of a scheme of arrangement has been approved at the court meeting today.

Media Content Kudelski Group Suffers US$20.4 Mil. Loss in 1H 2019

Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Switzerland, Aug. 21, 2019 — The Kudelski Group (SIX: KUD.S), a provider of media content protection and value-added service technology, has reported a net loss of US$20.4 million, which included US$13.7 million of restructuring costs, during the first half of 2019.

Amos-17 Satellite Launch, Cape Canaveral, Florida

 

Coverage of the launch of Spacecom's Amos-17 satellite by Spacex at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, August 6, 2019 with Satellite Markets and Research Editor-in-Chief Virgil Labrador.

AsiaSat 1H Revenue Down 5% to US$88.39 Million

Hong Kong, Aug. 9, 2019 — Asia Satellite Telecommunications Holdings Limited (SEHK: 1135) announced today its revenue dropped 5% to US$88.39 million (HK$693 million) primarily due to non-renewal of certain customer contracts in mid-2018 and the continued pricing pressures from capacity oversupply in some key markets.