News Analysis

Amos Spacecom Considering Options including Sale, Merger

Tel Aviv, Israel, December 13, 2013--Israel-based satellite operator Spacecom issued a formal notice to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange that it was open to offers for a sale – or merger – of its company. Spacecom operates the Amos fleet of satellites which covers Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

Shipments of Over-The-Top-Enabled Devices Set to Reach 1.7 Billion this Year

El Segundo, Calif., Dec. 9, 2013—In a sign of how profoundly Internet-based media is revolutionizing the way consumers access video entertainment content, more than 1.7 billion devices capable of accessing over-the-top (OTT) broadband content like Netflix and Hulu are set to ship by the end of 2013. Shipments of OTT-capable devices will rise 20 percent this year from 1.43 billion units in 2012, according to a new Consumer Electronics Topical Reportf rom IHS Inc.  

WTA Publishes Top Operator Rankings for 2013

New York, NY, December 5, 2013– The World Teleport Association (WTA) published its annual rankings for the Top Teleport Operators of 2013. The annual rankings of companies by revenue and revenue growth are compiled by surveying teleport operators around the world as well as referencing the published results of publicly-held companies. 

Spacex Successfully launches SES-8 Satellite—It’s First Commercial Geostationary Mission

 by Virgil Labrador, Editor-in-Chief

Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, December 3, 2013- –Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) successfully completed its first geostationary transfer mission, delivering the SES-8 satellite to its targeted 295 x 80,000 km orbit at 5:41 pm local time.  After two previous attempts that were marred by technical glitches, Falcon 9 executed a picture-perfect flight, meeting 100% of mission objectives.  To view videos of the Pre-Launch briefing with Elon Musk and interviews with SES executives click here.

Gilat Closes Sale of Its Spacenet Subsidiary

Petah Tikva, Israel, December 3, 2013--Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. today announced that it has completed the sale of its Spacenet Inc. subsidiary to Tulsa, Oklahoma-based SageNet. The aggregate consideration for the sale is approximately US$ 16 million, subject to certain post-closing adjustments and expenses.

December 2013 issue of the Satellite Executive Briefing magazine

The December 2013 issue of  the  Satellite Executive Briefing magazine  sponsored by The Spaceconnection  is now available.  Featuring:

Europe Gets Universal Broadband Coverage by Elisabeth Tweedie

DTH Services Boost the Asia-Pacific Market by Peter Galace

The Importance of Latency in the Mobile Market by Virgil Labrador

Enterprise-Class HTS Servicees by Martin Jarrold

plus Conference report on SATCON 2013, the 2013 Vision Awards,, Market Briefs, Executive Moves, Vital Statistics and Satellite Markets and Research 25TM Stock Index  and many more.   Click here to read or download the file

Triple-Play Revenues to Reach US$ $205 billion in 2018

London, UK, December 2, 2013--Telcos and cable operators are investing heavily in their networks to upgrade their subscribers to bundles (triple-play or double-play). These operators will reap the rewards of this investment as total subscription revenues (pay TV (including on-demand), broadband and fixed-line telephony) will increase by 65% from $124 billion in 2012 to $205 billion in 2018, according to the Triple-Play Forecasts report from Digital TV Research.

AST Acquires Wright Satellite Connections

Wellington, New Zealand, November 27, 2013--AST  announced the acquisition of a majority stake in Wright Satellite Connections, (WSC) based in Wellington, New Zealand, increasing the previous shareholding from 49% to 75%.

Intelsat Adds Amendment to Intelsat Jackson Holdings Senior Secured Credit Agreement

Luxembourg, November 27,  2013 – Intelsat S.A. today announced that Intelsat Jackson Holdings S.A., its indirect wholly-owned subsidiary  has amended its senior secured credit agreement, which governs its approximately US$ 3.1 billion senior secured term loan facility and $500 million revolving credit facility, effective today.

Voxofon Makes Top 5 Predictions for OTT Communications Services for 2014

Houston, Tex., November 26, 2014--As OTT players mature, Voxofon expects accelerating market disruption, more options for consumers. Expect connected devices to integrate even further into the way humans live, work and play, which will accelerate adoption of an ever-expanding array of highly specialized over-the-top (OTT) services and further fragment the telecom ecosystem. These are among the top five predictions for OTT in 2014 issued today by Voxofon, a rapidly growing provider of OTT voice and messaging services.