News Analysis

Geneva, Switzerland, February 17, 2012--The World Radiocommunication Conference 2012 (WRC-12)  concluded its deliberations today with the signing of the Final Acts that revise the Radio Regulations, the international treaty governing the use of radio-frequency spectrum and satellite orbits.Over 3000 participants, representing 165 out of ITU’s 193 Member States attended the four-week Conference, braving the extreme winter conditions prevailing in Geneva. Over 100 Observers from among ITU’s 700 private sector members along with international organizations also attended WRC-12.

Luxembourg, February 17, 2012—Satelltie operator SES reported an increase in recurring revenue and EBITDA increasing by 2.8% and 3.1%, respectively. Reported revenue remained essentially flat, with reported EBITDA decreasing slightly, due to the adverse evolution of the USD against the euro (average conversion rate in 2011 was 1.4035 compared to 1.3294 in 2010). Reported EBITDA also reflected the impact of the one-time reorganisation charge of  EUR 14.8 million.

Paris, France, February 16, 2012--Satellite operator EUTELSAT  reported first half results of fiscal year 2011-12 with revenue growth: of 4.6% at €602.4 million. EBITDA was reported to be up 3.4% to €478.5 million, generating EBITDA margin of 79.4%.

Dublin, Ireland, February 15, 2012--These are exciting times for TV in Sub-Saharan Africa. A new Research and Markets report entitled "Digital TV Sub-Saharan Africa"  by Simon Murray said: "governments are opening up to investment, which involves several pioneering foreign TV players. Populations are growing fast and incomes per capita are on the rise, creating a burgeoning number of middle class consumers."

Oslo, Norway, February 9, 2012--In the fourth quarter of 2011, Norwegian telecommunications company Telenor Group reported revenues for the quarter of NOK 25.4 billion  (US$  4.44 Billion). For the full year of 2011, Telenor’s revenue was NOK 98.5 billion  (US$ 17.2 Billion).

Dublin, Ireland, February 9, 2012--The Russian Telecom Market Generated Rb1.249trn (US$43.4billion) In Service Revenue in 2011, A 5.6% Increase year-on-year according to a new Research and Markets Report entitled:  "Russia Telecom Intelligence Report: Next-Generation Network Rollouts Drive and Bolster Revenue Growth." Data will be the main opportunity in Russia in both the fixed and mobile segments, as operators continue to invest in next-generation networks such as FTTB and LTE, according to the  report.

Munich, Germany, February 8, 2012--According to the results of the latest TV Monitor study, for the first time in the history of television in Germany, more viewers are watching TV via satellite than via cable. At the end of 2011, 17.5 million households were watching TV via satellite, almost 900,000 more than in the previous year. Ninety percent of these households were digital, leaving 1.8 million households still in the analogue reception mode. Out of the total, 5.9 million of all satellite households were watching High Definition (HD) TV. At the same time, cable lost about 900,000 households in 2011 and reducing the reach of cable TV to 17.3 million. Digital terrestrial TV lost 180,000 households, bringing its coverage down to 1.8 million. IPTV has continued to grow; with an increase of 330,000 households, IPTV exceeded the million mark, reaching 1.3 million.

Paris, February 6, 2012-- Euroconsult announced today that it expects prospects for the satellite industry to remain favorable over the decade in a variety of areas. The next ten years should see continued growth for commercial markets, while at the same time stagnating growth for government spending should be expected at least through mid-decade.

by Peter Galace, Associate Editor

Dubai, UAE, February 1, 2012--Despite  the ongoing impact of the Arab Spring protests and a dramatic re-ordering of political affairs still reverberating, the Middle East region remains a key growth area for commercial satellite industry.

by NSR

Cambridge, Mass. , February 1, 2012--In January 2012, an agreement to buy shares in the U.S. Wideband Global Satcom (WGS) was signed by Canada, Denmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and New Zealand. The agreement enables immediate access to WGS capacity in exchange for financing the WGS-9 spacecraft. Moreover, a WGS-10 satellite is expected to be contracted soon.