News Analysis

by Lou Zacharilla

New York City, November 4, 2019--The boost in non-stop airline traffic between the USA and Africa is on the rise and access to the continent and its cities has as much to do with technology as it has to do with demand.  According to travel writer Shannon Sims, developments in plane construction makes it possible to fly longer routes.  And ultra long-haul flights, such as next month’s launch of a non-stop flight from Newark Liberty Airport to Capetown will provide access to South Africa three times per week.  Distances of  9,500 miles (15,300 kilometers) covered in less than 15 hours on a non-stop flight is truly a testament and deserves a genuflection to the wonders of engineering.

The November-December 2019 issue of  the Satellite Executive Briefing magazine focusing on the African Satellite Market  sponsored by Comtech EF Data is now available.  Featuring:

A New Star over Africa by Virgil Labrador

Unlocking Africa's Intelligence  by Lou Zacharilla

Satellite, 5G and Cybersecurity for a Global Digital Ecosystem by Martin Jarrold

Linking Budgets, Linking Networks, Linking Capacities by Alvaro Sanchez

VIVACOM: A Teleport with a View to the Future by Virgil Labrador

Show Reports:  8th CSA-ISS Conference on Advanced Satellite Technologies, Shanghai, China and Satellite Innovation 2019, Mountain View, California

Product and Services MarketPlace Guide to Africacom 2019

PLUS Mergers and Acquisitions, Executive Moves, Market Briefs, Vital Statistics, Satellite Markets 20 Stock Index and many more. Click here to read or download the file

Paris, France, October 30, 2019–Eutelsat Communications (ISIN: FR0010221234 - Euronext Paris: ETL) reports revenues for the First Quarter ended 30 September 2019. First Quarter revenues of the Operating Verticals of €316.5 million, down 6.2% like-for-like , (ie, at constant currency and perimeter).

Luxembourg, October 29, 2019- Satelite operator Intelsat S.A. (NYSE: I), today announced financial results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019. Intelsat reported total revenue of US$ 506.7 million and net loss attributable to Intelsat S.A. of US$ 148.3 million for the three months ended September 30, 2019.

McLean, Va., Oct. 29, 2019 --Iridium Communications Inc. (Nasdaq: IRDM) ("Iridium") today reported financial results for the third quarter of 2019 and updated its full-year 2019 outlook.  Net loss was $18.0 million, or $0.14 per diluted share, for the third quarter of 2019, as compared to net loss of $12.9 million, or $0.13 per diluted share, for the third quarter of 2018.  This increase in net loss was primarily the result of a $12.4 million increase in depreciation and amortization expense compared to the year-ago period.  Operational EBITDA ("OEBITDA")(1) for the third quarter was $88.5 million, as compared to $79.4 million for the prior-year period, representing a year-over-year increase of 11% and an OEBITDA margin(1) of 61%.  OEBITDA primarily benefitted from higher government service revenue and strong growth in commercial IoT and hosted payload.

Englewood, Colo., October 25, 2019 - EchoStar Corporation today announced that its subsidiary, EchoStar Global. has acquired Helios Wire, a satellite-enabled IoT connectivity company headquartered in Vancouver, Canada. The acquisition includes Helios' Australian subsidiaries Sirion Holdings and Sirion Global.

Mojave, Calif., October 25, 2019--Virgin Galactic (VG) and Social Capital Hedosophia (SCH), a public investment vehicle, today announced the completion of their previously announced business combination. The resulting company is named Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. (VGH) and its common stock, units and warrants are expected to commence trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the new ticker symbol “SPCE”, ”SPCE.U” and “SPCE WS", respectively, on October 28, 2019.

Baikonour Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, October 10,  2019--On October 9, 2019, at 10:17:56 the Proton-M carrier rocket with Briz-M booster together with Eutelsat 5 West B and Mission Extension Vehicle-1 satellites successfully launched from launchpad No.39 pad No.200 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome.

London, UK, October  8, 2019--Arqiva Group Limited, the leading UK communications infrastructure company, today announces that it has reached an agreement with Cellnex for the sale of its telecoms infrastructure and related assets at an enterprise value of £2.0bn.