News Analysis

First Global Xpress® Satellite Achieves Key Milestone

London, UK, February 4, 2014--Inmarsat today announced that Inmarsat-5 F1, the first in its fleet of three Global Xpress (GX) satellites, has successfully completed its orbital deployment stages on schedule.  Inmarsat and Boeing engineers, working from Inmarsat’s GX teleport in Nemea, Greece, are now beginning a month of comprehensive payload testing, in preparation for commencing live end-to-end testing of the high-speed, mobile broadband GX connectivity services, scheduled to start in March.

RigNet Completes Acquisition of Inmarsat's Energy Broadband Business

Houston, Tex., February 3, 2014--RigNet has completed a strategic transaction with Inmarsat involving the sale of substantially all of Inmarsat's Energy Broadband business to RigNet and the appointment of RigNet as a Value Added Reseller of Inmarsat's Global Xpress (GX) service and as a Distribution Partner for Inmarsat's L-band services to the energy sector worldwide.RigNet has acquired Inmarsat's Energy Broadband business for US$25 million in cash.

EBU And Newtec Sign Multimillion Euro Contract

Geneva, Switzerland, February 3, 2014-- Satellite communications specialist Newtec and the operator of the world’s largest satellite and fiber live video network, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), have signed a multimillion-euro contract. The deal is to deploy Newtec’s satellite broadcast solutions as part of the EBU’s major pan-European news exchange network.

Skyline Communications Report Record Growth

Izegem, Belgium, February 3, 2014 – Skyline Communications, a provider of end-to-end multi-vendor network management solutions for the IPTV, satellite, HFC broadband and broadcast industry, announced record sales figures for 2013 at its annual employee event last week. The company reported that it has achieved revenue growth averaging 25% per year in the last ten years.

The February 2014 issue of the Satellite Executive Briefing magazine

 

The February  2014 issue of  the  Satellite Executive Briefing magazine  sponsored by The Spaceconnection  is now available.  Featuring:

CES 2014: What it Means for the Satellite Industry  by Elisabeth Tweedie

The "Death" of Fiber by Lou Zacharilla

The Launch Industry Heats Up  by Virgil Labrador

The Satellite Industry Agenda 2014 by Martin Jarrold

plus 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

Eutelsat and SES Settle their dispute at the 28.5 degrees East Orbital Position

Luxembourg, January 30, 2014--Satellite operators Eutelsat and SES announced today that they have concluded a series of agreements including a comprehensive settlement concerning the right to operate at the 28.5 degrees East orbital position and long-term commercial as well as frequency coordination elements.

One billion TV-Centric Connected Devices Now in Homes

Bedfordshire, UK, January 28, 2014The global installed base of TV-centric connected devices surpassed one billion units in 2013 and will exceed two billion by 2017, driven by smart TV, IP-enabled set top boxes, game consoles, Blu-ray players and low cost digital media adapters, according to the latest research from Futuresource Consulting.

Satellite Industry Interference Groups Merge

Douglas, Isle of Man, January 23,  2014 – The Radio Frequency Interference – End Users Initiative (RFI-EUI) and the Satellite Interference Reduction Group (IRG) today announced a merger, helping the two groups to better serve the industry and combat satellite interference together.
 

Discovery Takes Majority Stake in Eurosport

Silver Springs, Md., January 21, 2014--Discovery Communications and TF1 Group today announced Discovery would acquire a controlling interest in Eurosport International through an extension of their larger strategic partnership first announced in December 2012. The deal to increase Discovery’s interest from 20 to 51% accelerates the original agreement by nearly one year.

HISPASAT Now Offers HIGH TV 3D channel at 30º West

Madrid, Spain, January 20, 2014--HISPASAT, the Spanish satellite communications operator, now offers HIGH TV 3D across Europe, underscoring its commitment to distribute high quality content. HIGH TV 3D is the first international 24/7 3D entertainment channel, broadcasting high quality programmes to millions of households.