News Analysis

by Blaine Curcio

Hong Kong, December 4, 2020--Many things have happened in the satcom industry in 2020. We as an industry have responded to Covid with a flurry of webinars, virtual conferences, LinkedIn posts, and an endless variety of podcasts. Meanwhile, satellite operators have been evolving, with 5G spectrum reallocation moving full steam ahead in some markets (including my home market of Hong Kong, one of the world’s leading assassins of C-band for satellite). 

by Lou Zacharilla

New York City, NY, December 3, 2020--Given the choice between wrestling a live alligator in a Florida pond and living through the events of 2020 again, I would take my chances with the gator.  As we finish our current orbit around the Sun, we have experienced 365 days, 5 hours, 59 minutes and 16 seconds that felt like a Martian year.  

McLean, Va., December 1, 2020 – Intelsat today completed its acquisition of the Commercial Aviation business of Gogo, creating the world’s leading provider of inflight broadband connectivity to the commercial aviation industry.

New York City, NY, December 1, 2020--When the first people from planet Earth went into space in the 1960s, it was the thrill of a lifetime.  But we didn’t stay there long.

Ottawa, Canada, November 24, 2020–Telesat Canada announced today that it has entered into an agreement with Loral Space & Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: LORL) (Loral) and Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments) pursuant to which Telesat Canada and Loral will become subsidiaries of Telesat Corporation (Telesat), a new publicly traded Canadian incorporated and controlled company.  

London, UK, November 20, 2020--OneWeb, the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) broadband satellite communications company, announces its emergence from U.S. Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and achievement of all relevant regulatory approvals. A consortium of UK Government (through the UK Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy) and Bharti Global, has invested US $1 Billion of new equity to offer broadband connectivity services, via a constellation of 650 LEO satellites.

Carlsbad, Calif., November 18, 2020 – Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ: VSAT) today announced it will strengthen its European presence by purchasing the remaining 51% share of Euro Broadband Infrastructure (EBI), the wholesale broadband services business created as part of Viasat’s former partnering arrangement with Eutelsat Communications.

Singapore, November 17, 2020 – ST Engineering today announced that effective January 1, 2021, the company will be reorganized as Commercial and Defence & Public Security clusters, replacing the sector-structure of Aerospace, Electronics, Land Systems and Marine.

Petah Tikva, Israel, Nov. 10, 2020--Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. (NASDAQ, TASE: GILT),  today reported its results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2020. Revenues were US$ 37.3 million; compared to US$ 63.4 million in Q3 2019 and similar to that of the previous quarter.   GAAP operating loss was US$ 10.9 million compared to operating income of US$ 7.0 million in Q3 2019 and an operating loss of US$ 3.5 million in the previous quarter. The GAAP operating loss in the quarter includes $8.2 million in expenses related to the Comtech merger and litigation and their effects.

MarketBrief Report on the Military Satellite Market sponsored by ST Engineering iDirect

A summary of the key trends and satellite solutions for the military market.  Featuring:

Military Satellite Report  by Elisabeth Tweedie

Interview with Koen Willems, Head of International Government and Defense Strategy, ST Engineering iDirect

Case Study on Building a Defense VSAT Network for the Egyptian MoD

Product Spotlight: ST Engineering iDirect's Evolution^® Defense

To read or download the pdf of full report click here.