Advanced Television

Inside Satellite

Chris Forrester

Chris Forrester is one of the most experienced and highly regarded journalists in the field. His insight and analysis, particularly in the satellite and pay-TV arena, is highly prized. He has written for all the major business journals in the sector as well as several national newspapers.

Bank: Starlink to take on Konnect

Elon Musk’s broadband-by-satellite Starlink business is readying to open for business in Europe. The markets invited include France, Germany, Austria, Ireland, Italy and others. It plans to launch its service in these European markets in mid to late 2021 on a “first come, first served basis”. Its service will deliver broadband internet connexions at 50-150Mbps […]

February 19, 2021By Chris Forrester

SES vs Intelsat: $1.8bn C-band claim

More detail has emerged from Intelsat’s 195-page filing to its Chapter 11 bankruptcy court and addressing its plan to emerge from bankruptcy. Intelsat is looking for approval which would result in it cutting its debt obligations by about half from today’s near-$15 billion to $7 billion. The statement to the court includes and outlines the […]

February 17, 2021

Omnispace wants LEO/MEO system for 5G

Washington DC-based Omnispace is a relatively new name in the satellite industry. It says in its mission statement that it wants to “redefine mobile connectivity for the 21st century”. It has recently raised $60 million (€49.3m) in equity financing. Omnispace says it wants to build a global 5G hybrid mobile network. It has already booked […]

February 16, 2021

Eutelsat forced to delay Konnect VHTS

Eutelsat enjoyed a near-spectacular market trading day on February 12th when its share price rocketed more than 6 per cent to end the day at €10.31. The rise reflected a sense of buoyancy from CE Rodolphe Belmer despite his alerting the market that its much-needed super-satellite Konnect Very High Throughput Satellite (VHTS) would be around […]

February 15, 2021

SES upgraded by bank, but with caveats

Satellite operator SES will unveil its half-year numbers on February 25th. Analysts at investment bank Berenberg have upgraded their advice on the company to clients to “Hold” but has more than a few cautions in a report. Currently SES shares are trading at sub-€7 levels (€6.84), a little better than its yearly low which was […]

February 12, 2021

Extra C-band payments “likely” to SES/Intelsat

It was always expected that there could be extra payments to the C-band satellite operators once the FCC-organised auction had shown the strength of demand for spectrum. The four key players (Intelsat, SES, Telesat and Eutelsat) are already in line to share around $10 billion in FCC-authorised “incentives” for clearing their C-band satellite spectrum. With […]

February 11, 2021

China’s Skyworth apologises to LG

Chinese electronics and TV giant Skyworth has apologised to South Korean LG Electronics for the – seemingly – deliberate misuse of LG’s world-beating ‘rollable’ OLED TV screens. LG complained over Skyworth’s US subsidiary (Skyworth USA Corp) misuse and Skyworth, in its statement, acknowledged its unauthorised use of the LG images during last month’s CES virtual […]

February 10, 2021

Thailand problems with orbital slot sell-off

Thailand’s telecom regulator want to auction rights to use the nation’s satellite orbital slots. But its move is facing severe criticism. The four auctions cover slots at: 50.5°East and 51°E (auction 1), 78.5°E, (auction 2), 119.5°E and 120°E (auction 3), and with the last auction covering 126°E and 142°E. The auction minimum starting prices are […]

February 9, 2021

Viasat optimistic as vaccine rolls out

Viasat of California, which already operates broadband-by-satellite services to businesses and consumers around the world, reported a 4.2 per cent drop in revenues (but Q3’s net income grew 4 per cent) but managed to boost its EBITDA by an impressive 17.5 per cent. The company told shareholders and analysts that its massive new Viasat 3 […]

February 8, 2021

Bank: “NENT ready to thrive”

NENT Group, the Nordic streaming company which includes the Scandinavian Viasat pay-TV brand, is well placed to thrive domestically and internationally according to a report from investment bank Berenberg. The bank recognises that along with many other pay-TV operations, NENT has benefited from the lockdown, saying: “2020 represented a significant year for the global streaming […]

February 5, 2021