In-Flight Communications supplier GoGo Business Aviation is challenging rival SmartSky Networks over one of SmartSky’s patents. GoGo has submitted a petition to the US Patents & Trademark Office for a review of a patent (9,312,947) granted to SmartSky and requesting that the patent be re-examined “to determine whether or not they are valid”. GoGo’s argument […]
OneWeb’s lawyers told a New York bankruptcy court (by telephone) on March 31st that it is looking to sell its international satellite spectrum licences within the next three months. The hearing was the first in what is likely to be a long journey for OneWeb. Bloomberg News says that OneWeb is negotiating for a loan […]
Despite proactive reductions in streaming quality by many of the largest OTT providers, European business hours broadband consumption has risen at varying levels, with a blended growth rate of approximately 65 per cent and overall usage growing more than 30 per cent, according to broadband industry analytics and technology solutions provider OpenVault. The insights comparing […]
A hard-hitting, but fundamentally accurate, report from Quilty Analytics says there are no prospects of a buyer taking control of OneWeb’s assets and moving forward with the company’s business plan and network architecture as they currently exist. “Consequently, OneWeb’s 74 operational satellites have almost no value to a prospective buyer, except in the sense that […]
Following its Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, OneWeb’s aim is to carry on operating under ‘debtor in possession’ rules and is looking for a buyer to acquire the assets – such as they are. Sami Kassab, satellite analyst at investment bank Exane/BNPP, says that Eutelsat could be a potential buyer. Kassab said: “We note that Eutelsat […]
The vital West African Cable System (WACS), the key undersea connector to data, internet and telephony, is broken. The result is extremely low internet speeds in South Africa and other nearby nations who were dependent on WACS. The WACS cable is some 14,530 kms in length and comprises four fibre-pairs linking Yzerfontein in the Western […]
Examining the OneWeb Chapter 11 ‘debtor in possession’ documents, it is Arianespace which is the company’s top creditor owed $238 million in unsecured claims. OneWeb signed a contract worth $1.1 billion back in 2015 for a total of 21 launches using Ariane’s Soyuz rocket. Three of those launches have happened, the most recent at the […]
The internet of things (IoT) has already conquered the earth, with billions of devices everywhere—from cars, to factories, to entire cities. Now the IoT is blasting off into space, with cumulative satellite-connected IoT devices expected to rise to more than 10 million by 2025, according to Omdia. The installed base of satellite IoT connections will […]
Kenyan telco Telkom along with its Google Loon project partner have received approval from the nation’s aviation authority to deploy a 4G ‘station’ over Kenya’s airspace to provide broadband communications. The news, in a statement from Telkom, says the balloon scheme will facilitate communication and satellite internet connectivity in remote areas of the country, and […]
OneWeb filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York on March 27th. There is a preliminary hearing into their bankruptcy on March 31st. A OneWeb statement said: “The Company intends to use these proceedings to pursue a sale of its business in order to maximize […]