Eutelsat’s full year results – to June 30th – were mixed, with its Broadcast Video division (62 per cent of income) falling y-o-y by 8.3 per cent (like-for-like, or 6.3 per cent as reported). But on the more positive side its fast-growing Mobile Connectivity segment grew 26.8 per cent (like-for-like, or 37.9 percent as reported). […]
We recently ran a story that reported that Inmarsat’s new owners Viasat had cancelled certain frequencies which could have suggested the end of Inmarsat’s plans for its own low Earth orbiting constellation of satellites (Orchestra). ‘Not so’, implied Viasat, and explained: “Viasat chose to withdraw a pending application for FCC authority to access the US […]
Gogo Business Aviation, which provides connectivity and broadband to business jets, says that it has had to delay its 5G system launch “due to a design error in a non-5G component of its chip, which was designed by a third-party subcontractor of its 5G solution provider”. “We are disappointed in this delay, but remain confident […]
Madrid-based Hispasat reported a 22 per cent increase in revenues for the half-year to June 30th, helped by the operator’s acquisition of services provider Axess Networks. However, the company reported that a major contract in Brazil had come to an end. Hispasat’s owner Redeia valued the loss at about $30 million (€27.6m) a year, but […]
SpaceX’s Starlink broadband by satellite service has been made available in two new markets: Malaysia and Malawi. The service launched in Kenya a week ago. It is known that Zimbabwe, Botswana, Tanzania and Zambia are likely to add Starlink services later in 2023, although South Africa is still awaiting being licensed by the authorities. The […]
Lynk Global has released its claimed ‘first-ever’ video of a series of two-way voice calls between standard-mobile-phones connected via satellite. The video shows multiple voice calls using standard mobile phones connected via Lynk’s existing satellite-cell-towers in orbit. Charles Miller, CEO and co-founder of Lynk, stated, “Carl Sagan once remarked ‘Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.’ The […]
Iridium Communications, despite going through a Chapter 11 bankruptcy some 20 years ago, has in general since gone on from strength to strength. However, its second-quarter numbers reported a loss of $30.7 million (€27.6m) when analysts were expecting profits. Its shares fell 13 per cent on July 25th. Iridium is a pioneer in providing satellite-based […]
Leaf Space, a provider of ground segment services for satellite operators, has successfully completed a capital increase for a total of €20 million on top of the availability by the European Investment Bank of a loan for a further €15 million through Venture Debt. Launched in 2014, the Italian-headquartered company based in Lomazzo (Como) currently […]
Inmarsat, prior to its take-over by US-based Viasat, had planned to launch a fleet of low Earth orbiting satellites (Orchestra). It now seems that Viasat is re-thinking the scheme which would save millions in terms of investment. Viasat has written to the FCC withdrawing its applications for V-band satellite spectrum. The letter from Viasat to […]
If all goes to schedule, SpaceX will launch the giant Jupiter 3/EchoStar XXIV satellite today (July 26th). The launch, from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, will see two Falcon 9 booster rockets re-land simultaneously after launch. SpaceX is using one of its Falcon 9 ‘Heavy’ version rockets which means the central booster will be […]