Abu Dhabi, capital city of the United Arab Emirates, is hitting non-compliant satellite users with a Dhs 2000 fine (about $544) for ”illegal” use of satellite dishes. For some month the Abu Dhabi municipality has been asking consumers to give up unwanted or old dishes which are cluttering rooftops, balconies and the skyline of the […]
Satellite has a key role to play in the architecture of future networks and the acceleration of digitisation, according to Karim Michel Sabbagh, President and CEO of SES. Sabbagh’s comments came as he delivered a keynote address at the GSMA Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. “Satellite is a key actor for digitisation and an integral […]
Visitors to Malaysia’s Asia Broadcasting Union’s ‘DBS’ show (Digital Broadcasting Symposium) in Kuala Lumpur (March 3-6) will see a pair of Ultra-HD channels transmitted from a Measat satellite using DVB-2SX. The signals will also be converted and transmitted terrestrially via DVB-T2 signals throughout the exhibition. Visitors will also be able to see 8K transmissions from […]
Communications technology specialist Ericsson has enabled Tata Sky, India’s leading DTH operator, to launch the first commercial 4K video service in the subcontinent. With the launch of the Tata Sky 4K service, customers subscribing to this service can watch video up to four times the resolution of the standard HD video currently available. Ericsson will […]
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has announced that it will not oppose the proposed acquisition of shares in the Presto Entertainment SVoD service by Seven Network Operations, a subsidiary of Seven West Media, suggesting that competition and consumer choice in paid television services is increasing. Presto Entertainment provides subscribers with access to general entertainment […]
Late Sunday evening saw two satellites launched by Elon Musk’s SpaceX rocket company, the first time that SpaceX has launched a pair of large communication satellites. The mission was flawless. However, the two craft, for Eutelsat and Permira-backed Asia Broadcast Satellites, are rather special. The two are entirely dependent on electric propulsion and have no […]
ABS announced that ABS-3A was successfully launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida at 10:50 p.m. EST. The satellite lifted off as a conjoined stack with EUTELSAT 115 West B. ABS-3A is the revolutionary 702SP satellite, with an innovative design that will have a significant impact on the industry. ABS-3A is […]
The past few days have seen each of the Top 10 satellite operators release their end-of-year results. We have reported on the numbers, but now the number-crunchers have analysed the picture, and the overall impression is that they represent “good news” for the sector. SES, for example on February 25th stated it expected to be […]
Analyst firm MoffettNathanson’s comprehensive quarterly report on the US cable and satellite pay-TV sector, admits that on the surface “all is calm” insofar as subscriptions are up (by 101,000) during Q4/2014 but reminds readers that this always happens in the traditional pre-holiday Q4, so look at the trailing year and the actual number falls by […]
The informitv Multiscreen Index shows that the ten leading pay-television operators in the United States collectively lost 20,600 subscribers in the last quarter of 2014, compared to a loss of 45,000 the previous quarter. Over the year, they gained 82,200 subscribers, taking their combined total to 87.67 million. The cable operators collectively lost over 800,000 […]