Industry At Large
People
ALCATEL
Appoints Vice President
Gérard Continente has been appointed vice president, Asia-Pacific, at Alcatel Space. Prior to this appointment he was satellite business development regional director for Alcatel Space.
Continente’s primary mission will be to ensure the coherent development of the Alcatel Space business and foster the extension of operational activities in the Asia-Pacific, including satellite services and partnership development.
INTEGRAL SYSTEMS
Promotes Executive Vice President
Integral Systems Inc. promoted Patrick Woods to executive vice president of the government division.
In this position, Woods manages all of Integral’s government business including NOAA, U.S. Air Force and NASA. Prior to his promotion, he was vice president of government programs at Integral.
NEWPOINT
Names Vice President Of Sales
Newpoint Technologies Inc. has promoted Wally Martland to vice president of sales. In this position, Martland will be responsible for worldwide sales of its network management products and services to both the commercial and government sectors. Prior to this position, Martland held numerous managerial positions at Newpoint.
SCIENTIFIC-ATLANTA
Appoints Country Manager
Scientific-Atlanta is expanding its focus on the Asian marketplace by naming David Wheeler country manager for Australia and New Zealand.
Most recently he served as senior director of marketing for Scientific-Atlanta’s Media Networks Business Unit.
VOCALITY
Expands Worldwide Operations
Vocality International Ltd. named Richard Walshe vice president of the Pacific Rim. He joins Vocality from BarcoNet in Australia, where he was the managing director.
Robert Otten was named vice president of the Americas. He joins Vocality from Tachyon, where he headed government sales for their Satellite IP system.
Services
INTELSAT
Provides Internet In French Guiana
Intelsat is providing satellite capacity to support Internet access to Grand-Santi, French Guiana–the pilot site for a program which will eventually provide an Internet and telephone network across the territory. The Internet access, installed in a local school for use as a learning aide, will be carried over satellite for connection to the U.S. Internet backbone.
The Intelsat 801 spacecraft at 328.5 degreesE is providing the satellite capacity for this network.
KINGSTON
Expands Global Connectivity
Kingston inmedia has launched a new dedicated point-to-point satellite service between Jerusalem/Tel Aviv and London, in conjunction with RR Satellite Communications of Israel. Kingston inmedia can now provide broadcasters with solutions built on end-to-end connectivity from all major studios and facilities companies in Israel.
NEW SKIES
Distributes IBB Programming
New Skies Satellites N.V. is supporting the growth of the International Broadcasting Bureau (IBB) in the Indian Ocean region with additional capacity on the NSS 703 satellite. The increased capacity will broaden IBB’s coverage and enhance the distribution of their radio and television programming across the region.
Contracts
ADC INTERNATIONAL
Wins Government Contract
ADC International LLC has been selected by the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), as one of five awardees, to provide equipment, airtime service and maintenance for DISA’s International Maritime Satellite Network for the Department of Defense and other government agencies.
The 10-year firm-fixed-price, indefinite delivery/quantity contract is valued at $1 billion.
AT&T DIGITAL MEDIA CENTERS
Selected By Connexion By Boeing
AT&T Digital Media Centers has contracted with Connexion by Boeing to provide on-the-ground earth station satellite service for the two-way mobile information service. Connexion by Boeing will provide airline passengers with high-speed Internet, e-mail and data connectivity, as well as streaming audio and video services during flight.
EMS TECHNOLOGIES
Partners With Alcatel
EMS Technologies Inc. and Alcatel Space have signed a preliminary cooperation agreement for the development of broadband satellite access solutions compliant with the DVB-RCS open standard.
Under the agreement, EMS Technologies will provide its DVB-RCS Return Link Sub-System hubs, user terminals, and system engineering support. Alcatel will design and integrate the complete DVB-RCS system with its networking and service management solutions, and market them through its worldwide commercial network.
GILAT
Welcomes New Customers
Gilat is providing Korea Telecom International (KTI) with 345 units of its Skystar Advantage VSAT product. The two-way Internet Protocol-optimized VSAT equipment will enable KTI to deploy interactive data and Web-based applications for the education and corporate markets.
Radio Communications of the Philippines Inc. has selected Gilat for a 159-site DialAw@y IP fixed rural satellite telephony network for use in public call offices throughout the Philippines, as well as high-speed Internet connectivity.
Gilat was also selected by Incomnet LLC to provide a two-way, DialAw@y IP network for use throughout independent Mongolia.
HUGHES NETWORK SYSTEMS
Selected By Thrane and Thrane
Hughes Software Systems (HSS) signed a contract with Thrane and Thrane to implement a core network gateway.
The solution will be used as a bridge between proprietary satellite network technology and 3G services to the user. This fixed price contract entails the supply of core 3G stacks and development services for interfacing in a mobile network.
MUSIC CHOICE
Signs Deal With Panamsat
Music Choice, a provider of commercial-free digital music via cable and satellite, signed a next-generation satellite deal with Panamsat. This deal ensures that Music Choice signals will be carried on the cable bird for 10 years, starting at the end of 2004.
NORSAT
Signs Contract With Globecomm
Norsat International Inc. signed a contract with Globecomm Systems Inc. (GSI) for its open standard Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) forward link satellite network and services.
GSI will integrate Norsat’s established DVB forward link sub-system with a return channel product to provide an interactive DVB-RCS system. This integrated network will be used by a large satellite service provider to supply broadband services to its customers.
PATRIOT
Acquires Eagle Inventory
Patriot Antenna Systems has acquired tooling, inventory and other various assets in a purchase agreement with Eagle Communications, a satellite antenna manufacturer located in Jackson, MI. The purchase included tooling and inventory of 3.7 and 4.5 meter antennas, in addition to a set of high volume production tools for a commercial quality .75 meter antenna. All tooling and inventory has been transferred to the Patriot Antenna Systems facility in Albion, MI, and will be sold under the Patriot brand name.
SES AMERICOM
Partners With iDirect
SES Americom and iDirect signed an agreement whereby the two companies will jointly market and revenue share Ku-band satellite capacity on AMC 6 to provide enterprises in the Caribbean and in North and Central America with high-speed, two-way private IP networks and broadband connections to the Internet.
Technology
COMTECH EF DATA
Introduces New Product
Comtech EF Data has introduced its new IP Modem, CiM, which consists of the CiM-300L and CiM-550 IP-enabled satellite modems. The CiM-300L, with integrated IP support and L- band interface, is targeted at remote locations requiring a single channel terminal for Internet, Intranet, and e-commerce access. It provides data, video, and voice connectivity over IP for multi-application environments.
The CiM-550 Internet enabled modem is designed for 70/140 MHz environment with a transceiver and single channel per carrier links and is used for VSAT applications. Both the CiM-550 and CiM-300L share all of the Internet capabilities and are available with optional Turbo Product Coding. (Comtech EF Data, 2114 W. 7th St., Tempe, AZ 85281; Tel: 480/333- 2200; Fax: 480/333-2540; Web: http://www.comtechefdata.com)
HELIUS
Unveils IPadlock
Helius Inc. released its conditional access software that allows confidential business content to be securely broadcast in IP format to numerous recipients without traditional encryption hardware. IPadlock enables receivers’ decryption algorithms to be changed via satellite without human intervention at receiver sites.
With IPadlock, new encryption algorithms can be updated automatically on a scheduled basis, or the system administrator can immediately broadcast updates if unauthorized access is suspected. (Helius Inc., 333 S. 520 W., Ste.330, Lindon, UT 84042; Tel: 801/764-9020; Fax: 801/764-9022; Web: http://www.helius.com)
KROMOS
Releases iP3 Gateway Product
Kromos Communications Inc. is now shipping its 70 MHz iP3 platforms. The iP3 is a two-way satellite IP transport solution for IP data, voice and video traffic. It offers a combination of hardware and software features to provide satellite based point-to-point, star-hub and hubless mesh networks. (Kromos Communications Inc., 47835 Westinghouse Dr., Fremont, CA 94539; Tel: 510/492-4272; Fax: 510/657-9484; Web: http://www.kromos.com)
SWE-DISH
Introduces Mobile Base Station
Swe-Dish Satellite Systems AB in collaboration with Ericsson has developed and designed a mobile base station for satellite telephony in the GSM network.
The new mobile radio base station “Mobile Satellite RBS,” is equipped to connect telephone, data or fax communications to and from a fixed satellite hub station. The basic model has the capacity to carry 84 simultaneous calls, which is sufficient to service about a thousand telephone subscribers. (Swe-Dish Satellite Systems AB, Halsingegatan 40, P.O. Box 6495, SE-113 82, Stockholm, Sweden; Tel: +46/8 587 950 00; Fax: +46/8 587 950 05; Web: http://www.swe-dish.com)