E-letter: News Feed

Congressional interest in pursuing legislation to let U.S. television viewers pick and choose the individual channels they want to buy each month from their satellite and cable TV providers is […]

Patrick Brant, former president and COO of Loral CyberStar, is joining satellite phone service Iridium Satellite LLC as its newest executive-team member. Brant will serve in a multi-dimensional role as […]

For the first time, cruise ship passengers will be able to use their cellular phone to talk and send text messages while in international waters. The Island Escape cruise ship […]

By Roger Rusch For decades, universal communication service has been the dream of government planners. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Development Sector is chartered to collect statistics and to encourage […]

Loral Skynet, a satellite-operating subsidiary of Loral Space and Communications, is hoping for an upswing in fortunes over the next few months. While its parent company has had to deal […]

By Kirby Ikin The world is entering an interesting new era as China ventures into manned space flight. Following in the footsteps of only two other nations, China has embarked […]

By Paul Dykewicz, Antitrust regulators and a top Wall Street analyst made good calls last week regarding New Skies Satellites N.V. [NSK]. The Blackstone Group, a private investment firm, received […]

As part of a development program funded by Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC), the Global VSAT Forum (GVF) conducted an in-depth survey of satellite communications in Africa. Examined were […]

The Polish pay-TV market has seen the emergence of a dynamic new player in recent years, with Cyfrowy Polsat emerging as a major threat to Cyfra +. While cable still […]

SES Astra CEO Ferdinand Kayser believes the company’s acquisition of German pay-TV operator Premiere’s Digital Playout Center (DPC) could offer a blueprint beyond Germany, particularly in Eastern Europe. DPC operates […]

Week of July 1-8, 2004 Percentage Change Symbol July 8 Price One Week One Month Three Month Year to Date Operators APT SATELLITE HLDGS ATS 1.71 (12.3) – (14.9) (28.2) […]

The world’s largest commercial communications satellite ever built is scheduled to launch today to usher in a new era in satellite broadband services that promises to bridge the digital divide […]

Former baseball great Satchel Paige once was quoted, “Don’t look behind, someone may be gaining on you.” That may well be the situation satellite-TV service providers are facing in the […]

By Paul Dykewicz Intelsat Ltd.’s latest reduction in force (RIF) by close to 50 people along with its restructuring of certain teams earlier this month are not surprising moves in […]

Satellite-based, asset-tracking hardware from Alberta, Canada-based CSI Wireless Inc. is helping to catch crooks and assist motorists in other ways. Law-enforcement officials and private citizens alike are displaying increased demand […]

People Kingston inmedia Names Chairman Kingston inmedia appointed Richard Vos as chairman of the board. Vos was formerly chairman of Inmarsat, which he led following privatization in 1999 through a […]

The politically weak satellite industry faces a delicate balancing act in responding effectively to spectrum reform recommendations released last Thursday by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information […]

At press time, Satellite News confirmed that, after four years of contentious negotiations, an agreement on GPS-Galileo cooperation has been reached between U.S. and European government officials. The Europeans plan […]

PARIS–The satellite industry is poised for a modest comeback during the next few years, according to executives who gathered here recently for the 10th Satel Conseil symposium. The symposium, hosted […]

By Paul Dykewicz The sale of El Segundo, Calif.-based DirecTV to the News Corp [NWS] media-empire last December has led the largest satellite TV services provider in the United States […]

The Global Positioning System (GPS) can be a lifesaver in the right circumstances and a source of fun on other occasions. For fun lovers, the second annual Magellan “Cache Her […]

By Roger Rusch, TelAstra The Internet has been one of the most sensational innovations in history, with the full impact beginning to be felt about 10 years ago. The number […]

The U.S. military is developing fuel technology to extend the life of its global surveillance satellites. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) — the U.S. Department of Defense’s central […]

Week of June 18 – 24, 2004 Percentage Change Symbol June 24 Price One Week One Month Three Month Year to Date Operators APT SATELLITE HLDGS ATS 2.03 12.8 18.0 […]

There is little doubt India has the potential to be a huge market for satellite services — a major growth opportunity for numerous operators looking to boost their positions in […]

BSkyB [BSY] has signaled its intention to be much more of a player in the lower-end segment of the U.K. digital television market. It will launch a Free-To-Air (FTA) satellite […]

Week of June 11 – 17, 2004 Percentage Change Symbol June 17 Price One Week One Month Three Month Year to Date Operators APT SATELLITE HLDGS ATS 1.82 7.1 6.4 […]

Dulles, Va.-based Orbimage assembled its top officials last week for a quarterly conference call that gave the clear impression they are looking toward the future with a bold sense of […]

Englewood, Colo.-based EchoStar Communications [DISH] achieved an enormous milestone last week when it reached the 10-million subscriber mark. However, the company’s praiseworthy accomplishment is clouded by rising competition that most […]

A report released at our deadline by the House Appropriations Committee challenges the government to choose just one U.S. company to service federal launch contracts, partly due to financial considerations […]