E-letter: News Feed

It has been a mixed few days for UK satellite pay-TV operator BSkyB. Firstly, Tony Ball announced he would not be staying on as CEO when his contract expires in […]

The in-orbit failure of Bedminster, N.J.-based Loral Skynet’s Telstar 4 satellite could pose significant financial consequences. At greatest risk are the satellite’s insurers and satellite operator Intelsat, which agreed to […]

Wilton, Conn.-based PanAmSat [Nasdaq: SPOT] is building a neighborhood of in-orbit satellite capacity to provide potentially lucrative high-definition television (HDTV) services. The first step is the planned launch of the […]

Satellite dish dealers typically use their powers of persuasion with their customers but last week they came to Washington to win the support of lawmakers in Congress. A first-of-its-kind “Retailer […]

Intelsat has expanded its terrestrial network by powering up a new mountaintop teleport in Hagerstown, Md. Intelsat’s teleport will provide service to 100 existing customers of GlobalConnex, the operator’s bundled […]

By Jimmy Schaeffler September typically is a busy time of year for the U.S. direct broadcast satellite (DBS) business. Executives return from summer vacations and there is less daylight (and […]

By David Hartshorn Anyone who has traversed Africa – whether by plane, train or beast of burden – knows the continent is vast. Those who recently have traveled there in […]

The International Telecommuni- cation Union’s World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC) 2003 produced positive results for the satellite industry, but no spectacular wins or losses. Rather, it was an unusually pragmatic meeting […]

By Roger Rusch Every economic cycle ends with the disposal of ineffective businesses. After funding ends for weak enterprises, new investment can be channeled to the development of promising new […]

Week of Sept. 19 – 25, 2003 Percentage Change Symbol Sept. 25 Price One Week One Month Three Month Year to Date Operators APT SATELLITE HLDGS ATS 2.27 (5.4) (16.2) […]

London-based Inmarsat Ventures appears on the verge of gaining new owners after an independent committee of the company’s board accepted a takeover offer of slightly more than $1.4 billion from […]

Large satellite operators increasingly are looking to play a key role in the deployment of universal broadband services. With certain governments calling for universal broadband access within five years, satellite […]

By Roger Rusch Nearly 20 years ago, mobile telephone service was transformed by the development of cellular networks. Airtime service prices were high, and the telephones were costly and bulky. […]

Chinese satellite services operator ChinaCast is introducing two-way broadband service by teaming with Germantown, Md.-based Hughes Network Systems. Both companies will jointly market the two-way networking services in China as […]

By Jimmy Schaeffler One of the great maxims of the multichannel subscription services industry is that consumers really don’t care about the technology. They just care about the content. That […]

Intelsat’s recent launch of a broadband network in West Africa is part of a broader international broadband push by the satellite operator. Erich Fischer, Intelsat’s senior director of global broadband […]

SES Global [Luxembourg: SESG] posted a respectable performance in its first half year results, despite posting a 10 percent drop in revenues compared to the first six months of 2002. […]

Because of our expanded international coverage, we are no longer carrying brief news items in our Satellite Circuit section. But you can get news briefs every day for free by […]

Dulles, Va.-based Orbital Imaging (ORBIMAGE) is readying plans to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy court protection by the end of October. The remote sensing company, fresh off the successful launch […]

Week of Sept. 12 – 18, 2003 Percentage Change Symbol Sept. 18 Price One Week One Month Three Month Year to Date Operators APT SATELLITE HLDGS ATS 2.52 5.9 (6.7) […]

A Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT]-built Titan IV B rocket lifted off Sept. 9 at 12:29 a.m. EDT carrying a classified payload for the U.S. Air Force and the National Reconnaissance […]

Luxembourg-based satellite operator SES Astra has signed five new contracts to expand the provision of Astra one-way satellite broadband service to additional territories in Europe and North Africa. The company […]

SkyFrames [OTC: SKYU] has signed an agreement with ComGuard CTS to provide high-end VSAT equipment and broadband Internet services to ComGuard’s operations in remote areas of Canada. Financial terms of […]

Boeing (NYSE: BA) has selected Alcatel Space, a unit of Paris-based Alcatel [NYSE: ALA] to supply a multi-million payload for a satellite Boeing is build for XM Satellite Radio [Nasdaq: […]

Hughes Network Systems, a subsidiary of Hughes Electronics [NYSE: GMH], has signed a three-year agreement with Canadian satellite operator Telesat to provide technical support for Telesat’s telecommunications and broadcasting services […]

The departure of the Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association’s (SBCA) top executive is occurring at a time when the financially constrained organization faces a number of formidable challenges in Washington. […]

Week of Sept. 5 – 11, 2003 Percentage Change Symbol Sept. 5 Price One Week One Month Three Month Year to Date Operators APT SATELLITE HLDGS ATS 2.46 (18.8) (5.4) […]

The International Bureau at the Federal Communications Commission provided an upbeat view of the industry during the commission’s monthly meeting last week. IB Chief Don Abelson cited the growing demand […]

Washington-based XM Satellite Radio [Nasdaq: SMSR] succeeded in attracting conservative institutional investors in a financing deal that closed last week, suggesting that XM is gaining respect in financial circles. Less […]

Carlsbad, Calif.-based ViaSat’s LINKWAY satellite terminals will be used by U.S. military camera crews to securely transmit video and still imagery from combat positions to headquarters, to command locations in […]