E-letter: News Feed

Alcatel Space announced that it has completed and delivered to Hughes Space and Communications [GMH] the first of two communications payloads for the two XM Satellite Radio [XMSR] spacecraft. The […]

Global VSAT Forum 2000: LATIN AMERICA will be this year’s only worldwide VSAT industry meeting devoted to examination of the VSAT industry’s growth and opportunities in Latin America. The meeting […]

The “dot com” revolution is continuing to gain momentum and by all indications finally has moved into the forefront of the satellite industry. High-profile software companies are investing in satellite […]

Eutelsat’s Sesat launched successfully from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 0306 local time on April 18. Russian senior staff spoke of their “mutual happiness”, referring to links between Eutelsat and the […]

Middle East broadcaster ART is set to benefit from the cancellation of the Sara Vision MMDS project in Saudi Arabia and the relaxation of the dish ban in that country. […]

Disney Channel Europe is to be divided into up to four separate channels, rolling out initially in the UK, France and Germany. It is not yet clear exactly how the […]

Key: D – Digtal A – Analogue 105.5 degreesE Asiasat-1 & 3S D. Ekushey TV, the first independent TV network in Bangladesh, has commenced test transmissions on 3749 MHz vertical, […]

A new Italian satellite TV company that aims to compete with Telepiu and Stream is being developed by Finmeccanica subsidiary Alenia Spazio and Franco Bernabe & Company. Former Telecom Italia […]

CNBC is to launch a dedicated Nordic channel in early May of this year. The service will feature a tailored ticker running along the bottom of the screen with stock […]

The shape of the merger between UPC and SBS Broadcasting began to take firmer shape at MIPtv last week with plans for two joint channels an as yet unnamed film […]

German public broadcaster ARD had to delay its widely publicised change of transponders on the Astra satellite system (19.2 degrees East) because of technical problems. Originally scheduled for April 6, […]

Japan Satellite Television (JSTV), the UK-based pay-TV channel for Japanese people living in Europe, has ordered digital set-top-boxes from German manufacturer Galaxis. The Lubeck-based company will immediately begin with producing […]

US DBS operator Echostar has taken a stake in Israel-based Gilat’s Internet via satellite spin-off Gilat-To-Home Inc, which plans to provide high speed two-way satellite Internet connections to residential customers. […]

A new Italian content provider which aims to provide an “on the road” service, from planning to broadcast, was launched on March 22. Channels & Co was founded in December […]

Globalstar, the MSS operator hoping to avoid the fate of fellow LEO system Iridium, has demonstrated transmission of Internet data over its system at the ITU America Show in Rio […]

The number of German local FM radio services that add an inexpensive digital satellite feed to reach DTH homes is set to increase further: the latest addition is Hit-Radio Antenne, […]

Hallmark Entertainment Network’s launch in the UK next month will be exclusive to Sky Digital. Jody McAfee, Hallmark’s vice president of marketing, told Interspace that the satellite service would have […]

Canal Plus-owned Telepiu has pledged to increase its investment in Italian cinema from L60 billion (Euro 30 million) to L90 billion over the next two years. A 1998 film financing […]

Fox Kids Europe confirmed it will launch a German version this October on Premiere World, the Kirch Group/BSkyB-backed digital platform. Ynon Kreiz, Fox Kids Europe’s CEO, at the MIPtv market […]

Discovery Channel is to become the first thematic channel to offer enhanced programming for the UK market, reports our sister publication Inside Digital TV. The enhancements will be made available […]

UK telecommunications regulator Oftel is set to force BSkyB’s SMS division Sky Subscriber Services Limited (SSSL) to publish what it charges for access to the Open… interactive shopping mall. Other […]

Via Digital has launched a new interactive traffic service called Trafico Activo (Active Traffic). The service allows the subscriber to find out in real time about conditions on Spanish roads […]

EM-TV CEO Thomas Haffa spoke exclusively about his plans for Formula 1, in which his company has taken a 50 per cent stake, to Interspace at last week’s MIPtv. “We […]

For the past three or four MIPtv markets E! Entertainment Television’s senior vice-president, international development Jon Helmrich has told Interspace that a UK launch for the channel is “close”. But […]

Zone Vision has established itself as the market leader in developing and distributing channels for eastern and central Europe. Zone Vision’s CEO and founder Chris Wronski spoke to Interspace about […]

Firouz Naderi is the new manager of the recently established Mars Program Office at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. NASA has suffered the high- profile failure of several […]

TRW Inc. [TRW] has delivered to Lockheed Martin Corp. [LMT] the low data rate payload communications package for the sixth and last satellite in the Defense Department’s ultra-secure Milstar system. […]

Eutelsat’s newest satellite, SESAT (for Siberia Europe Satellite), has been positioned on the launch pad for its scheduled launch on the night of April 17. SESAT is an 18-transponder, Ku-band […]

Raytheon Co. [RTN] announced that the Navy has exercised first-year options worth some $54.4 million for satellite communications terminals for surface ships, submarines and shore stations. If the service exercises […]

The results of the second annual America’s SpacePoll are in and the winners are space exploration, NASA, satellite communications and space science and research initiatives. Even though pioneering space efforts […]