E-letter: News Feed

Global mobile data traffic expanded to 69 percent in 2012 and is anticipated to grow to 72 percent in 2013 to reach 23,000 Petabytes.

A research published in the Geophysical Research Letters journal could indicate the possibility of a new technique to track dangerous ash-filled clouds using GPS.

A technical issue forced the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) to postpone the launch of the country’s first navigation satellite.

Azerspace-1/Africasat-1a Enters Full Commercial Service The Azerspace-1/Africasat-1a satellite has successfully completed in-orbit testing and entered full commercial service. The spacecraft will provide communications services to customers in Azerbaijan, Europe, Africa, […]

DISH Network Makes Bold Move for Sprint Nextel DISH Network Corporation has announced its intentions to acquire the third largest wireless carrier in the United States. The company has submitted […]

Hispasat Expands Satellite Broadband Network Gilat Satellite Networks and Hispasat have signed a deal to expand the Spanish satellite operator’s broadband satellite-based network with an additional SkyEdge II system. The […]

Elara Comunicaciones Helps Rural Towns In Southeast Mexico Benefit from New Satellite Project Elara Comunicaciones has begun implementing a large-scale satellite network to bring voice and data service to 2,717 […]

Arianespace Appoints Le Gall Replacement Arianespace has appointed Stéphane Israël as its new chairman and CEO. Israël replaces Jean-Yves Le Gall, who is the new president of French space agency […]

AsiaSat Signs Landmark Hosted Payload Deal AsiaSat and GeoMetWatch have announced a strategic partnership to host the first of six Sounding & Tracking Observatory for Regional Meteorology (STORMTM) instruments on […]

Asia Broadcast Satellite (ABS) is one of the most talked about operators on the planet, and has been on an aggressive growth curve. The company sees Africa as an important part of the equation as it looks to diversify its revenue base. In April this year, ABS appointed Felix Damiba, as its new managing director for Africa.

Global satellite operator Telesat has announced that Axesat, a provider of VSAT services in South America, has signed a long-term contract for capacity on Telesat’s new Anik G1 satellite.

Space-based automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) is a logical extrapolation of terrestrial antenna-based ADS-B and may be the only way to use this surveillance technology in oceanic, mountainous, or extremely remote areas.

Romania's digital broadcasting landscape has expanded with the recent launch of Freesat, a new TV platform available from the EUTELSAT 16A satellite operated by Eutelsat Communications.

Jon Kirchner, president and chief operating officer of GeoOptics, a satellite-based environmental data services company, addressed the U.S. Congress on how to change the way the government acquires essential data for severe and day-to-day weather forecasting.

Within five years, North America is expected to lose its status as the number one region for in-flight entertainment (IFE) content to the rapidly expanding Asia-Pacific region.

International Launch Services (ILS) recently announced that communications satellite SES-6 will be launched on June 3, 2013 at 5:18 p.m. EDT from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan.

Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel), one of Southeast Asia’s largest telecom companies, has started the sale of Optus Satellite, its Australian satellite unit, seeking more than AU$2 billion ($1.9 billion). SingTel Seeks to Sell Optus Satellite for $2 Billion

ITT Exelis, a global aerospace, defense, information and technical services company, will make its Jagwire solution for the management and dissemination of tactical imagery and video available on a mobile platform.

Planetary Resources, a private asteroid-mining company, has unveiled its plans for a new space telescope that would be available to the public.

International Datacasting Corporation (IDC) has announced that its new President and CEO Doug Lowther has been appointed to the corporation’s board of directors.

DISH has updated its recently released set-top application, which now delivers on-screen social content relevant to the show or channel a viewer is watching.

TrustComm, a provider of secure COMSATCOM solutions to government agencies, has announced significant enhancements to its satellite emergency operations network (SEON) solution for emergency responders. The enhancements include new and flexible purchase options, and expanded network configurations.

Thuraya Telecommunications has become the newest member of the Space Data Association (SDA), a non-profit association that brings together international satellite operators to share critical data and best practices vital to the safety and integrity of the space environment and the radio frequency (RF) spectrum.

MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates (MDA), a global communications and information company, announced it has signed a CA$10.8 million ($10.4 million) contract with Canada’s Department of National Defense (DND)

Intel, the world’s largest semiconductor chipmaker, has signed an agreement with ST-Ericsson that extends Intel’s investment in positioning technology.

SAVIS Tegnologia has selected Advantech Wireless to provide a geographically redundant military satellite communication network system for SISFRON, the largest border security program in Latin America.

The government of Belarus has made it illegal to install satellite antennas on buildings around the country.

Monitoring global air traffic is not an easy task, but in the wake of SES’s recent launch of the first space-based automatic dependent surveillance broadcast (ADS-B) system, this could soon change.

SES announced it has increased its household reach in the Benelux countries in 2012 to more than 1.2 million homes. With a 19 percent increase compared to the previous year, Belgium topped the Benelux growth in Astra satellite homes.

Boeing has received the first on-orbit signals from the fifth Wideband Global SATCOM satellite (WGS-5) it is delivering to the U.S. Air Force.