2003: A Satellite Industry Odyssey
By Roger Rusch Planning for 2003 requires an assessment of what the future holds. While prognostication is an inexact science, we can extrapolate certain trends. Present conditions and “external forces”...
Featured Stories
Spotlight: Boeing Showcases Real-time Flight Information
Boeing’s [BA] Air Traffic Management (ATM) and Connexion by Boeing units last week successfully demonstrated a number of enhancements to the U.S. National Airspace System (NAS). The enhancements are intended...
Cable vs. DBS Battle Affects Growth
The U.S. direct broadcast satellite (DBS) industry has had a marked advantage over cable since it was launched in 1994. The DBS providers emerged to deliver better pictures at a...
News Corp, Not SBC, Is Likely Buyer Of DirecTV
Any bid Bell giant SBC Communications [SBC] may be exploring to buy U.S. satellite TV provider DirecTV most likely will not reach fruition, Wall Street analysts predicted. Lehman Brothers and...
Raytheon Wins Italian Navy Order
Raytheon [RTN] will provide an integrated electronics suite (IES) for the Italian Navy’s multi-purpose vessel program under a foreign military award of $31.8 million equipping the Italian government with the...
GlobeCast On HOT BIRD
Satellite broadcast services provider GlobeCast has launched a digital direct-to-home platform on a Eutelsat HOT BIRD satellite. The France Telecom subsidiary’s new proprietary DTH platform will operate on the satellite...
Falconhead Buys MTN
Private investment firm Falconhead Capital is paying $30 million to acquire Maritime Telecommunications Network (MTN), a provider of satellite-based communications and networking services to the cruise ship and offshore oil...
New Skies' Results Slip
The fourth-quarter and full-year 2002 financial performances for satellite operator New Skies Satellites were off compared to 2001, due to a difficult economy, adoption of a new accounting rule for...
Showtime Aims To Hit Breakeven Target This Year
Showtime, the leading Middle East pay-TV operator, hopes to add between 50,000 and 100,000 subscribers in 2003. It currently has around 250,000 subscribers and the operator could reach the cashflow...
Spanish DTH Merger Moves A Step Closer
The merger between the two Spanish direct-to-home (DTH) satellite platforms, Sogecable’s Canal Satelite Digital and Telefonica’s Via Digital, moved a step closer when Telefonica and Sogecable agreed to comply with...