February 2015

Photo: Eutelsat [Via Satellite 02-09-2015] Television and Internet Service Provider (ISP) United Group has prolonged its agreement with Eutelsat for capacity on the Eutelsat 16A satellite. The company uses satellite to broadcast its pay-TV platform Total TV to target markets in in Serbia, Slovenia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and the Former Yugoslav Republic of…

Milano Teleport’s C-band coverage. Photo: Milano Teleport [Via Satellite 02-09-2015] Milano Teleport has increased its C-band services with the addition of three regional beams for its iSeaglobal maritime product. The expansion follows a 35 percent increase in available C-band capacity the company made in December 2014. Milano Teleport now offers four regional C-band beams and…

The AssetPack-3 (AP3) global satellite tracker. Photo: AssetLink Global [Via Satellite 02-09-2015] AssetLink Global, a Machine-to-Machine (M2M) and Internet of Everything (IoT) solutions provider, has selected Iridium to connect its AssetPack 3 solar rechargeable monitoring and tracking device. According to Iridium, the partnership will improve AssetLink’s end-to-end asset management for customers in remote areas, even…

Photo: Brian Cantoni (Flickr) [Via Satellite 02-04-2015] Over-The-Top (OTT) operators could overtake satellite as the frontrunner for next generation video, according to analysts at Futuresource. While the satellite industry has been zealous in its pursuit of 4K, OTT operators are facing fewer barriers in bringing higher definition content to viewers, potentially positioning them to supplant…

Photo: Exelis [Via Satellite 02-06-2015] Harris is purchasing Exelis for $4.75 billion in an acquisition expected to close by June 2015. Both boards of directors unanimously approved the acquisition, and Harris has secured $3.4 billion from Morgan Stanley Senior Funding for fully committed bridge financing. The company anticipates permanent financing in the form of term…

ALASA concept art. Photo: Boeing/Chuck Schroeder [Via Satellite 02-06-2015] The United States Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) plans to conduct 12 orbital test launches of an Airborne Launch Assist Space Access (ALASA) integrated prototype system starting in 2016. The project, now in its second phase with Boeing as the prime contractor, seeks to drastically…

The Millimetron Space Telescope under construction. Photo: Roscosmos [Via Satellite 02-06-2015] Russian satellite manufacturer ISS Reshetnev has started building the Millimetron Space Telescope, a future observatory to study the properties of black holes, stellar and planetary formation, and the nature of dark energy. Slated to launch in 2025, the telescope will operate the 0.3-17 millimeter…

[Via Satellite 02-06-2015] Inmarsat has selected IDG Europe to provide L-TAC services to Sweden. L-TAC is a satcom system designed to meet military requirements on the Inmarsat I-4 satellite network. The service uses an antenna adaptor to work with existing tactical radios without needing additional training or certification. L-TAC is interoperable between Ultra-High Frequency (UHF)…

A Kymeta prototype radome. Photo: Kymeta [Via Satellite 02-05-2015] In preparation for the launch of its first EpicNG High Throughput Satellite (HTS) toward the end of this year, Intelsat has signed a significant partnership with Kymeta, designer of an electronically steerable flat satellite antenna. Kymeta will introduce Ku-band “mTenna” satellite antenna solutions tailored to EpicNG,…

Seatback in-flight entertainment via IFC. Photo: Global Eagle Entertainment [Via Satellite 02-05-2015] Global Eagle Entertainment (GEE) is jointly designing a new In-Flight Connectivity (IFC) antenna with Quantenelektronische Systeme GmbH (QEST). The new global antenna aims to provide airlines with a reliable, high-speed IFC solution that operates at all latitudes — including equatorial regions — where…