October 2015

Artist’s rendition of a satellite orbiting Earth. Photo: NASA/Saft [Via Satellite 10-27-2015] Lockheed Martin has awarded a five-year follow on contract to battery manufacturer Saft for Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries to use in telecommunications satellites. Through the multi-million dollar long-term agreement, Saft will supply high-energy VL48E Li-ion cells with a 3.6V, 48Ah package designed for the…

AT&T storefront. Photo: Mike Mozart (flickr) [Via Satellite 10-26-2015] AT&T is already seeing the benefits of its merger with U.S. satellite pay-TV giant DirecTV. The telco completed the acquisition in July, after agreeing to certain four-year conditions from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). On the company’s 2015 third quarter earnings call — the first following…

Tank Railway cars. Photo: Vilseskogen (Flickr) [Via Satellite 10-26-2015] Globalstar subsidiary Globalstar Europe Satellite Services, along with wireless partner Ovinto, are equipping Sabic’s European fleet of 500 rail tank cars with Ovinto Sat Machine-to-Machine (M2M) satellite-based tracking and monitoring technology. Sabic uses its European fleet of rail tank cars to transport chemicals, and plans to…

Artist’s rendition of Eutelsat 115 West B. Photo: Eutelsat [Via Satellite 10-26-2015] IsoTropic Networks has expanded its service offerings through the Hunter Beam on the Eutelsat 115 West B satellite. The Hunter Beam is from Hunter Communications, which has a hosted payload onboard the satellite. IsoTropic Networks is the first teleport to successfully light up…

Sami Boustany, CEO Yahlive. Photo: Yahlive [Via Satellite 10-26-2015] Yahlive has signed a one-transponder capacity deal with Adriatic Tours, owner of Alpha One RTV Network, and reached a collaborative agreement to broadcast channels to the Balkan communities in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) in eight languages: Bosnian, Serbian, Croatian, Albanian, Turkish, Spanish, English,…

[Via Satellite 10-26-2015] Bollywood film and television network B4U has increased the number of channels broadcasting on AsiaSat 7 with the addition of B4U Movies Asia Pacific. B4U currently broadcasts two Bollywood Indian entertainment channels, B4U Movies and B4U Music, in the Hindi language via AsiaSat 7 at 105.5 degrees east. From this location, the…

Phasor’s Electronically Steered Antenna (ESA). Photo: Phasor [Via Satellite 10-23-2015] Phasor has completed the technology for its flat, Electronically Steered Antenna (ESA), and is now shifting into a new stage focused on making its products ready for various markets. The company’s antenna, which has been under development for more than five years, has completed successful…

Stephen Spengler, CEO of Intelsat. Photo: Intelsat [Via Satellite 10-23-2015] Intelsat elected Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Stephen Spengler to the company’s board of directors, effective Oct. 22, 2015, filling the vacancy created by the resignation of Denis Villafranca. Spengler joined Intelsat in 2003, and has served in executive roles of increasing responsibility, including deputy CEO,…

Hughes HT Aero Modem. Photo: GEE [Via Satellite 10-23-2015] Global Eagle Entertainment (GEE) has entered into an agreement with Hughes Network Systems to use the company’s Jupiter System HT Aero Modem to power GEE’s next-generation aeronautical broadband service. This newest version of Hughes’ HT Aero Modem enables GEE to deliver aeronautical services on any Ku-band…

SIPR SNAP VSATs. Photo: Telecommunications Systems [Via Satellite 10-23-2015] TeleCommunication Systems (TCS) has received $5 million in incremental funding from the U.S. Army for sustainment of the AN/TSC-198A SNAP (Secret Internet Protocol Router (SIPR) and Non-classified Internet Protocol Router (NIPR) Access Point) Very Small Aperture Terminals (VSATs). Ruggedized and designed for transport, the TCS SNAP VSATs provide secure communications for voice,…