October 2015

[Via Satellite 10-23-2015] Comtech EF Data has expanded its LPOD Block Up Converter (BUC) product family with the introduction of two new models, the 300-Watt LPOD and the 16-Watt LPOD-R. With the introduction of the higher power 300-Watt C-band model, the LPOD is now available in a wider range of power levels and bands, including…

Matthias Spott, founder and CEO of eightyLEO [Via Satellite 10-22-2015] German entrepreneur Matthias Spott is developing a European network of small communications satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) using a revamped constellation project from the 1990s. The company, called eightyLEO, is seeking to galvanize the space industry throughout Europe to build and deploy the constellation…

John Finney, former CCO at O3b, now CCO at EMC. Photo: EMC [Via Satellite 10-22-2015] EMC has increased its leadership team, adding Tom Severson as Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Bill Madden as Senior Vice President (SVP) of product development, and John Finney, founding employee and Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) of O3b Networks, as its CCO. The…

Intellian GX60 and GX100 terminals. Photo: Intellian [Via Satellite 10-22-2015] Inmarsat and Intellian have reached a deal with Eukor Car Carriers, one of the world’s largest shipping companies specializing in the transportation of cars and other rolling cargo, to use Global Xpress broadband. Eukor has selected Intellian’s latest GX100 terminals to equip its 27 vessels with…

AsiaSat 4′s C-band footprint. Photo: AsiaSat [Via Satellite 10-22-2015] AsiaSat has launched 4K-SAT, the operator’s first Ultra-HD television channel, at 122 degrees east on AsiaSat 4. This new Ultra-HD channel will be available Free-to-Air (FTA) across more than 50 countries and regions within AsiaSat 4’s footprint, spanning from New Zealand to Pakistan and part of…

[Via Satellite 10-22-2015] DigitalGlobe announced that L. Roger Mason Jr. will join the company’s board of directors, effective immediately. He succeeds Martin Faga, who has served on the DigitalGlobe board since January 2013 and the GeoEye board of directors from 2006 to 2013. Mason is a senior vice president at Noblis, a non-profit research corporation, and a member of the…

Photo: Talia [Via Satellite 10-21-2015] U.K.-based telecommunications network operator Talia is waiting before making any new purchases of satellite capacity due to instability in pricing. Alan Afrasiab, CEO of Talia, told Via Satellite that the emergence of competitive regional operators and the advent of High Throughput Satellite (HTS) systems are causing fluctuations in capacity pricing,…

Azerspace-2/Intelsat 38 rendering. Photo: SSL [Via Satellite 10-21-2015] Space Systems/Loral (SSL) confirmed Oct. 20 that the company received a contract to build the joint satellite Azerspace 2/Intelsat 38 for Azercosmos and Intelsat, respectively. The satellite will be based on the SSL 1300 bus, and is planned for launch in 2017. SSL won the satellite order after the…

Cobham Satcom’s Chevrolet Suburban demo unit, with a brand new, Explorer 8100 VSAT satellite system. Photo: Cobham Satcom [Via Satellite 10-21-2015] Cobham Satcom, in response to heavy rains in South Carolina in the U.S., has redirected the demonstration SUV for the company’s first Explorer 8100 VSAT system in the country from its course toward an…

Dirk Hoke, future CEO of Airbus Defence and Space. Photo: Airbus Group [Via Satellite 10-21-2015] Airbus Group has appointed a new CEO for its Defence and Space division to succeed Bernhard Gerwert, age 62, who intends to retire in mid-2016. The company selected Dirk Hoke, age 46, to lead as CEO of Airbus Defence and…