March 2015

Hughes’ EchoStar 19 satellite, scheduled to launch in 2016, will have a similar infrastructure to that of the EchoStar 17 (above). Photo: Hughes [Via Satellite 03-04-2015] Hughes Network Systems is providing its high-throughput, Ka-band Jupiter System for a major technology upgrade on Malaysian satellite communications services provider TS Global Network’s (TSGN) existing C-band satellite network.…

[Via Satellite 03-04-2015] Inmarsat Government announced that its new L-band Airborne Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (LAISR) service has completed successful customer airborne testing and will be available for U.S. government customers by June. This new LAISR service will meet the high-speed, Beyond Line of Sight (BLOS) connectivity requirements of Airborne Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (AISR)…

CDM 625A modem. Photo: Comtech EF Data [Via Satellite 03-04-2015] Comtech EF Data received a $1.1 million order for satellite communications equipment and services during its third quarter of fiscal 2015. The equipment will be used by one of the largest pan-regional Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) to upgrade and significantly expand its infrastructure throughout the…

Vern Fotheringham, CEO of Leosat. Photo: Kymeta [Via Satellite 03-04-2015] Former Kymeta CEO Vern Fotheringham has joined startup company Leosat to lead it in building a constellation of High Throughput Satellites (HTS) in Low Earth Orbit (LEO). As CEO, he will guide the creation of a constellation expected to provide 1.2 Gbs of synchronous connections…

Christophe De Hauwer. Photo: SES [Via Satellite 03-04-2015] SES’s board of directors has appointed Christophe De Hauwer, current senior vice president of fleet development and yield management at SES, as Chief Development Officer (CDO) and member of the company’s executive committee, effective Aug. 1. De Hauwer will succeed Gerson Souto, the company’s current CDO, who…

Harmonic ProStream. Photo: Harmonic [Via Satellite 03-04-2015] Harmonic announced that Forthnet, the company that owns Nova, the largest pay-TV satellite platform in Greece, has chosen a high-end compression headend with video analytics from Harmonic to support its Direct-to-Home (DTH) SD/HD service. Harmonic’s local channel partner and system integrator OmniWave performed the installation. Nova is using…

Newtec Dialog Hubs. Photo: Newtec [Via Satellite 03-04-2015] The Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) / National Grid Saudi Arabia (SEC/NG SA) has selected Newtec’s multiservice platform Newtec Dialog to deliver Automatic Metering Reader (AMR), Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA), voice and video satellite connectivity between remote sub-stations to enable new applications. SEC/NG SA provides services…

SkyWave IDP-782 Satellite-Cellular Communication Terminal. Photo: Skywave. [Via Satellite 03-04-2015] SkyWave, an Orbcomm company, introduced the dual-mode IDP-782 communications terminal at the Mobile World Congress happening this week in Barcelona, Spain. The IDP-782 provides fleet managers with a single device for both cellular and satellite network coverage. “The IDP-782 improves operations and increases safety without…

Customers accessing broadband through Bansat’s satellite service. Photo: Bansat [Via Satellite 03-03-2015] Less than three years ago, Bansat, a relatively new company in Latin America, started offering satellite broadband as a way to diversify its business. As the company reaches its third year with this offering, Luis Manuel Faviani Rincon, director of operations at Bansat,…

The summer 2014 revealing of the Electron launch vehicle. Photo: Rocket Lab [Via Satellite 03-03-2015] Rocket Lab, developer of the dedicated small satellite launch vehicle Electron, has closed its Series B funding round, which the company expects will complete the Electron launch system, enabling commercial operations in 2016. Bessemer Venture Partners (BVP) along with previous…