General news on the satellite and space industry from around the web
Honeywell will provide terminal hardware to enable connectivity for government users, such as Boeing’s Air Force One aircraft, pictured here. Photo: Boeing. [Via Satellite 03-10-2015] Inmarsat Government has announced a new agreement to make Honeywell the service provider to the U.S. government aeronautical market for the Global Xpress constellation network. Under the new agreement, Honeywell…
Photo: Global Eagle Entertainment [Via Satellite 03-11-2015] Global Eagle Entertainment (GEE) and Air China have successfully completed the first in-flight newscast using Ku-band connectivity. During the live television test flight, the Xinhua News Agency broadcast between the National People Congress/Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conferences (NPC/CPPCC) and Air China’s In-Flight Connectivity (IFC)-equipped Boeing 777. The satellite…
Perth, Australia. Photo: Satcom Global [Via Satellite 03-11-2015] Following the opening of its Russian office in 2014, Satcom Global continues its international expansion with the opening of new sites around the world. On March 10 the company announced a Perth, Australia office to improve service to customers in the western region of the country. Prior to…
Parrot UAV system. Photo: Inmarsat [Via Satellite 03-11-2015] Inmarsat’s Parrot Bebop Drone, which weighs in at just 14 ounces, has been certified for use over the Inmarsat network. The certification comes following six-months of collaboration with wireless technology provider Parrot and is part of Inmarsat’s ongoing open technology strategy announced in January. The Parrot Bebop…
Sunset with Crown Princess and Carnival Liberty at the pier in Grand Turk, Lesser Antilles. Photo: Robert Pratt, Flickr [Via Satellite 03-11-2015] Based on findings from tracking on customer performance on its hybrid broadband network, new Internet billing method and Internet café solution, MTN Communications found the average Megabyte (Mb) consumption rate of cruise ship operators increased by more…
Iridium Next satellites. Photo: Iridium [Via Satellite 03-11-2015] Iridium has selected Thales to join a group of competitively chosen companies to build terminals for its future broadband service Iridium Certus. Thales will create, build and sell products for broadband via Iridium Next satellites, which begin launching in October. Iridium previously indicated plans to announce at…
NovelSat NS3000 satellite modem. Photo: NovelSat [Via Satellite 03-11-2015] NovelSat released an upgrade for the Satellite Modem Operating System (SMOS) for the NovelSat NS3000 and NS300 satellite modems. The improvement addresses challenges more specific to higher frequencies, such as Ka band, that are more susceptible to attenuation from weather fluctuations. The “weather-proofing” software upgrade is…
Telekom Austria Group. Photo: Telekom Austria Group [Via Satellite 03-10-2015] Telekom Austria believes its satellite broadband service in Austria, as well as Central and Eastern Europe, where the telco operates, has the potential to reach up to a third of households in these territories. The opportunity is likely to be smaller in Austria, which has…
President Kikwete of Tanzania (right) being interviewed by AzamTV’s Tido Mhando. Photo: Eutelsat [Via Satellite 03-10-2015] Azam Media signed a new deal with Eutelsat for capacity on the Eutelsat 7B satellite to continue growing its new pay-TV platform AzamTV. The platform carries 55 channels, providing television content to 200,000 subscribers across Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania,…
A Globecomm-built teleport. Photo: Globecomm [Via Satellite 03-10-2015] UAE-based teleport operator du awarded Globecomm a multimillion-dollar contract to build a new teleport for the company to relocate. The new facility, also located in the UAE, will host more than 50 Earth stations supporting C, Ku and Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS) frequencies with satellite antennas ranging…