HTS
Space component suppliers endangered by GEO order slowdown
Satellite manufacturers say they are trying to protect their component suppliers from the drought of commercial telecom spacecraft that threatens to put such companies out of business.
Telesat touts LEO constellation over M&A as best growth strategy
Telesat CEO Dan Goldberg said his company has refrained from running headlong with other fleet operators in adding new telecom satellites over areas now burdened by an oversupply of capacity.
Telenor Satellite eyes even split between broadcast, connectivity businesses
Morten Tengs, Telenor Satellite’s CEO, says direct-to-home (DTH) broadcasting is still the largest revenue generator for the operator, but Thor-7 now has “a substantial maritime datacom business,” as well as some land-based customers in the Middle East.
Boeing investigating antenna glitch on ViaSat-2 satellite
An on-orbit antenna issue identified during testing of the ViaSat-2 high-throughput satellite has Boeing and ViaSat searching for answers.
Orbital ATK ships tardy Al Yah 3 satellite for January launch
Satellite manufacturer Orbital ATK on Nov. 30 shipped Yahsat’s long-awaited Al Yah 3 high-throughput satellite to French Guiana for an Ariane 5 launch now scheduled for January.
AsiaSat planning small HTS satellite to cover China
Hong Kong-based fleet operator AsiaSat will soon order a “modest”-size high-throughput satellite (HTS) that will leverage the company’s access to the Chinese market, Barrie Woolston, AsiaSat’s chief commercial officer, said Sept. 14.
Avanti CEO leaves company
David Williams, chief executive of broadband satellite operator Avanti Communications, has parted ways with the company he co-founded.
Inmarsat says business largely immune to current capacity oversupply
British satellite operator Inmarsat says the mobility markets where it does the most business are largely unaffected by today’s oversupply of capacity, and in some cases might need even more.
MDA slashes GEO order expectations
Commercial satellite operators will probably order half as many geosynchronous satellites this year than usual, deepening a drought that has affected satellite manufacturers for the past two years, MDA Corp. President and CEO Howard Lance said July 28.
Intelsat’s slow-to-orbit IS-33e proving slow to attract customers
Intelsat-33e, which took longer to enter service because of a broken thruster, is now taking longer than expected to fill with paying customers.
Gogo sparks war of words with Inmarsat, ViaSat over lease versus owner model
Inflight connectivity provider Gogo is causing sparks to fly over its claim that leasing capacity is superior to owning satellites and that proponents of pure satellite ownership are only promoting ownership models to protect their business.
SES says it could build the world’s most powerful satellite, but won’t
Global fleet operator SES says it could join the race to build the world’s highest-throughput satellites if it wanted to, but doesn’t believe such spacecraft will be effective at serving customers.
PT Telkom collocates satellite with Intelsat while planning two HTS satellites
In the midst of a continuing fleet expansion, Indonesia’s state-owned telecommunications company PT Telkom is collocating one of its satellites with an Intelsat satellite over the Asia-Pacific region.
LeoSat confident Jsat investment will spur other investors
LeoSat is confident that a recent investment by heavyweight Asian satellite operator Sky Perfect Jsat in the startup’s planned high-throughput, low-Earth orbit system will encourage other investors to jump onboard.
NBN puts would-be backup Sky Muster satellite into service
Australia’s state-owned National Broadband Network company has placed a satellite originally meant to be a spare into service to keep pace with ramping user demand, and says it has solved around 80 percent of the service issues that have plagued the satellite system since early 2016.
SES taps O3b’s Steve Collar to lead all non-television business
Global satellite fleet operator SES has elevated the role of O3b Networks Chief Executive Steve Collar to one that oversees all of the company’s non-video broadcast business.
