Satellite Today articles from July 2004

Satellite Today archives from July 2004

NSAB Strengthens Baltic Position.
July 1, 2004... Nordic Satellite AB (NSAB) has strengthened its position in the Lithuanian market by entering into a co-operation agreement with TV1. TV1 is a popular Lithuanian channel, and the deal represents the third time in recent months that NSAB has...

SiriComm Taps ViaSat For VSAT Services.
July 1, 2004... ViaSat Inc. [VSAT] officials said the company is supplying a LinkStar broadband satellite communications network to SiriComm Inc. that will provide wide area networking for SiriComm fleet applications and Internet access for Wi-Fi networking...

Sirius Soft-Launches Orbiter Plug And Play Receiver At RadioShack Stores.
July 1, 2004... Officials from Sirius Satellite Radio [SIRI] and RadioShack Corp. [RSH] said the Orbiter Model SR4000 plug and play satellite radio receiver is being shipped to RadioShack stores nationwide. Orbiter will be the only satellite radio receiver...

XM To Air Willie Nelson's Fourth Of July Concert.
July 1, 2004... XM Satellite Radio [XMSR] officials said the satellite radio service provider will broadcast Willie Nelson's 4th of July Picnic concert in Fort Worth, Tex., live from noon to midnight. [Copyright 2004 PBI Media, LLC. All rights reserved.]

SES Global Restructures Holdings.
July 2, 2004... SES Global S.A. [SESG], the world's largest satellite operator, today announced a restructuring of its assets in its core satellite infrastructure business and its holdings in various satellite service companies. The aim is to align the...

FCC Dismisses Star One Petition.
July 2, 2004... The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) dismissed a petition filed by Star One S.A. to add its Star One C2 satellite at 70 degrees West longitude orbital location to the FCC's Permitted Space Station List. In a June 30 letter, released to...

Anik F2 Moves One Step Closer To Launch.
July 2, 2004... Arianespace officials late yesterday said Telesat's Anik F2 satellite has been mated with a cone-shaped adapter that serves as the interface structure between the telecommunications satellite and its Ariane 5 launch vehicle. This action,...

GlobeCast Gets Ready For Tour de France.
July 2, 2004... GlobeCast has beefed up its coverage of one of the leading global sports events, the Tour de France cycling event. The satellite operator will deploy nine SNG (Satellite Newsgathering) trucks on location during the 2004 Tour de France to secure...

Sirius Launches Five New And Exclusive Channels.
July 2, 2004... Sirius Satellite Radio [SIRI] will be launching five new channels on July 7, including Elvis Radio, a 24-hour-a-day channel dedicated to the music of Elvis Presley. Other new channels: Underground Garage, produced by E Street Band member Steven...

CSI Wireless Launches GPS-Enabled Auto Steering System.
July 2, 2004... Officials from CSI Wireless Inc. said the company has launched GPSteer, an automatic steering system for tractors and other self-propelled agricultural equipment. GPSteer automatically steers agricultural vehicles along consistently straight or...

Gilat Satellite Networks President/CEO Resigns.
July 6, 2004... Petah Tikva, Israel-based Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. [GILTF] announced that Oren Most, its president and CEO, will step down July 15. Shlomo Rodav, who has served as chairman of Gilat's board of directors for the past 15 months, will retain...

NCTA Boasts Of Broadband Rollout In Mid-Year Industry Overview.
July 6, 2004... The National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA) today released its 2004 Mid-Year Industry Overview, which revealed that 95 million U.S. TV households (representing 88 percent of total U.S. homes passed by cable) receive advanced...

Inmarsat, Stratos Team To Launch Next-Gen BGAN Service.
July 6, 2004... London-based Inmarsat Ltd., a pioneer provider of global mobile satellite communications, chose Stratos Global Corp. as a possible partner in the commercial launch of its next-generation Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN) service. BGAN...

Music Choice Heads To Italy.
July 6, 2004... NDS has added Music Choice, a European digital audio broadcaster, to its Sky platform in Italy. Music Choice is the first interactive music application to be deployed on the Italian platform, and it follows three years of broadcast on BSkyB in...

Samples Of New RTAX-S Devices Now Available.
July 6, 2004... Mountain View, Calif.-based Actel [ACTL] is making available engineering samples for all three devices in its high-density RTAX-S family of radiationtolerant, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). The devices are intended to offer...

SES Global CFO Retires, Successor Named.
July 6, 2004... Jurgen Schulte, CFO for SES GLOBAL S.A. [SESG], is retiring, succeeded by Mark Rigolle, who joins that company from Belgacom. Schulte joined SES in 1991 as finance director after a 15-year international career with General Electric. In a...

Globecomm Negotiates $4 Million Payment From Troubled Customer.
July 7, 2004... Globecomm Systems Inc. [GCOM], a global provider of end-to-end, satellite-based communications solutions, reached a $4 million settlement with an unnamed "major customer," and it has received initial payments of $3.5 million. Globecomm...

EchoStar Signs 1,000th Local Channel.
July 7, 2004... EchoStar Communications Corporation [DISH], a Littleton, Colo.-based satellite TV services provider, signed ABC Channel 33, WYTV, in Youngstown, Ohio, as its 1,000th local channel in the United States. This addition enables Dish Network to...

StarBand Partners With C-COM.
July 7, 2004... McLean, Va.-based StarBand, a high-speed, two-way satellite Internet provider, is teaming with C-COM Satellite Systems to launch a self-pointing, mobile, high-speed Internet service. The partnership provides a new level of flexibility in...

BSkyB Confirms New CFO Start.
July 7, 2004... U.K.-based pay-TV operator BSkyB has announced that Jeremy Darroch will assume the duties of CFO on Aug. 16. Darroch currently is group finance director of Dixons Group plc. BSkyB's CFO Martin Stewart will remain in the post until Aug. 4. ...

Tachyon Appoints New VP/Distribution Channels.
July 7, 2004... Tachyon Network, a Vienna, Va.-based provider of high-speed, broadband satellite communications for commercial enterprises, appointed Yaniv Oz to the newly created position of vice president of distribution channels. Oz joins the company from...

Intelsat Cuts Staff, Advances Toward Possible Sale.
July 8, 2004... Intelsat Ltd. reduced its workforce by between 40 and 50 jobs last week as part of an ongoing restructuring to realign its costs with revenues while advancing its search for a prospective financial buyer. Many of the layoffs affected sales...

Anik F2 Is Readied To Take Flight.
July 8, 2004... All preparations have been completed for the July 12 launch of Anik F2, a Boeing-built [BA] high-power satellite that will deliver North America's first commercial satellite-based consumer broadband communications service. The launch from the...

Eutelsat Partners With Europe Online.
July 8, 2004... Eutelsat, one of the world's largest satellite operators, will partner with Europe Online, a satellite broadband network services provider, to combine their satellite broadband Internet networks, operations, services and customers. The...

SBCA Joins Digital Transition Coalition.
July 8, 2004... The Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association (SBCA) joined the Digital Transition Coalition, a group originally formed to help accelerate the transition to digital television in the United States. The SBCA has been a supporter of...

Telewest Aims To Put Pressure On BSkyB.
July 8, 2004... UK cable operator Telewest is looking to put the pressure on satellite pay-TV operator BSkyB by revamping its digital TV packages in the UK market. The cable company is launching a new marketing campaign, which for the first time is...

VOOM Wins CNET Editors' Choice Award.
July 8, 2004... VOOM, a comprehensive high-definition (HD) satellite service operated by Jericho, N.Y.-based Rainbow DBS, announced today that it received a CNET Editors' Choice award that recognizes "outstanding" personal technology and consumer electronic...

EuroNews Strengthens Spanish Position.
July 9, 2004... EuroNews, a pan-European news channel, signed a distribution agreement with Spanish satellite operator Hispasat. Hispasat 1C will distribute its signal in Spain and all over Europe for a period of six years, enabling EuroNews to increase its...

More Dish Subscribers Get Local Channels.
July 9, 2004... EchoStar Communications Corp. [DISH] subscribers to the Dish Network direct-to-home satellite television service in the Florence-Myrtle Beach. S.C.-area soon will be able to receive broadcasts from the local affiliates of ABC, CBS, Fox, PBS and...

Globalstar Targets U.S. Users With New Pricing.
July 9, 2004... Globalstar LLC officials said the company will be introducing a new satellite airtime rate plan designed specifically for its U.S. customers. The plan, Timeline 40, costs $39.95 per month and includes 40 minutes per month, with a charge of 99...

Spacehab Subsidiary Wins $1.3 Million NASA Contract.
July 9, 2004... Officials from Spacehab Inc. [SPAB] said the company's Astrotech Space Operations subsidiary was awarded a $1.3 million contract from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Kennedy Space Center to provide payload processing...

Mississippi Gov't Taps DigitalGlobe For Satellite Images.
July 9, 2004... DigitalGlobe said the Mississippi Department of Maritime Resources will use satellite imagery provided by DigitalGlobe's QuickBird satellite in a suite of geographic information systems to help manage and protect a variety of coastal maritime...

Stratos 2Q Net Income, Revenues Decrease.
July 12, 2004... Stratos Global Corp. today reported net income for the second quarter ended June 30 decreased to $5.4 million, compared with $8.2 million earned during the same quarter one year ago. Revenues during the same period decreased by 12 percent to...

Polsat CEO Targets 500,000 Subscribers.
July 12, 2004... Cyfrowy Polsat President and CEO Dominik Libicki is confident his DTH provider can continue its growth curve in Poland. Polsat is one of the leading pay-TV providers in Poland. In terms of the main challenges during the year ahead, Libicki told...

Globecomm Wins $1.5 Million Contract.
July 12, 2004... Globecomm Systems Inc. [GCOM] was awarded a contract from an existing, unnamed customer valued at approximately $1.5 million. The contract is a followon to an existing $8.3 million contract from the global multilateral organization for fixed...

ATK Acquires PSI Group.
July 12, 2004... ATK [ATK] executives said the company reached an agreement in principle to acquire PSI Group, a manufacturer of satellite components and propellant tanks. According to ATK, PSI provides mission-critical components to the emerging needs of the...

XM Declares Quarterly Dividend On Series B Preferred Stock.
July 12, 2004... XM Satellite Radio declared a regular quarterly dividend on its 8.25-percent Series B Convertible Redeemable Preferred Stock, payable in shares of the company's Class A Common Stock at a rate of $1.0303 per share of Series B Preferred Stock;...

Telkonet Appoints New VP/Satellite Networks.
July 12, 2004... Telkonet Inc. [TKO] appointed Blair Gilbert as vice president of satellite networks. Gilbert brings 24 years of experience to his new company, and he most recently served as director of business development for Pegasus Communications. At one...

Correction.
July 12, 2004... In the July 9 edition of Satellite Today, the Mississippi Dept. of Marine Resources was mistakenly referred to as the Mississippi Dept. of Maritime Resources. We regret the error. [Copyright 2004 PBI Media, LLC. All rights reserved.]

Anik F2 Launch Delayed.
July 13, 2004... Last night's scheduled launch by Arianespace of Telesat Canada's Anik F2 has been delayed. Officials said an anomaly occurred during a "data checkpoint" with the launcher -- an Ariane 5 rocket -- resulting in the decision to postpone the...

DirecTV Taps ILS For Satellite Launch.
July 13, 2004... International Launch Services (ILS) signed a contract with The DirecTV Group [DTV] for the launch of the DirecTV 8 satellite next spring. The satellite will be delivered to orbit via a Proton M/Breeze M launch vehicle, and it will be the third...

Pleading Cycle Established In New Skies License-Transfer Proceeding.
July 13, 2004... The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) set a deadline of Aug. 11 for interested parties to submit comments regarding a June 25 petition seeking permission to transfer control of non-common- carrier fixed satellite service earth station...

In-Orbit Testing Of AMC-11 Complete.
July 13, 2004... SES Americom recently completed the in-orbit testing of the AMC-11 satellite (launched May 11), and the bird is now ready to join its twin (AMC-10) to form the only two-satellite neighborhood capable of delivering highdefinition content to...

Dish, RadioShack Deliver Satellite Services To Center, Colo.
July 13, 2004... EchoStar Communications Corp. [DISH] teamed with a RadioShack franchise to convert approximately 600 municipally owned cable customers in Center, Colo., into Dish Network's direct-to-home satellite television subscribers. The conversion follows...

FCC Returns Lockheed Martin App For Launch Authority.
July 13, 2004... The FCC informed Lockheed Martin Corp. [LMT] in a July 9 letter that the agency could not act on the company's April 27, 1999 application (subsequently amended July 30, 2003) to launch and operate satellites at three different orbital slots....

Wendy's Taps Spacenet For Broadband Satellite Network.
July 13, 2004... Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. [GILTF] today said its Spacenet Inc. subsidiary was selected by WendCentral Corp. to provide a Connexstar broadband satellite network to at least 250 Wendy's Old Fashioned Hamburger restaurants. The Connexstar VSAT...

Magna, Dish Reach Carriage Agreement.
July 13, 2004... Officials from Magna Entertainment Corp. [MECA] today said the company reached an agreement with EchoStar Communications Corp. [DISH], under which EchoStar's Dish Network service will carry Magna's HorseRacing TV beginning July 15. It will be...

Steinberg Departs Fox Kids.
July 13, 2004... Fox Kids Europe (FKE) announced the departure of its CEO Bruce Steinberg. Paul Taylor, the company's group managing director and executive vice president, will replace Steinberg as CEO on an interim basis. [Copyright 2004 PBI Media, LLC....

A La Carte Pricing Poses Market Risks.
July 15, 2004... Congressional interest in enacting legislation to provide U.S. television viewers with the ability to pick and to choose the individual channels they want to buy each month from satellite and cable TV providers is filled with risks. Officials...

Telenor Positions Itself For Satellite Broadband Expansion.
July 15, 2004... New Skies Satellite N.V. [NSK] and Telenor Satellite Services inked an agreement under which Telenor will expand its gateway services out of the New Skies' Perth, Australia, mediaport. For Telenor, the agreement not only doubles Telenor's...

NASA's Aura Finally Launches.
July 15, 2004... Following a series of delays, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Aura earth observation satellite finally was launched into orbit from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket at about 6:00...

Raytheon Gleans $50 Million From GPS Antenna Deal.
July 15, 2004... Raytheon Co.'s [RTN] U.K.-based Raytheon Systems Ltd. subsidiary was awarded a contract from the U.S. Air Force Joint Program Office to provide nextgeneration GPS advanced digital antenna production systems. The contract, including all its...

DART Vehicle Preps For Launch Later This Year.
July 15, 2004... Orbital Sciences Corp. [ORB] today said its Demonstration Of Autonomous Rendezvous (DART) spacecraft arrived at the company's integration-and-processing facilities at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The DART vehicle will be used to...

National Geographic Channel Ties Up DMC Deal.
July 15, 2004... The National Geographic Channel selected the Digital Media Centre (DMC) to perform playout services for its Scandinavian feed, bringing the total count of the Channel's local feeds originating from the DMC to five. The company's European...

GPS Vs. Galileo - Which Is Better? For Whom?
July 15, 2004... To our readers who will be in the Washington, D.C. metro area July 22, Nick Mitsis, editor of sister publication Via Satellite, will be moderating a panel discussion addressing GPS vs. the European Union's Galileo satellite navigation system....

Loral Skynet President Talks Private-Equity Trends.
July 16, 2004... Loral Skynet President Terry Hart believes the recent trend of privateequity firms investing in the satellite industry is a positive one. In recent months, private-equity firms have acquired significant interests in such operators as New Skies...

Anik F2 Launch Scrubbed Again.
July 16, 2004... The launch of Telesat's Anik F2 satellite was delayed for a second time, with Mother Nature stepping in to keep the satellite grounded. The telecommunications satellite originally was scheduled to be delivered into orbit from Arianespace's...

Sirius Lands Tony Hawk.
July 16, 2004... Sirius Satellite Radio [SIRI] just added skateboard champion Tony Hawk to its ever-expanding programming lineup. Hawk will become a host on "Sirius Faction," a music channel dedicated to action sports enthusiasts. Hawk will broadcast from a...

SCI Turns Over Teleport Ops To SatCom Systems.
July 16, 2004... SCI is turning over operation of Atlanta International Teleport to SatCom Systems Inc., the teleport's new owner. SCI CEO Tom Sheddan said in a prepared statement that, with the relinquishing of the teleport operations, "SCI is returning to its...

Chase Teams With Longbottom.
July 16, 2004... Scott Chase, a former executive with PBI Media, now known as Access Intelligence LLC, whose accomplishments include taking a key role in the launch of Via Satellite magazine, is teaming with industry public relations veteran Penelope...

Fourth Time Proves To Be The Right One For Anik F2 Launch.
July 19, 2004... After an "anomaly with the ground infrastructure" kept Telesat Canada's Anik F2 satellite grounded during its third launch attempt July 16, the satellite finally took off from the Kourou, French Guiana, launch site at 8:44 p.m. EDT July 17,...

New Skies Shareholders Approve Sale.
July 19, 2004... New Skies Satellites N.V. [NSK] shareholders approved the sale of the company to The Blackstone Group, a private investment firm, for $956 million in cash. According to a statement released by the company, 92.4 percent of the shares in...

FCC Acts On Industry Requests.
July 19, 2004... The Federal Communications Commission said applications submitted from Columbia Communications Corp. and Mobile Satellite Ventures Inc. (MSV) have been accepted, and those companies can move forward with their plans. In its April 29...

Spectrum Sharing Plan Adopted By FCC.
July 19, 2004... Last week, the FCC issued a spectrum-sharing plan that allows CDMA mobile satellite service (MSS) operators to share certain portions of the identified spectrum (1,610 MHz-1,625.5 MHz and 2,483.5 MHz-2,500 MHz -- collectively known as the Big...

BT Hooks Up Eutelsat Deal.
July 19, 2004... BT Broadcast Services (BTBS) signed a deal with Eutelsat to boost its satellite broadband position in Europe. It selected Eutelsat's D-STAR service to complement its existing capabilities for two-way broadband. BTBS' "Satellite Broadband...

Latest GPS Satellite Begins Operations.
July 20, 2004... In the latest enhancement to the GPS constellation, Lockheed Martin [LMT] and the U.S. Air Force today completed in-orbit checkout of the upgraded GPS satellite that was launched June 23. The GPS IIR-12 satellite carries a highperformance...

Second Quarter Strong For Orbital.
July 20, 2004... Orbital Sciences Corp. [ORB] today reported growth in its revenues and net income for the second quarter ended June 30. Revenues rose 12 percent to $177.7 million in the second quarter from $158 million during the same period one year ago. The...

PanAmSat, Fox Expand Agreement.
July 20, 2004... PamAmSat Corp. [SPOT] today said the Fox Entertainment Group Inc. expanded its long-term agreement with PanAmSat to include two additional transponders on the C-band platform of the Galaxy 13 satellite. Fox plans to use it to distribute Fox...

DTH, HD Channels Drive Demand For Commercial Satellite Capacity.
July 20, 2004... In a study released today, Northern Sky Research forecasts the demand for commercial satellite capacity will grow by 4.8 percent per year, with the direct-to-home satellite market and high-definition channel broadcasts driving the growth....

Dish Broadcasts Inaugural Season Of American ProCricket.
July 20, 2004... EchoStar Communications Corp. [DISH] will broadcast the regular season and playoff games of ProCricket, the first professional cricket league in the United States, on a pay-per-view basis to its Dish Network direct-to-home satellite television...

Starband Launches Residential Satellite Internet Service.
July 21, 2004... StarBand Communications Inc. launched its new StarBand 481 residential two-way satellite Internet service that allows for download speeds as fast as 500 kbps and upload speeds as fast as 100 kbps. It also offers limited VPN capabilities,...

EchoStar, Rainbow Win DBS License Auction.
July 21, 2004... The Federal Communications Commission earlier this week said Rainbow DBS Company LLC and EchoStar Communications Corp. [DISH] won three direct broadcast satellite (DBS) licenses in an auction completed July 14. In a public notice dated July 19...

Sirius Reaffirms Year-End Sub Target, Reports 2Q Losses.
July 21, 2004... Today's release of Sirius Satellite Radio's [SIRI] earnings for the second quarter included a prediction of one million subscribers by the end of the year. The re-affirmation of that forecast comes after the company had a record quarter of net...

Baltic First For EUMETSAT.
July 21, 2004... EUMETSAT, the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites, said Latvia has become the first Baltic State to join the group. Latvia already is using some satellite data in its forecasts, but the amount of data...

SkyWave Boasts Sales Of Inmarsat D+ Terminals.
July 21, 2004... SkyWave Mobile Communications Inc. today said it manufactured, sold and delivered more than 33,000 Inmarsat D+ satellite terminals. Company officials attributed the sales to the terminals' 99-percent reliability rate. [Copyright 2004 PBI...

Loral, Creditors Reach Agreement.
July 22, 2004... Loral Space & Communications Ltd. today said it reached an agreement with the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in its Chapter 11 reorganization on the principle terms of a plan of reorganization that will lead to the early filing of a...

In Midst Of Class-Action Suit, KVH Reports 2Q Results.
July 22, 2004... KVH Industries Inc. [KVH] reported a slight increase in its revenues for the second quarter ended June 30 compared with the same period last year as well as a net income for the just-completed quarter. The results were released following the...

Digital+ Breaks Through 1.6 Million Mark.
July 22, 2004... Sogecable, the Spanish media giant, announced that Digital+, its DTH platform, experienced a significant increase in subscribers during the last three months. At the end of June 2004, it had more than 1.6 million subscribers as it cements its...

DirecTV Lures New Customers With NFL Sunday Ticket Offer.
July 22, 2004... DirecTV Inc. late yesterday launched a new promotion to boost new subscriber numbers. The company is leveraging its exclusive contract with the National Football League (NFL) to offer new subscribers four months of free "Total Choice Premier"...

DISH Claims 100 Million Households Served By Local Channels.
July 22, 2004... EchoStar Communications Corp. [DISH] today said with the addition of local channel coverage in Charlestown, S.C., and in Montgomery, Ala., it now becomes the first pay-television company to make local channels available to 100 million...

Questions Still Loom In GPS/Galileo Cooperation.
July 23, 2004... Although the United States and the European Union have reached agreement that the U.S.'s GPS and the EU's forthcoming Galileo satellite navigations will work cooperatively together, questions still loom regarding how the EU's financing of the...

Nickelodeon A Key Challenge For MTV.
July 23, 2004... MTV Networks Europe is determined to build its Nickelodeon brand over the next 12 months. This is one of the major challenges according to MTV Networks Europe CEO Brent Hansen. Hansen told Satellite Today, "I think the next big challenge for us...

Eurocom Telecomunicazioni Taps Sarantel For GPS Antenna.
July 23, 2004... Sarantel was awarded a contract by Eurocom Telecomunicazioni to provide it with Sarantel's GeoHelix GPS miniature antenna. Eurocom will incorporate the antenna into its automatic person location system (APLS) lapel microphone. Eurocom is...

Tesuque Nation Police Choose Globalstar For Voice, Data Services.
July 23, 2004... Globalstar LLC was selected by the Tesuque Nation Police in northern New Mexico to provide it with voice and data services. The tribal lands routinely patrolled by the officers are not covered by traditional radio or cellular services, causing...