HISPASAT satellite broadband solution powers Mars Spanish Mission sims

A HISPASAT-provided satellite broadband solution will ensure the Mars Spanish Mission enjoys high-quality web access and communications during its simulations.

The preliminary phase of the first Spanish simulated Mars colonization mission will take place in the Sierra Jubierre in Aragon, Spain from April 4 to 7, 2013. The final mission will be held in the U.S. province of Utah in 2014.

The researchers at the scientific camp will leverage HISPASAT's satellite broadband services and equipment to maintain communications with the Mission Support Center based at the European Business and Innovation Center (CEEI) in Zaragoza.

HISPASAT's satellite broadband solution grants the Mars Spanish Mission access to high-powered Internet from satellite connectivity wherever they may be the world, including areas outside the reach of terrestrial networks. The Company's services are supported by more than 4,000 dedicated satellite antennas in Spanish territory, cementing HISPASAT's command of the residential satellite broadband market in Spain.

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SS/L will build Jupiter 2/EchoStar XIX Ka-band broadband satellite for Hughes

An announcement from Hughes Network Systems, LLC made it known that Space Systems/Loral will be building the JUPITER 2/EchoStar XIX satellite. The new Ka-band broadband satellite will possess the highest capacity in the world and will be used by HughesNet high-speed Internet by satellite service.

Jupiter 2/EchoStar XIX will have over 150 Gbps throughput, half again as much as the earlier, SSL-built, Hughes-operated satellite EchoStar XVII launched on July 5, 2012. Like its predecessor, the new Hughes satellite will employ a next-generation architecture. More than 120 spot beams will deliver high quality satellite broadband coverage across the United States and parts of Canada during its expected service lifetime of 15 years.

Once the JUPITER 2/EchoStar XIX enters commercial service in 2016, it will be leveraged by HughesNet, the largest high-speed Internet by satellite service in the world with 659,000 subscribers as of the end of 2012. HughesNet will use the new capacity to drive further growth in North America.

CETel Announced Long-Term Extension For Capacity Lease With Arabsat's 5A

One of the leading providers of global communication solutions via satellite, CETel, announced its commitment and extend a part of its capacity lease with Arabsat on the satellites Arabsat 5A at orbital position 30.5° East and Arabsat 5C at orbital position 20° East.

With CETel's extending its capacity lease with Arabsat, it will help in enlarging Geolink's and its own VSAT satellite networks. Also, it will serve the growing demand in the EMEA markets.

CETel detects growing interest in maritime VSAT operations and oil and gas networks. The global communication solution giant currently provides uplink services from 9.3m/9.0m antennas from its teleport facilities in Germany and combines the coverage over Africa and the Middle East into a service based on European-based teleport fibre networks.

Managing Director, CETel, Guido Neumann comments, “For nearly a decade, CETel and Arabsat have built a strong and reliable partnership, that combines CETel’s technical expertise and quality service with Arabsat’s excellent satellite fleet to meet the demand of the of the Middle East and African markets.”


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TS2 offers satellite internet access in Afghanistan via Hylas 2

TS2 Satellite Technologies now delivers satellite Internet service in Afghanistan, thanks to Avanti’s Hylas 2 satellite. The Orbital Sciences’ built-spacecraft, specifically designed for broadband communications, is outfitted with Ka bandwidth transponders that allows bidirectional data transmission and additional services for individuals, government agencies and corporations in rapidly growing international markets. Moreover, TS2 will also introduce commercial links in selected African and East European nations, including Poland.

Launched on August of last year, Avanti’s Hylas 2 satellite is positioned an orbital slot at 31 degrees east. Hylas 2 has an estimated life of more than 15 years and is equipped with 24 Ku-band transmitting and six receiving transponders. The satellite also has a throughput of about three times as high as that of Hylas 1.

With the help of Hylas 2, TS Satellite Technologies can now offer access to the Internet and all IP services independently via terrestrial connections; VPN, VoIP and videoconferencing connections; backbone and corporate network solutions; and backhaul satellite solutions for GSM networks to extend cellular telephony reach.

ViaSat reports better than expected sales for 2013 3Q

ViaSat, a well-known direct broadcast satellite television broadcaster and pay TV operator, is happy to announce that the company’s shares increased by 24 percent after it reported sales and earnings that are even better than expected for the third quarter. For this period, ViaSat reached a revenue worth $286.4 million -- going past the $265.7 million predicted by experts.

Aside from the boom in earnings, the company also reported profits worth $1.8 million, which contradicts analysts who had forecasted a loss in earnings for the quarter. As a result, Needham & Co. raised ViaSat’s rating from “hold” to “buy.” On Thursday, the company’s shares rose from $9.55 to close at $49.29 on the Nasdaq.

ViaSat’s winnings mostly came from its defense and satellite broadband businesses. Its satellite Internet business wrapped up the quarter with $38,000 more subscribers compared to the previous quarter. Most of the increase was attributed to the distribution offer with DirecTV.

The company ended the quarter with a backlog of $939 million -- $364 million more than the same quarter of 2012.

Honywell orders Ka-band transceivers from Wavestream for GX satellite Internet

Honeywell recently awarded an exclusive contract to Wavestream for the provision of Ka-band transceivers that will be integrated into the airborne antenna systems of the Inmarsat Global Xpress (GX) in-flight satellite Internet network. Wavestream will begin scaled production of the transceivers in 2014.

Honeywell is in charge of the development and distribution of on-board hardware that allows users to access GX Aviation, a high speed Ka-band system from Inmarsat.

Wavestream is a wholly owned subsidiary of Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. It develops and deploys BUCs and amplifiers for military and commercial customers, who use its products for various satellite communications applications. The Company has deployed more than 5,000 of its Ka-band products during the last three years.

Wavestream implemented its patented Spatial advantEdge technology in its Ka-band transceiver family to create product packages for fixed, mobile, and flyaway antenna systems. The Company's amplifiers and BUCs are smaller and lighter than the norm yet possess high output power, superior efficiency, and improved reliability. Its products are carefully designed and thoroughly tested for operation in extreme environments, ensuring continuous connectivity for operations critical to national defense and demanding consumer broadband applications such as the GX satellite Internet solution.

SES, O3b enter satellite Internet capacity deal with Digicel in Papua New Guinea

A recent partnership between satellite operator SES and satellite service provider O3b Networks will provide satellite Internet capacity to Digicel, a mobile telcom operator based in Papua New Guinea.

Digicel is a long-term partner of SES. The telcom company will be using capacity from the NSS-9 satellite operated by SES, as well as the Medium Earth Orbit fleet run by O3b, to provide Internet on satellite bandwidth for its cellular network services in the Pacific island nation.

The contract with Digicel offers a unique connectivity solution featuring complementary geostationary satellites and Medium Earth Orbit satellites. The combination of the NSS-9 satellite's comprehensive coverage and the O3b constellation's high throughput and low latency allows Digicel to provide its customers in Papua New Guinea with cheap, efficient, andreliable cellular network services.

The cost-effective O3b solution supports Digicel's innovation of mobile services in the Pacific region by extending the local networks' coverage through O3b's satellite transport services.

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United Airlines now offers satellite-based Wi-Fi service onboard trans-oceanic flights

Major U.S air carrier United Airlines recently debuted its onboard satellite-based Wi-Fi internet service on the first of its international airplane, making the company the first U.S-based international airline to provide customers with connectivity services while traveling on long-haul, trans-oceanic routes.

The first trans-Atlantic and trans-Pacific aircraft of United Airlines that will be equipped with Panasonic Avionics Corporation's Ku-band satellite technology is the Boeing 747. Moreover, United also equipped two Airbus 319 aircraft traveling domestic routes with Ku-band satellite Wi-Fi, allowing passengers to enjoy high-speed in-flight Internet service compared to air-to-ground technology (ATG). By the end of 2013, the U.S airline expects to finish installing satellite-based Wi-Fi on 300 mainline aircraft, including Airbus 320, Boeing 737, 747, 757, 767, 777 and 787.

In a company statement, Vice Chairman and Chief Revenue Officer Jim Compton said that by offering a satellite Internet service, it allows United Airlines to serve their passengers better and offer more than what they want in a global airline.

“With this new service, we continue to build the airline that customers want to fly,” Compton added.

United Airlines passengers can choose between two speeds -- Standard, which costs initially between $3.99 and $14.99, depending on the duration of the flight, and Accelerated, which costs initially between $5.99 and $19.99, offering faster download speeds compared to Standard.

In other news, United Airlines is on the process of upgrading its aircrafts with more than $500 million in additional onboard improvements, including the following:

1. Offering the world’s biggest aircraft fleet with flat-bed seats, with more than 175 airplanes outfitted with 180-degree flat beds in premium cabins once United finishes installing in the second quarter.

2. Expanding extra-legroom Economy Plus seating to provide the most such seating of any U.S airline.

3. Renewing the transcontinental “p.s” fleet of aircrafts that travel between Los Angeles and New York Kennedy and San Francisco, offering passengers with a better premium cabin experience with fully flat beds, Wi-Fi Internet service and personal on-demand entertainment at every seat.

4. Enhancing inflight entertainment options by providing streaming video content on the Boeing 747-400 fleet.

5. Installing overhead bins on 152 Airbus aircrafts, providing a considerably greater amount of storage for carry-on baggage.

Vivacom rolls out new satellite Internet packages in Bulgaria

Bulgarian telecommunications operator Vivacom is glad to announce that the company has launched two new satellite Internet packages directed at domestic enterprise users.

The new offer from Vivacom provides speeds of 18/6 Mbps and as much as 60 GB of monthly traffic. The Bulgarian telecom company said that it has made its satellite Internet service available to customers who live in remote and distant locations that have no telecommunication infrastructure.

Based on innovative satellite technology, the new satellite Internet service of Vivacom does not need the use of cables, the company said in a statement. With this offer, the company is positioned as an Internet service provider that has full Internet coverage all over Bulgaria as it now has the ability to provide Internet access even to locations lacking telecommunication infrastructure.

Gogo installs ATG-4, Internet from satellite in-flight solutions on new American Airlines aircraft

Gogo is installing two of its in-flight connectivity solutions -Ku-band Internet from satellite and the Company's new-generation Air to Ground-4 (ATG-4) technology- on the new deliveries of Airbus A320 family and Boeing 737 slated for use by American Airlines.

American Airlines aircraft equipped with the dual Gogo ATG-4/Internet fromsatellite solutions will be able to provide domestic and international passengers with flexible in-flight internet service no matter the aircraft's mission. Gogo will perform installations starting 2013 as American receives its new aircraft.

Gogo also installed in-flight Internet solutions on the MD-80 and Boeing 737, 757, and 767 aircraft in American Airlines' domestic fleet. Its systems currently equip more than 400 aircraft operated by American.