Satellite Networks

Satellite communications company ST Engineering iDirect has collaborated with technology provider XipLink to implement a security feature required for 4G backhaul services with an eye to 4G LTE deployments across the EMEA region.

Starlink, Elon Musk’s satellite internet service, received the operating permit from Chilean telecoms regulator the Department of Telecommunications (Subsecretaria de Telecomunicaciones, Subtel) to operate five satellite ground stations, enabling the operator to launch commercial services on a national level.

Indian government-owned telecommunications service provider Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has received Inflight and Maritime Connectivity (IFMC) license from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to offer Inmarsat’s Global Xpress (GX) mobile broadband services in the country.

Having announced a preliminary agreement in June, Hungary-based IT and ICT company 4iG has now confirmed that it is to buy Israeli satellite operator Spacecom.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the Indian Space Association (ISpA), a grouping of space and satellite companies, at a virtual event on October 11, the industry body, informed.

Viasat, a global communications company, announced Ka-band In-Flight Connectivity (IFC) coverage expansion for its Business Aviation services across Brazil, the world's third-largest Business Aviation market.

Eutelsat Communications is back in the news again after the satellite operator was selected by African digital solutions provider Globacom to bring satellite broadband to underserved regions of Nigeria.

Avanti Communications has announced the launch of a new managed satellite service for rural connectivity branded as Avanti EXTEND.

Canadian satellite communications company Telesat and Nelco, a company of Tata group, are all set to kickstart commercial satellite communications services jointly by 2024 in India.

Satellite broadband is coming to rural and unserved areas in Egypt after the announcement of a new deal involving a major name in networking technologies and services.

Lynk Global has signed its first commercial deals with operators in the Bahamas and the Central African Republic.

As broadband demands grow, could satellites be part of the answer? Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited (NigComSat) a satcoms company under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Communications, seems to think so. It recently announced that Nigeria plans to acquire two new satellites by 2025.

UAE-headquartered satellite solutions provider Al Yah Satellite (Yahsat) has selected Cobham SATCOM, a provider of satellite communications solutions to the land, aeronautical and maritime industries, to deliver a comprehensive mobile broadband system, including ground infrastructure and products, to operate as part of its next-generation Thuraya 4-NGS system.

Satellite and multi-transport technologies and networks specialist Hughes Network Systems and Bharti group-backed low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite communications company OneWeb have signed an MoU for a strategic agreement to distribute satellite services in India to large enterprises, small and medium businesses, government, telcos, and ISPs in the rural and remote parts of the country.

Broadband satellite networks and services provider Hughes Network Systems and Indonesian operator DTP plan to connect citizens in Papua and throughout Indonesia with satellite broadband.

AXESS Networks, a provider of connectivity solutions via satellite, has been chosen by the Arab Satellite Communications Organization (Arabsat) to provide connectivity and teleport services on the Appendix 30B C-band space segment on-board its Arabsat-5A satellite at an orbital location of 30.5°E with a coverage footprint across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) recommended to the government to reduce/remove various levies imposed on satellite operators as well as measures like avoiding intermediaries in the segment to make services affordable.

SpaceX-owned Starlink satellite internet operator will probably start providing its services in the Czech Republic soon. It has already obtained regulatory approval.

AAC Clyde Space, which describes itself as a leading ‘New Space’ company, has founded AAC Space Africa, an entity which, it says, will capitalize on the rapidly growing market for satellites and space services in Africa.

Telefónica Global Solutions (TGS) partnered with Viasat to provide satellite communications services in Brazil.

SES, the provider of global content connectivity solutions, granted Gilat Satellite Networks a multi-million-dollar contract for multiple broadband applications in Latin America.

The Indian government is apparently gearing up to address the role of low-earth orbit (LEO) satellites in the country – but whether this will mean a favourable regulatory system is as yet unclear.

Vodacom DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo) has commissioned ST Engineering iDirect and Gilat Telecom to help it migrate its VSAT-based 2G network to 3G.

The state-owned satellite operator Russian Satellite Communications Company (RSCC) announced it has completed the migration of the Express-AM33 satellite from the orbital position of 96.5 degrees East to the 11 degrees West slot.

India's Bharti group-backed OneWeb said that Hanwha, the South Korean technology and manufacturing company is making $300m equity investment in OneWeb, the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite communications (Satcom) company.

According to local press reports, state-owned operator Uganda Telecom Limited (UTL) has announced a Memorandum of Understanding with AST SpaceMobile.

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has issued a letter of intent (LoI) to Bharti group-backed OneWeb for satellite services in India, according to a report from PTI.

Satellite communications-based cellular backhaul services are coming to French Guiana to help extend mobile broadband coverage to more people, after satellite network operator Intelsat announced the expansion of its relationship with international operator Orange to provide cellular backhaul services in French Guiana.

Mobile Telecommunications Limited (MTC), a mobile telecommunications company and internet service provider in Namibia, announced the commercial launch of Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) communications technology.

Digicel Fiji has launched a satellite broadband service branded as Digisat that aims to deliver affordable universal data connectivity to remote communities across Fiji.

Over 1,300 rural sites will gain access to connectivity in Peru as part of Peru's national programme to bridge the digital divide, according to the two signatories of a new satellite backhaul deal.

iSAT Africa and SES have signed a three-year agreement to deliver 4G services across East Africa, initially via the latter firm’s O3b medium earth orbit (MEO) constellation.

Panasonic Avionics Corporation (PAC), the in-flight connectivity provider, has completed the latest phase in its investment in in-flight connectivity with the activation of extreme high throughput (XTS) satellite coverage over China and the Asia Pacific region.