Facing financial problems and an uncertain future, Israel’s Spacecom is now looking abroad to expand its satellite communications business. An announcement posted by the State Space Agency of Ukraine (SSAU) reports that talks were held between its head, Pavlo Dehtiarenko, and David Pollack, Spacecom CEO, in Kyiv late last month. …
Read More »Arabsat-6A In Final Tests Before SpaceX Falcon Heavy Launch Later in 2018
Lockheed Martin, the giant U.S. aerospace company, has completed the assembly of the ARABSAT-6A communications satellite, and has shipped it to the Lockheed Martin facilities in Sunnyvale, California, for final tests and preparations prior to its launch on board a SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch vehicle later this year. Once successfully …
Read More »Middle East Satellite TV Geopolitics: Saudi-Owned MBC Pulls All Turkish Programming Off the Air
In a move that has confounded industry executives and frustrated millions of Arab satellite television viewers across the Middle East and North Africa, Saudi-owned satellite television broadcaster Middle East Broadcasting Centre (MBC) has pulled all Turkish programming from its channels as of 0100 Mecca Time, on Friday, 2 March, 2018. …
Read More »THAICOM Set For “Transformation to the Digital Era” After Reporting Significant Decline in Revenues
Thaicom, the Thai satellite communications company that operates a fleet of seven satellites, has announced that it intends to implement its “Transformation to the Digital Era” strategy after the company posted significant reductions in revenues for Financial Year 2017. These reductions in earnings included a decrease of nearly 23% in …
Read More »#SpaceWatchGL Op’Ed: Quo Vadis CabSat 2018
Is the Middle Eastern satellite broadcasting market ripe for disruptive innovation? With new methods of content delivery through social media and mobile devices, and the advent of Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, and Blockchain technologies, ThorGroup’s Torsten Kriening argues that satellite broadcast companies operating in the region have little reason to feel …
Read More »Early Indications Suggest Successful Al Yah-3 Launch, Opening New Markets
Early indications suggest that Arianespace has successfully launched Yahsat’s Al Yah-3 and SES’s SES-14 communications satellites into geostationary orbit. The launch, designated VA241 by Arianespace, was conducted by an Ariane 5 space launch vehicle from the Kourou space launch centre in French Guiana, located in Latin America. An Arianespace press …
Read More »UAE’s Yahsat Prepares for Al Yah-3 SATCOM Launch
Arianespace have completed the integration of Yahsat’s Al Yah-3 communications satellite to the Ariane 5 space launch vehicle (SLV) that is due to launch it and another satellite on January 25, 2018, from the Kourou launch facility in French Guiana. The other satellite, SES-14, belonging to satellite communications provider SES, …
Read More »AsiaSat Introduces “Content Anytime, Anywhere,” Hybrid Satellite-IP Service
Hong Kong-based satellite communications provider has announced the launch of its “Content Anytime, Anywhere,” service to enable the delivery of content to portable devices across its satellite constellation footprint in the Asia-Pacific. Delivery of content will be done through an IP-based Over-the-Top (OTT) service, described by AsiaSat as a “hybrid …
Read More »SATCOM Along the Belt and Road? Sri Lanka’s SupremeSAT Receives Investment From China’s Tatwah Smartech Co. Ltd.
Xiaoru Cai, the Chairman of China’s Tatwah Smartech Co. Ltd., took part in a ceremony on January 15, 2018, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, announcing a U.S.$30 million investment in SupremeSAT, the only Sri Lankan satellite communications company. The investment is intended to help SupremeSAT expand its geographical reach with its …
Read More »UAE’s Al Aan TV HD to be Broadcast on Arabsat’s BADR-4 Satellite
Arabsat has announced that Dubai-based Al Aan TV will be broadcast in High Definition (HD) on Arabsat’s BADR-4 satellite, allowing the channel to be beamed into millions of homes in Europe, North Africa, Middle East, and Central Asia. Al Aan TV broadcasts a mix of entertainment and current events programming …
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