9 February 2016
The World Teleport Association (WTA) today announced that Pierre-Jean Beylier, CEO of SpeedCast, has been named as its 2016 Teleport Executive of the Year. Mr. Beylier will be honored during WTA’s Teleport Awards for Excellence luncheon on March 8 during SATELLITE 2016. The Teleport Executive of the Year award is presented to an individual for demonstrated entrepreneurship, leadership and innovation in the development or operation of a teleport-based business.
Under the leadership of Pierre-Jean Beylier, known as PJ, SpeedCast executed five acquisitions in 2015, which doubled the company’s revenue, while achieving 99% retention of the staff in the acquired companies. This remarkable performance stems from corporate values summed up in the acronym “CAST” – Customer-focused, Agile and responsive, Success through people and Team spirit. The work of integration these acquisitions is called Project Bordeaux, whose goal is to turn six companies into one streamlined and efficient organization. Project Bordeaux stresses communication: giving all team members visibility into what the organization is doing, what it has achieved and what is coming next. The result has been increasing cross-team collaboration leading to a higher “win” ratio and faster project delivery.
PJ also leads the company’s engagement with humanitarian and charitable organizations. The company has contributed equipment and technical support under the NetHope initiative for recovery from Huricane Haiyan. SpeedCast is a corporate supporter of charitable events including Australia’s Big Red Ride, which raises money for muscular dystrophy research, World Championship Sailing in Japan, and other events. With its focus on nonprofit organizations, SpeedCast is also a major supplier to such NGOs as UNHCR, UHHDOC and Save the Children International. From his base in Hong Kong, PJ has built a company with global reach across the mobile, maritime, energy, government, mining and NGO markets.
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“A healthy technology sector offers opportunities to small, entrepreneurial companies as well as to midsize and large firms with the potential to acquire them,” said executive director Robert Bell. “The teleport industry is just such a sector and executives like PJ Beylier not only build on the success of the companies they acquire but increase the potential of the industry for growth.”
During the 2016 Teleport Awards for Excellence luncheon ceremony, hosted by Crystal, WTA will also honor its Independent Teleport of the Year and Teleport Technology of the Year.
(Source: WTA press release)
9 February 2016
Russian speakers in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania rank Kremlin-backed media as the least trustworthy among international, Russian Federation and domestic news sources, according to research presented by the Broadcasting Board of Governors yesterday.
In addition, only those survey respondents who considered Russian-backed media to be credible showed a majority support for President Vladimir Putin’s domestic and international policies. In the three Baltic nations and Moldova, consuming Russian-backed media did not correlate with support for Russia’s policies.
The BBG data found that domestic media ranked first in trustworthiness in Estonia (80 percent) and Latvia (79 percent). International media took first in Lithuania (74 percent) and in Moldova there was a statistical tie between international media (45 percent), Russian-backed media (42 percent) and domestic media (42 percent).
The findings were unveiled at Thursday’s research briefing conducted by the BBG and Gallup on the consumption and influence of Russian-language media in Russia’s periphery.
Gallup’s World Poll data, which was conducted in 2014 shortly after the Russian annexation of Crimea and hence over a year before the BBG data in the Baltics and Moldova was collected, examined how respondents in 12 former Soviet Union countries followed news about Russian actions in Ukraine and Crimea. Data showed the majority of respondents followed the events very closely and reported finding Russian media reliable. For some, that translated into support for some Russian policies. According to the 2014 Gallup findings, in seven of the 10 countries surveyed, the majority of respondents who consumed both “Western” and Russian media showed support for Russia’s annexation of Crimea. “Western” media as defined in the Gallup World Poll survey did not specifically include or exclude U.S. international media, according to Gallup presenter Neli Esipova.
Since this survey was initiated, the BBG language services at Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) have added or expanded more than 35 new programs on multiple media platforms in Russian, Ukrainian, and other languages to reach new audiences in the former Soviet space and around the world.
Jeffrey Trimble, Deputy Director for the International Broadcasting Bureau, outlined the BBG’s strategy in the region and highlighted the flag-ship program Current Time, a daily 30-minute Russian-language television news program produced by VOA and RFE/RL. Current Time is now on the air in nine countries via 25 media outlets. The European version airs in Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Lithuania, and Latvia, with segments of the program airing in Israel. A Central Asia version airs in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan. Weekend Current Time programs — “Itogi” by VOA and “Nedelya” by RFE/RL — are on the air as well. Current Time also reaches Russian-speaking news seekers worldwide via digital platforms curated by RFE/RL’s DIGIM team, which was launched in September 2015 and which produces and disseminates innovative cross-platform digital content, promotes the Current Time brand in the digital space, and engages Russian-language audiences on social media.
Russian authorities do not allow placement of Current Time on domestic television stations.
Presenters at the research briefing cautioned that comparing the Gallup World Poll survey and the Gallup survey conducted for BBG was problematic, as the surveys targeted different countries, were conducted over a year apart and had several methodological differences, including question wording, context and sampling.
A video and briefing documents are available on the BBG website. (Source: BBG press release)
9 February 2016
The Spanish-language edition of the BBC’s flagship digital technology programme, Click, is now available to viewers of the Hispanic Information and Telecommunications Network (HITN) in the US. Later this year, the programme will also be broadcast on Uruguay’s state telecommunications company, Antel via its Vera+ platforms, and Mexico’s state broadcaster Sistema Publico de Radiodifusion del Estado Mexicano, SPR, via its ‘Una Voz con Todos’ digital television platform.
The first 24-part weekly series of Click in Spanish is a collaboration between the BBC’s Spanish-language service, BBC Mundo, BBC News and Argentine-based Non Stop Digital S.A. – and features regional as well as international reports from the world of digital technologies.
This is the first time that the BBC’s popular, comprehensive guide to the latest technology news, Click, is being made available for Spanish-speaking audiences. The 28-minute episodes, hosted by Argentinian presenter, Natalia Pupato, will bring the latest on new gadgets, games and apps around the world, with a special focus on stories from Latin America, delivered by BBC Mundo’s network of reporters.
BBC News Features Editor Carey Clark commented: “Click’s weekly exploration of the new frontiers of technology and innovation already makes it one of the most watched and trusted technology programmes in the world. We are all delighted that our new Spanish-language editions will open up the show to many more viewers.”
BBC World Service Head of Business Development, Europe and Latin America, Frederick Durman, said: “We are excited to be extending the reach of one of the BBC’s established brands amongst Spanish-speaking audiences, offering our technology reporting – this time with a Latino accent.”
HITN is the first US Latino-controlled, non-commercial, Spanish-language media company, delivering educational programming to more than 36 million homes in the US on satellite and cable, focusing on health, financial literacy and education. HITN Director of Programming, Florentina Almonte added: “As part of our ongoing mission to promote and present educational content, we are proud to offer our viewers the Spanish-language version of Click, an innovative series that covers new developments in digital technology and platforms. In this digital age, it is more important than ever for the public to stay up to date with the latest technological breakthroughs and trends.”
The inaugural edition of Click will be broadcast on HITN at 21.30 Eastern Time on 9 February (02.30 GMT on 10 February) through its network of cable systems covering all of the United States.
BBC Mundo is part of BBC World Service.
3 February 2016
RT’s video news agency RUPTLY announces the launch of mobile application Ruptly Stringer, which allows newsrooms to access user-generated content (UGC) from anywhere in the world.
The Ruptly Stringer app allows the agency to obtain exclusive video content from eyewitnesses and citizen journalists in a matter of minutes.
In addition to video sourcing and distribution, the app can be used for live broadcasts, with the agency transferring content to its clients in real-time.
Built-in geolocation function not only allows newsrooms to place requests for footage in specific countries, but also alerts users of an event that is occurring nearby.
The instant-reward framework encourages repeated use of the application.
“The most popular videos are usually the ones shot by eyewitnesses on their mobile phones, and this UGC content is always of great interest to news agencies, TV channels, and other media platforms,” said Xenia Fedorova, the head of RUPTLY. “Ruptly Stringer not only allows us to exclusively access this content, but also helps news editors verify the authenticity of the footage received. Thus, all our clients can avail themselves of these unique user-generated video materials alongside RUPTLY’s own quality news content – which is what separates us from the competition.”
The Ruptly Stringer application was developed on the basis of Babo citizen journalism platform. It is available to Android and iOS users worldwide.
“Ruptly Stringer is a revolutionary step in citizen journalism,” commented Ashot Gabrelyanov, the founder of Babo. “Now, anyone who happened to be in the right place at the right time and recorded something interesting and unique can instantly submit the footage to the global news media and even get paid for it. RUPTLY’s clients, in turn, get a chance to report on developing stories through the eyes of the witnesses at the scene.”
Since RT launched RUPTLY in 2013, more than 600 media companies from 41 countries have used its services. RUPTLY provides clients with news videos from around the world, including live broadcasts of the most important events. (Source: RT press release)
2 February 2016
ARABSAT is organizing its 8th Telecom Forum in Cyprus during February 10 -11, 2016 to strengthen its professional and operational association with its customer base. This event will be addressed by Mr. Marios Demetriades, the Minister of Transport, Communications and Works of Cyprus and will provide a platform for ARABSAT customers, technology and service providers to share their views on latest technological trends.
Eng. Mueid Al-Zahrani, CTO, said that the Forum presents a unique opportunity as ARABSAT will be presenting its future fleet and newly launched satellite, BADR-7, that contains Ku-Band, Ka/Ku Strap and Ka- payload providing coverage over Middle East, North Africa, North West Africa, Central Asia and South Africa respectively. ARABSAT is also taking advantage of the Cyprus venue and intends to show Hellas-Sat teleport facilities to its customers to capitalize on future business opportunities.
ARABSAT intends to host a live Demo at the show using Traveltronic All-in-one Systems with Newtec Dialog Hub using ARABSAT-5A Appendix Ku-Band Space Segment. Both Traveltronic All-in-One System and Newtec Dialog Hub are the latest products capable of integrating and complementing cellular, terrestrial and Satcom platforms. This exercise is to encourage the Satcom industry to use Appendix Ku-Band for their VSAT, Broadband and Broadcast Networks as this band is more immune to radio frequency interference.
