18 November 2015
SES S.A. (NYSE Euronext Paris and Luxembourg Stock Exchange: SESG), a world-leading satellite operator, and Intersat announced today they have signed a multi-year contract to expand Intersat’s internet service offerings to East Africa.
Intersat, one of the largest and most respected providers of internet solutions in Africa, is utilising the Ku-band capacity on SES’s NSS-12 satellite via the SES Djibouti teleport. The company will offer shared and dedicated internet services delivered via the latest and most advanced iDirect VSAT technology, with a capacity of up to 70Mbps. Intersat currently serves over 200 VSAT terminals using the SES service.
“Intersat is in the business of breaking down the price barrier that has held back the majority of Africans from benefiting from the internet. Not only have we connected businesses, government organisations, internet service providers, educational institutions and hospitals, but we have also brought affordable broadband internet via satellite to rural Africa,” said Subrata Roy, Chief Technical Officer at Intersat. “The new deal on NSS-12 satellite’s Ku-band will allow us to double the number of terminals we serve by 2016.”
“The agreement with Intersat allows us to better serve customers in the East African market who have little or no access to terrestrial based connectivity. The combination of premium and high-powered satellite capacity, and the use of the latest iDirect technology and high-grade teleport, will give Intersat an added advantage in the marketplace,” said Ibrahima Guimba-Saidou, Senior Vice President, Commercial, Africa at SES.
16 November 2015
The Broadcasting Board of Governors today released its annual impact numbers, including an unprecedented weekly measured audience of 226 million. The increase includes substantial gains in digital and television audiences in highly competitive media markets that are of strategic importance to the United States.
Digital audiences increased from 25 million to 32 million, driven in part by social media and circumvention tools used by Radio Free Asia and Voice of America to evade the Chinese firewall and engage audiences in China, as well as a new multi-platform campaign launched by the Middle East Broadcasting Networks aimed at engaging Iraqi audiences and providing them an opportunity to voice their opinions.
Thanks in part to a successful customized affiliate strategy, especially in Latin America, Africa and the Russian periphery, television audiences saw a substantial increase, growing 18 million in the last year.
“This audience increase – while it is just one of many impact measurements — shows the hunger for accurate and reliable information around the world,” said BBG CEO and Director John Lansing. “As propaganda and misinformation continue to saturate media markets globally, more and more people are turning to the networks of the BBG for trusted, fact-based reporting. But even as we reach more people, we will hold ourselves accountable to ensuring that our content has measurable impact in the parts of the world where free speech and expression are inhibited or denied altogether.”
In addition to weekly audience size, the BBG measures its impact using quantitative, qualitative, digital and anecdotal data on a wide range of factors including program quality and credibility, engagement with the news process, and audience understanding of current events. Examples of impact include:
- Ramped up coverage of Russia and the periphery by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Voice of America with a daily co-produced television program carried by 25 affiliates throughout the region that is watched by nearly two million people weekly online in Russia.
- Continued and expanded reporting by Voice of America during the upheaval in Burundi – the only international source of news and information in Kirundi after the government shutdown private radio and social media
- The successful launch of a news program by the Office of Cuba Broadcasting dedicated to informing the people of Cuba on the process of normalization of relations between the U.S. and Cuba.
To learn more about the BBG’s performance measures, the 2015 Performance and Accountability Report, along with the BBG’s 2015 audience overview and explanation of research methodology are available on the BBG website.
11 November 2015
Over the course of 2015, Intelsat S. A. (NYSE: I), the world’s leading provider of satellite services, has forged strategic partnerships with leading networking hardware and antenna manufacturers as it implements its strategy to drive performance, improve economics and simplify access to the company’s next-generation high throughput satellite platform, Intelsat EpicNG.
Building on that momentum, the company announced that it has appointed long-standing Intelsat executive Jay Yass to Vice President of Business Development and named Hazem Moakkit to the newly created role of Vice President of Corporate and Spectrum Strategy. Mr. Yass and Mr. Moakkit will report to Bruno Fromont, Intelsat’s Senior Vice President of Strategy and Asset Management and be based in the company’s McLean, VA office.
In his new role, Mr. Yass will add to his market development responsibilities and lead Intelsat’s global business development initiatives. He will oversee the company’s business development team and work closely with Intelsat’s corporate strategy, product management as well as its innovation and service architecture teams to identify and establish partnerships that will complement the type and value of the services delivered to customers. Prior to his current position, Mr. Yass served as Intelsat’s Vice President of Global Accounts and Strategic Sales as well as Intelsat’s Vice President of Network Services Product Management. Before joining Intelsat in 2003, he held senior sales and business development management roles at Telogy Network (now part of Texas Instruments) and GTE Satellite Corporation.
In his newly created role, Mr. Moakkit will lead the corporate strategy and spectrum teams, analyzing shifts in market trends to guide the strategic direction of the company. He will also be responsible for optimizing Intelsat’s orbital spectrum rights to support the company’s overall business plans. Bringing more than two decades of industry experience to Intelsat, Mr. Moakkit has held executive regulatory and spectrum affairs positions at O3b Satellite Networks and Yahsat.
”As Intelsat continues to look for innovative approaches that will drive value for our customers, Jay’s and Hazem’s leadership and expertise will be essential to accelerating our business development initiatives and delivering new services to the marketplace,” said Bruno Fromont, Senior Vice President, Strategy and Asset Management, Intelsat. “Jay is a long-standing Intelsat executive with a proven track record of developing strong ecosystem partnerships, enabling him to effectively lead our Business Development team. Similarly, Hazem’s wealth of experience in spectrum strategy and development will prove invaluable as Intelsat analyzes and identifies new applications where our satellite-based solutions will play a meaningful role in the continuing expansion of broadband connectivity everywhere.”
11 November 2015
Arabsat’s first satellite of the 6th generation, “Badr-7” , was launched successfully this morning from Kourou base, French Guyana, in South America by the Ariane 5 rocket.
The Ariane 5 rocket blasted off at 21:34 GMT on Wednesday 11th ( 12:34 Makkah time) , carrying Badr-7, a Eurostar satellite, manufactured by Airbus Defense & Space with Thales Alenia Space, to be placed in ARABSAT’s exclusive orbital hotspot 26° East.
This step comes as part of ARABSAT’s ambitious expansion projects, and it is the 6th satellite launched during the past seven years on three different orbital positions to provide diverse TV broadcasting and telecommunications services . Badr -7 will join Arabsat satellites Badr – 4, Badr-5 and Badr -6 on its exclusive TV broadcasting orbital position 26° East.
This successful launch comes 30 years after the launch of Arabsat first generation satellites, which was supervised by the first Arab Muslim astronaut, His Royal Highness Prince Sultan bin Salman bin Abdul Aziz, now President of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTH), during his famous Space journey aboard the Shuttle “Discovery” in 1985.
On this occasion, His Royal Highness Prince Sultan extended his congratulations to Arabsat for the successful launch of Badr-7, stressing that Arabsat has been playing a vital role in connecting the Arab World since launching its first satellite in 1985. Over the past years ARABSAT has developed and adapted to the latest advanced technology in satellite broadcasting and the telecommunications field to become one of the leading satellite operators in the world.
Eng./ Khalid bin Ahmed Balkheyour, President & CEO of Arabsat, said “We are very pleased with the successful launch of Arabsat’s first 6th generation satellite. Badr-7 has great satellite capacities with a wide range of coverage on a variety of different frequency beams including Ka band to provide broadband and internet services as well as direct TV broadcasting and satellite telecommunications services. “
Balkheyour added “ ARABSAT currently has three new satellites under manufacturing within the 6th generation project, they will be successively launched over the next three years, with about US $1.5 billion investments, part of which Badr-7 manufacture and launching share is 400 million.
Balkheyour concluded ” Arabsat success was not possible without the hard work of a group of Arab engineers from our headquarters in Riyadh and our two control stations in Riyadh and Tunisia, where these young dedicated Arab engineers are operating and controlling the satellites. They also participate fully in the designing and supervising during the stages of manufacturing of these satellites, so I dedicate to them my highest regards and appreciation”. (Source: Arabsat press release)
10 November 2015
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10 November 2015
Intelsat S.A. (NYSE: I), the world’s leading provider of satellite services, announced today that Intelsat 29e, the first of the Intelsat Epic
NG high throughput satellites, is scheduled to launch on January 27, 2016, aboard an Arianespace Ariane 5 ECA launch vehicle from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana.
Manufactured by Boeing, Intelsat’s EpicNG satellites operate in both C-and Ku-band, and are fully interoperable with the entire Intelsat satellite fleet. The Intelsat EpicNG satellites will operate the most advanced digital payload commercially available, providing commercial and government customers access to high throughput capabilities, which will result in a flexible broadband infrastructure that will scale to meet their needs.
Located at 310° East, Intelsat 29e will replace Intelsat 1R and Intelsat 805. The payload will enable the delivery of enterprise-grade, broadband services to fixed and mobile network operators, aero and maritime mobility service providers, and to government customers operating throughout the Americas. The satellite will also provide spot beams for mobility customers serving the heavily trafficked North Atlantic region. To date, companies such as Harris CapRock, Panasonic, EMC (formerly MTN), Axesat and leading national telecom operators in Latin America will be among the first to deploy services on the platform.
“This is an exciting time for our company, with Intelsat leading the way with new satellite-based solutions that address the needs of our always-connected world,” stated Stephen Spengler, Chief Executive Officer, Intelsat. “With broadband demands only increasing, Intelsat 29e will enable our customers to extend the reach of their networks and provide high quality, fast, reliable connectivity, whether they are serving end users in flight, at sea or increasing the amount of throughput on existing broadband infrastructure. With 2016 fast approaching, Intelsat 29e is completed and awaiting shipment to the launch site. Intelsat continues to work closely with Boeing and Arianespace to ensure that Intelsat 29e is ready for its planned January launch date and to mark the next evolution in Intelsat’s longstanding history of innovation.”
Intelsat 29e marks the first of Intelsat’s next generation EpicNG satellite fleet that combines wide beams and spot beams with frequency reuse technology to meet customers’ growing demand for broadband connectivity worldwide. Intelsat29e will be the 56th Intelsat satellite orbited by Arianespace and the first dedicated launch aboard an Ariane 5 rocket for Intelsat. Intelsat expects to launch the second Intelsat EpicNG satellite, Intelsat 33e, which will serve Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, in the third quarter of 2016, also aboard an Arianespace launcher.
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