ViaSat delays order, launch of ViaSat 2 satellite broadband platform to 2016

ViaSat has dropped hints that its ViaSat-2 broadband satellite may have to wait until 2016 at the earliest for manufacture and launch. The new satellite had originally been scheduled for launch in 2014 to expand and enhance the Company's Exede satellite broadband service.

The Company's CEO, Mark Dankberg, implied the delay during the “Satellite Broadband Comes of Age: The Ka-Band Equation” panel at SATELLITE 2013. He mentioned that ViaSat was planning to order a new satellite, but he also refused to set an exact date of purchase and settled for a vague, hopeful “soon.” He added that ViaSat was being assisted by several satellite manufacturers in configuring the planned broadband satellite.

According to CEO Dankberg, ViaSat's new satellite will certainly be able to transform the satellite industry. Ironically, this high expectation ended up being one of the factors that delayed the placement of the order.

CEO Dankberg reported that ViaSat-1 broadband satellite enjoyed excellent sales. 50% of its new subscribers came from terrestrial broadband, a percentage that vastly exceeded earlier expectations of 20%. This achievement, however, meant that ViaSat's next satellite must surpass ViaSat-1 in order to secure the economic model that the Company sought out.

North American consumers have been migrating to ViaSat at a good clip. More than 285,000 subscribers have signed up for the company’s Exede residential broadband service during ViaSat-1's first year of operation. Half a million consumers currently subscribe to ViaSat satellite broadband services.

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SES Partner SatADSL To Present Solution For Nationwide Cash Machine Networks In Africa

To present new solutions solutions that will support the deployment of nationwide ATM networks in Africa is the Belgium-based company, SatADSL, SES announced. SatADSL will be presenting at the upcoming AITEC Banking and Mobile Money West Africa Conference to be held in Lagos from March 13 to 14.


SES Broadband Services signed an agreement with SatADSL, last September for the distribution of its broadband solution to businesses, banks, nongovernmental organisations and governmental institutions in remote areas throughout SubSaharan Africa.


"Financial institutions offer excellent services in the main cities where adequate telecommunications are available: fibre connections, WiMax, etc.," said SatADSL Head of Sales, Jerome van der Putt. "However, in remote locations where the population is less dense, telecommunication links may not be as reliable and are much less adapted to the requirements of financial institutions. SatADSL provides specialised services to support the financial institutions’ remote offices as well as cash machines to perform according to their customers’ expectations."

SES Broadband Services Managing Director, Patrick Biewer said, “We are delighted to co-operate with SatADSL and provide our satellite broadband service for the deployment of nation-wide ATM networks in Africa, which will help regional banks to expand in the region and satisfy customers wherever they are. “Our satellite-based broadband service is an ideal solution for remote locations and will ensure secure and fast data transmission in Africa. As an economic enabler, connectivity is unrivalled, since for each 10% increase in access to broadband, it has been shown that a developing country will have a 1,38% increase in GDP. As populations across Africa grow, so too will demand for connectivity."


SatADSL, according to SES' press release, already successfully offers low-cost satellite networking solutions to more than one hundred money transfer offices of Express Union and EMI Transfert that are located in remote areas, bringing those financial services closer to African citizens.



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Newtec VSAT systems expand SES satellite broadband services

Satellite broadband equipment from Newtec is helping to expand the high-speed, high-capacity broadband services offered by SES Broadband Services.

The Newtec-SES collaboration develops the ASTRA Ka-band services offered by SES Broadband. Using Newtec VSAT systems, ISPs can access the SES Broadband satellite network and tap the services from the new Ka-band hubs at SES' headquarters in Castle Betzdorf, Germany.

Newtec will deliver the initial orders of its MDM2200 Ka-band consumer terminals to the ISPs that distribute SES Broadband services across Europe. The ISPs will pay special attention to regions that lack sufficient terrestrial broadband connectivity and offer voice, data and television services to consumers in those remote regions.

The Newtec MDM2200 satellite broadband platform can access both Ku-band and Ka-band frequencies. It is capable of hitting download speeds of up to 22 Mbps and can facilitate a broad selection of applications.

The collaboration between Newtec and SES Broadband Services started in 2007. Newtec has delivered and installed more than 120,000 of its Ku-band VSAT terminals since then, and its Ku-band terminals can easily be upgraded to Ka-band.

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Orange Business Services offers MEA customers its satellite broadband services

Orange Business Services is looking for additional revenues in the MEA (Middle East and Africa) region by offering its Satellite VPN satellite broadband services to the shipping, oil, and gas sectors in the region's remote areas.

The business-to-business (B2B) division of France Telecom-Orange, Orange Business Services offers satellite broadband and other satellite services to customers from a slew of vertical sectors such as finance, government, mining, oil & gas, and shipping. The Company has already set up more than 1,200 satellite-based solutions in the MEA region alone.

Company have come to rely on high-speed communications to complete their international business deals. But there are remote parts of the world where conventional terrestrial infrastructure cannot be accessed. In those cases and locations, enterprises can use VSAT (very small aperture terminal) systems to access satellite broadband connectivity and services.

Gilat connects Peruvian schools with satellite broadband connectivity

Gilat Satellite Networks won a contract with the Peruvian Ministry of Education to link up thousands of schools across Peru using satellite broadband connectivity.

The Company will provide, install, maintain, and deliver technical support for SkyEdge II-c hub and 'Aries' VSAT equipment to 2,600 schools throughout Peru. The deal is worth $12.8 million and will span three years.

The SkyEdge II-c Aries VSAT platform is a cost-effective platform capable of providing high-speed Internet from satellite services and FUP Fair Use Policy.

Peru is seeking to balance out its educational disparities with measures such as the satellite broadband deal with Gilat. Sandro Marcone Flores, head of the Directorate General of Educational Technologies, explained that the South American country sought to bring computer technology to an increasing number of school children using satellite broadband and other methods. 

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SABER satellite broadband project kicks off in Europe

The biennial Satellite Broadband for European Regions (SABER) project has been officially launched. The project intends to deliver satellite broadband connectivity to an estimated 10 million households in Europe that still lack it.

The objectives of the project were set out in European Digital Agenda, Europe 2020. Local, regional, and national authorities throughout Europe will be provided with guidelines regarding the use of high-speed Internet by satellite technologies as well as the method to connect remote, unconnected areas with the rest of the Continent.

The project is coordinated by CSI Piedmont. It counts Astrium, Eutelsat Communications, SES Broadband Services, 21 regional bodies, and both public and private ICT companies from thirteen countries as its partners for the project.

The European Union supplied 510,000 euros to the SABER satellite broadband project as part of the ICT Policy Support Program.

skyDSL, Eutelsat enter agreement for satellite broadband capacity from KA-SAT

German satellite Internet services provider skyDSL Global GmbH has ssigned a new five-year contract with satellite operator Eutelsat for multiple spotbeam capacity on the KA-SAT satellite broadband platform. The contract also includes an option for an extra five years.

The agreement allows skyDSL to access selected service areas of KA-SAT, increasing the rate of its deployment of consumer satellite broadband services throughout Europe.

skyDSL possesses more than a decade's worth of experience in delivering high-quality Internet on satellite solutions. This includes 18 months of providing satellite broadband services through the KA-SAT satellite operated by Eutelsat.

Based in Berlin, the Company's skyDSL2+ brand offers a portfolio of Internet access and triple play services to customers in Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Austria, and the Benelux. Its diverse sales channels commercialize services with download speeds of up to 20 Mbps and upload speeds of up to 6 Mbps. SkyDLS customers include consumers, small businesses, utility providers, industrial companies, government and aid intervention agencies.

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