Bringing the latest in satellite technology across the globe.
Catching Elephant is a theme by Andy Taylor
Eutelsat provides satellite broadband to rural Albanian government, postal office
Eutelsat Communications announced that it has secured a contract with the Albanian Government and the Albanian Postal Service. The satellite operator will help provide Internet connectivity to 850 post offices, schools and local government offices in rural areas by leveraging its Ka-Sat-powered satellite broadband service.
Eutelsat affiliate company Skylogic will team up with local partner Tring Communications, the newest brand of regional private company Albanian Satellite Communications. The two companies will deliver the Tooway satellite broadband networks service to Albanian schools and post offices.
According to Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha, Skylogic and Tring will deploy a thousand access points throughout the country. These access points will deliver 8 Mbps speeds by leveraging the Eutelsat Ka-Sat broadband satellite.
Dish starts new satellite broadband service
The second largest US satellite TV operator is ready to take things to a new level.
Dish Network Corp, known more as just DISH, recently unveiled its satellite broadband services that targets rural communities beyond the reach of terrestrial fibre networks or other broadband providers.
A recent report by the FCC revealed that over 15 million Americans relied on DSL connection or had no broadband access whatsoever. This new internet on satellite service hopes to bring to rural clients faster speeds.
At $40, one can enjoy 5mbps downloads for a month, with a data cap of 10Gb. Customers can also opt for the higher $50, 10 mbps packaged with a 20Gb data cap. The costs shown are the base price which means you can get the satellite broadband service for less than $10 if bundled with any Dish Satellite TV Service.
NICOMSAT Joins iDirect To Expand Satellite Broadband
via PM NEWS NIGERIA
Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited (NIGCOMSAT) has entered into a partnership with a US-based satellite communications technology company, iDirect, to boost internet broadband penetration especially in rural areas in the country.
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Hellas Sat renews Cyprus orbital slot for 20 more years
Greek company Hellas Sat came to an agreement with the government of Cyprus and secured rights to another 20 years’ use of the 39 degrees east longitude orbital slot.
In a July 3 statement, Hellas Sat said it signed a final agreement with Cyprus the day before. The Athens-based company would receive access to the orbital slot and its International Telecommunication Union-assigned frequencies until 2041.
The Greek company plans to use the additional activated spectrum for new satellite services that will broaden its commercial operations. The long-term agreement would also allow for a possible replacement of Hellas Sat 2 once it reached the end of its operating life.
The agreement may finally jumpstart the long-awaited sale of Hellas Sat. The company’s owner, Greek telecommunications operator OTE, had made it known for a long while now that it was willing to sell Hellas Sat so that OTE could focus on its core telecommunications business. Luxembourg-based satellite fleet operator SES was one of the companies that professed interest in procuring Hellas Sat and its orbital slot.
Placed in orbit on May 2003, Hellas Sat 2 is a Astrium Eurostar E2000+ model with 30 active Ku-band transponders and eight spares. The telecommunications satellite provides satellite broadband, Internet, radio, and TV services. It generated 32.8 million euros ($42 million) of revenue in 2011.
Hellas Sat stated that 96% of the satellite’s capacity was already filled. The company did not disclose the total amount of bandwidth now available after Hellas Sat 2 gained additional broadcast frequencies.
