European satellite operators today underlined the crucial role that satellite plays in the roll-out of future digital infrastructures. The European Satellite Operators Association (ESOA), represented by its Secretary General, Aarti Holla, and by the CEO of SES, Karim Michel Sabbagh, participated in a high-level meeting between leading EU political and business representatives in Venice.

Spanish satellite telecommunications operator HISPASAT has chosen Space Systems/Loral (SSL) to buil Hispasat 1F satellite, to be located at orbital position 30º West.  Hispasat 1F will serve as a replacement for the Hispasat 1D and will give the group additional Ku band capacity, in the Andean region and in Brazil.

XCOR Aerospace announced today that it has closed the acquisition of all operational subsidiaries of Space Expedition Corporation, the previously independent Dutch company also known as SXC.

SXC served as XCOR's general sales agent for XCOR Lynx flight sales and as their lead wet lease customer. The new sales entity, XCOR Space Expeditions, will continue to focus on sales, commercial partnerships and participant (customer) training on a global level, and will serve as an open sales channel available for all future XCOR Lynx wet lease clients.

HISPASAT, the Spanish satellite communications operator, held their Shareholder’s Annual Meeting,where the annual accounts for the 2013 tax year were unanimously approved. The Group has continued to grow, despite the adverse economic climate, and has earned a net profit of 54.3 million euros, 5.5% more than it reached in 2012. 

Forum discussions at the upcoming ITU Telecom World 2014 event in Doha, Qatar, will delve deep into the driving forces behind the ongoing radical transformation of the ICT industry, exploring three major future scenarios and how they will impact our businesses and lives:

Disruption :Will the ICT sector suffer further disruption? Or will it be the disrupting force for others such as broadcasting? How might sector convergence take shape? And what other disruptive scenarios lie on the horizon?

Vislink today announced it has entered into a cooperation with ND SatCom the satellite communication solutions supplier. The agreement gives the companies access to each other’s product portfolios, and the ability to offer suitable products to customers in their respective broadcast and surveillance markets.

Google has entered into an agreement to buy Skybox Imaging for US$ 500 million in cash, subject to adjustments Skybox’s satellites will help keep Google Maps accurate with up-to-date imagery.

"Over time, we also hope that Skybox’s team and technology will be able to help improve Internet access and disaster relief — areas Google has long been interested in," said Google in a statement

More than 1600 participants including around 100 Government Ministers and leaders from international organizations, from business, civil society and academia are meeting in Geneva this week to review progress on the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) over the last ten years and to set priorities for the post-2015 development agenda.

A new broadband mapping report reveals a huge opportunity – which no-one is yet taking up. Over five million British homes and businesses are already paying for superfast broadband services. But there is little sign that anybody is yet trying to sell superfast content or applications to this huge market of prosperous consumers.

There have been many radical changes in the recent broadcast industry as the collision  between broadcast and IT-centric technologies has accelerated. Where once the industry was a ‘walled garden’ with its own specific technologies, standards and practices, increasingly it finds itself open to the vagaries of wider progress in other fields. And while this means it can reap the advantages of piggybacking on Moore’s law, not to mention a hugely expanded R&D effort in multiple diverse fields, it has also led to numerous problems.