ABS has expanded its presence in Johannesburg, South Africa and formed a new Sales liaison office to support its growing business in the Africa continent.

This new office will house the sales and technical members of the Africa team, which will work alongside the regional Middle East office based in Dubai. ABS Africa will be responsible for business development, local sales liaison services and customer support throughout this region, according to the company.

IBC  announced that this year’s IBC Leaders’ Summit will be held on Thursday, September 11, 2014. An exclusive and invitation-only event curated specifically for 150 of the most  influential and visionary people at the top of the industry, the IBC Leaders’ Summit is  now in its fourth successful year. Industry leaders from all over the world fly to  Amsterdam to take part in its sessions which mirror and distill the agenda of the  mainstream IBC Conference into a single day of high-powered, top-level  discussions. 

ABS and Arab Satellite Communication Organization (ARABSAT) announced today that they have signed a strategic commercial agreement for a multi-transponder lifetime Ku-band payload on the new ABS-3A satellite planned for launch in late 2014/ early2015.  This Ku-band payload deal will provide ARABSAT with additional growth opportunities to serve their customers over the Middle East and North Africa regions.

According to Euroconsult's newly released executive report, Government Space Programs: Strategic Outlook, Benchmarks & Forecasts, government funding for space is expected to progressively recover as public finances regain their comfort zone and programs enter a new growth cycle. Following a critical period of cyclical low funding which concluded in a budget decrease in 2013 worldwide, moderate growth is expected moving forward which should bring world spending to $82 billion by 2023.

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.