News Analysis

by Jan Grøndrop-Vivanco

Paris, December 20, 2010--2010 has been another bumper year for the satellite operators, including the European operators. This is all good news in times where many other sectors are still struggling. However, there is a risk that good times breed complacency. 

St. Laurent, Quebec, November 24, 2010-There were an estimated 116.3 million broadband subscribers at the end of Q1 2010 in Western Europe. This translated into a 2.4% growth over the quarter. By the end of Q1 2010, broadband accounted for close to 100.0% of all Internet connections in the majority of the countries in the region, compared with around 60.0% in 2005. The number of broadband subscribers is forecasted to have grown by an average of 4.7% to 150 million by the end of 2014. At that time, broadband should account for the totality of Internet connections in all markets, according to research firm Hot Telecom.

London, November 24, 2010--Plans to make Britain’s broadband the best in Europe are in danger of stalling as the rural population of the UK falls further behind their city cousins. This was the warning given today by Chief Analyst Tim Johnson of Point Topic   who was speaking at the  NextGen10 conference in Birmingham.

New York City, NY, November 16, 2010-The World Teleport Association (WTA) announced its rankings of the Top Teleport Operators of 2010, providing a unique look into the diverse teleport sector of the global communications industry. Rankings are reported in three categories: the Independent Top Twenty, the Global Top Twenty, and the Fast Twenty.

by Virgil Labrador, Editor-in-Chief

Los Angeles, Calif., Nov. 15,2010--military satellite market just a few years ago was one of the fastest growing segments of the satellite communications industry.  However, a global economic downturn and de-escalation of conflicts in the Middle East and South West Asia coupled with changing warfighter requirements have had a profound effect on the future of military satellite communications.

by Stephen Tom

Washington, D.C., October 15, 2010--The global satellite industry is usually viewed as an extremely competitive and sometimes cutthroat business.  Market share; revenue growth; market capitalization; and EBITDA compete for the attention of owners, management, and the investor community.  However, there is a revolution going on supporting the idea that you can “do well by doing good;” that these measures of business success can be positively impacted by a thoughtful commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). 

by Jan Grøndrup-Vivanco

Paris, September 24, 2010-The Fixed Satellite Services (FSS) operators have all weathered the financial crisis and even managed to continue to grow their businesses in 2009 and are continuing to grow in the first half of 2010. However, the big question is: “What is their next act?"

LONDON - September 2, 2010 – Britons who already own a high definition television set (HDTV) are more than twice as likely to buy a 3D television within the next twelve months as those who have not yet bought an HDTV, according to a survey of 700 UK consumers just completed by analyst firm Strategy Analytics. These findings challenge the commonly held assumption that people who have already bought an HDTV are not likely to upgrade to a new 3DTV set any time soon.