World of Satellite-News Updates

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Home Depot Now Selling Winegard Digital TV Antennas to Meet Growing Demand for Free HDTV Viewing in Communities
March 27, 2013
BURLINGTON, Iowa, March 26, 2013 -- Winegard Company, a leader and pioneer in the design and manufacture of Antenna reception products, announced today that its FlatWave indoor TV antenna and FreeVision® outdoor HDTV antenna will be available in Home Depot stores nationwide starting the week of March 18. This makes Home Depot the first retail location in America where the FreeVision antenna is available.

"Rapid changes in antenna technology now give consumers access to the highest rated digital programs without monthly programming fees," said Winegard National Sales Manager Grant Whipple . "Home Depot is a perfect retail store for the FlatWave and FreeVision, because most customers are do-it-yourselfers and these digital antennas are easy to install – buyers can have the highest quality free HDTV and channels not available from pay TV providers in minutes."

"The FlatWave is an indoor antenna that can be placed anywhere for the best reception and provide near Blu-ray quality picture," said Whipple. "The FreeVision is an ultra-compact outdoor antenna that can be installed outdoors or in an attic, so homeowners don't have to struggle putting it on a roof."

The FlatWave and FreeVision are designed to outperform traditional antennas and always provide high definition without the hassle. Consumers no longer need to climb on a roof to install an antenna or constantly adjust TV rabbit ears to get reception.

The FlatWave is a razor thin digital TV antenna designed to receive free off-air HD broadcast signals with its dual band technology. The high-tech product can be laid flat or hung on a wall or window, and its black and white design can quickly disappear and fit in with virtually any home decor.

The FreeVision TV antenna is designed for outdoor and attic installations and comes with high-band VHF and UHF digital TV reception for free HD programming. It's easy to install in an attic or outside on a deck or side of a house and can hook up to multiple TVs, so consumers can receive quality picture throughout their home. It is paintable to blend with any surroundings and pulls in free HDTV signals up to 30 miles away.

The FlatWave can also be found at getfreetv.com. The Winegard FlatWave and FreeVision are both made in the USA.

 

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U.S. Government Satellite Industry Awaits Real Impact of Sequestration
March 28, 2013
Satellite companies with exposure to U.S. Department of Defense’s and broader government budgets in the United States should expect to see incremental headwinds as across-the-board cuts as a result of government sequestration are implemented, according to a new report from analysis firm Needham.


The much discussed sequester, officially enacted March 1, will result in an 8 percent (or $42.7 billion) reduction in the Department of Defense’s full-year 2013 budget compared to its prior budget. The total reduction in 2013 U.S. governmental spending is $85.7 billion, which will be split equally between defense and domestic programs.

Needham Analyst Richard Valera named specific companies that would feel the impacts of sequestration. “Our most exposed name is Harris Corp., with about 70 percent of its revenue derived from the U.S. government,” Valera wrote in the report. “We note that KVH and ViaSat, which we like for their respective commercial broadband satellite initiatives, both have significant Department of Defense exposure, which does create some risk to our forward estimates in a post-sequestration world.”

During its most recent Jan. 29 earnings call, Harris’ management stated that the company was already seeing a sequestration-like slowdown in much of their business and had lowered their forward guidance to attempt to account for the enactment of sequestration.

“In fact, under orders from Deputy Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter, much of the DoD’s procurement operations already went into a sequester-like slowdown in January of this year,” said Valera. “Additionally, some of our covered companies have substantial backlogs relative to our next 12 month estimates for DoD/U.S. Government revenue, which we think could help to buffer against the sequester for at least a couple of quarters.

Valera notes that determining how the sequester will translate to incrementally reduced sales or bookings is challenging since many companies have already been seeing some level of pre-sequester slowdown. According to ViaSat’s recently reported third quarter and full-year 2013 results, the company derived 47 percent of its revenue from its Government Systems segment in an unusually strong quarter for this segment.

"Our next 12-month revenue forecast [for ViaSat] calls for its government revenue to represent a more moderate, but still substantial 39 percent of total revenue,” said Valera. “While ViaSat’s Government exposure is certainly significant and potentially exposed to sequestration-related cuts, we think the impact could be mitigated by a healthy funded backlog of $391 million in its Government Systems business against our NTM revenue estimate of $471 million.”

Needham also noted that Comtech has recently seen declining exposure to the Department of Defense as its MTS and BFT programs wind down. In Comtech’s most recently reported quarter, it derived 43 percent of its revenue from the U.S. government. “We would look for more color on sequestration’s potential impact on the company on its upcoming earnings call on March 8,” Valera added.
For KVH, Needham forecasts that the company will derive about 35 percent of its NTM revenue from U.S. military and government programs. “We believe the company’s backlog solidly supports our 2013 first half DoD-related forecast, but we see incrementally higher risk in the second half of 2013 as we would look to see some incremental DoD-related orders to support our estimates,” Valera said.
Much of KVH’s recent TACNAV business, however, has been with non-U.S. military organizations, which should be unaffected by sequestration.

Despite fears of sequestration blowback, the government satellite sector has recently pulled in a slew of bulk-buy contracts – the size of which seem to run counter to the tight budget scenario. Earlier this year, Lockheed Martin was awarded a contract to manufacture two Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) satellites for the United States Air Force, confirming a deal that was expected to generate nearly $2 billion for the company. Under the terms of the deal, Lockheed Martin also will produce the fifth and sixth AEHF satellites, representing a significant upgrade on the Milstar system, which has been in place since 1994.

North American and European regions account for an estimated 80 percent of global defense spending, but were also among the hardest hit by the global financial crisis. The current situation of defense budget cuts across most countries is expected to persist during the next decade, though the need for enhanced communication capabilities and Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) requirements for international armed forces is expected to drive demand for military satellites during the next decade, according to online market research firm ReportsnReports.
In the study titled, “The Global Military Satellite Market 2012-2022,” ReportsnReports said the current situation of defense budget cuts across most countries, however, is expected to persist during the next decade.

"Defense departments around the world are exploring and inviting new alternatives for reducing their costs,” the firm wrote in a recent report. “Apart from pushing back their project timelines, utilization of COTS equipment is a potential choice for the government. Thus, the military satellite industry is gradually undergoing a transition towards selecting commercial providers against defense suppliers for its programs.”

North American and European regions account for an estimated 80 percent of global defense spending. ReportsnReports, however, added that these regions were also among the hardest hit by the global financial crisis. The firm’s report includes an analysis of the global military satellite market over the next ten years identified potential market opportunities to enter the industry using market size forecasts. The firm also benchmarked the industry against key global markets and provides detailed understanding of emerging opportunities in specific areas.

“With the increasing usage of Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) equipment in the military sector lately, the bandwidths of military satellites are being increased through hosted payloads from commercial satellite providers,” ReportsnReports analysts wrote in the study. “Hosted payloads are components attached to commercial satellites, which are designed to function independently of the host satellites, while at the same time sharing its resources. These enhancements can be used for numerous applications of satellites mainly including military communication and ISR.”

The also studied current industry size and growth expectations through 2022, including highlights of key growth stimulators, providing expectations of growth rates and projected total expenditure from companies such as Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Israel Aerospace Industries, Telespazio, QinetiQ, Thales, Raytheon, Astrium, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, ISS-Reshetnev, Lockheed Martin, Intelsat General, ITT Exelis and Harris Corp.

 

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Intelsat Selects ILS for Two Satellite Launches
March 28, 2013
Intelsat has signed a contract with International Launch Services (ILS) for two future satellite launches on board ILS’s Proton vehicle.
“Intelsat enjoyed another steady year in 2012, which included five successful satellite launches and the completion of the world’s first global broadband mobility platform, which will enable increased bandwidth to support our customers’ growth plans. We look forward to building on our momentum, as we select ILS for two future satellite launches, enabling us to reach even further into developing regions to meet the growing demand for highly efficient and reliable connectivity,” Intelsat EVP and Chief Technology Officer Thierry Guillemin said on a statement.

ILS recently conducted its first successful ILS Proton launch of the year, taking the Satmex 8 satellite for Satélites Mexicanos (Satmex) into orbit.

 

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Cobham Announces IP-based Instant Newsroom System at NAB 2013
March 28, 2013
Cobham has announced the introduction of MediaMesh, a new IP-based platform for lightweight, rapid set-up field newsrooms. The announcement was made to the American market at the National Association of Broadcasters Show NAB 2013.

The transmission system includes a broadcast quality path for live two-ways; remote camera control; high-quality file transfer; and a high-capacity Internet connection with access to base newsroom computers and cell phones. The MediaMesh platform also uses Cobham’s COFDM mesh technology to provide wireless connectivity to laptops and other devices, and can provide a micro-cell for cell-phone coverage.

“The launch of high capacity Ka-band ‘broadband-over-satellite’ services means that dishes of less than one meter in diameter can be used to transmit genuine HD live video, which has not been possible before. Our MediaMesh satellite antenna, at only 75cm in diameter, is compatible with all major Ka-band services and is one of only two antennas currently approved by Inmarsat for their new Ka-band-based, superfast Global Xpress satellite broadband service, which is being launched this year,” Cobham’s Broadcast Systems Director Stuart Brown said on a statement.

 

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Eutelsat, GlobeCast Sign Deal with Dutch Broadcaster NOS for SNG Operations
March 28, 2013
GlobeCast and Eutelsat Communications have signed a multi-year agreement with Dutch broadcasting network NOS. Under the agreement, NOS will receive dedicated capacity on the EUTELSAT 12 West A satellite to meet its requirements for satellite news gathering (SNG).

The deal will allow NOS to pursue its goal of upgrading its SNG facilities and trucks to HD operations by the end of 2013. It will also increase the broadcasting resources mobilized by the company to cover highly active news events in the Netherlands.

 

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Air Force Selects SSL to Study Weather Sensing Feasibility Through Commercial Satellites
March 28, 2013
The U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center has selected Space Systems Loral (SSL) to study the feasibility of accommodating next-generation U.S. military weather systems on commercial polar orbiting satellites. The six-month study contract was awarded under a broad agency announcement issued in June 2012.

The company will examine options to lower the cost of replacing the legacy Defense Meteorological Satellite Program through the use of alternative architectures, such as equipping commercial satellites with advanced meteorological sensors.

Using its own commercial bus platform, SSL will study the technical feasibility of hosting a third generation meteorological instrument on board. The company will also identify commercial business opportunities that the Air Force can leverage to achieve weather sensing from a Highly Inclined Elliptical Orbit (HIEO); and quantify the value proposition for performing the mission in this non-traditional fashion.

 

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Satellite-Commissioned Studies: Positive Signs or Positive Spin?
March 29, 2013
Many satellite companies commission their own independent consumer market studies throughout the year. Often, the primary purpose of these studies is to provide operators, service providers and manufacturers with valuable business intelligence. But every once in a while, these reports serve a secondary purpose, with data being pushed out via press releases. This year’s commissioned reports, however, gave satellite companies plenty of reason to boast, particularly two studies commissioned by FSS operator SES and aerospace firm Astrium.

According to a February SES study titled, “Astra TV Monitor 2012,” satellite broadcast television continued to expand its household reach in Germany during 2012, with approximately 18 million households receiving their TV directly from a satellite source by the end of the year, representing a 3 percent increase, or 524,000 households, from the end of 2011.

SES said the results were driven by continued strong consumer demand for satellite TV’s large program offer and quality of service, especially in high definition (HD) and that the growth of satellite TV’s German market presence comes despite the nation’s analog satellite signal switch-off in April 2012.

SES Managing Director of Astra Deutschland Wolfgang Elsaesser stated that the study reveals an understanding among German video subscribers that satellite is the most attractive reception mode and TV infrastructure available in the national market.

“Our Astra TV Monitor shows that the interest of households in HD remains strong and will further drive the demand for hardware and content in the highest broadcasting quality,” Elsaesser said in the report. “We will continue to invest in growth and technological innovation, and HD will continue to drive our success and that of the hardware industry, retailers and broadcasters.”

The study’s data shows that satellite further developed its position as the infrastructure of choice for TV reception in Germany, serving 47 percent of all TV households in 2012. German cable providers reached a share of 44 percent, which marks a decline by 570,000 households, or 3 percent, compared to the previous year for a total of16.7 million households. Satellite digital TV services reached a record level of 59 percent of all digital TV households, versus German cable’s 30 percent market share in 2012. German HD TV continued to be the main growth driver of satellite’s technical household reach. According to the study, approximately 44 percent of all satellite households, or 7.9 million, watched HD at the end of the year, nearly two million more than in 2012. Cable grew its HD presence by 1.27 million to 4.53 million households, reaching 27 percent of all cable households. In total, the number of HD households in Germany increased from 10.0 million in 2011 to 13.1 million in 2012.

Elsaesser said that the gap of 1.4 million households compared to cable exceeded SES’ most optimistic forecasts. “The excellent performance of HD plus reflects very well the high consumer demand for premium quality television and consumers' willingness to pay a supplement for a value-adding service,” he said.

Meanwhile, Astrium Services unearthed some promising maritime consumer data with its “Crew Communications 2012 Survey,” published that same month. According to Astrium’s results, a growing number of seafarers see on-board Wi-Fi connectivity as essential in order to use their own smartphones, tablets and laptops aboard ships, with social media, especially Facebook, highlighted as one of the most popular web destinations for crews.

Most importantly to service providers, Astrium’s survey also revealed that many seafarers are prepared to pay for connectivity. The study, which was commissioned by Astrium Services to fill the market gap in up-to-date data on crew communications requirements and supported by consultants Stark Moore McMillan, questioned 960 Filipino seafarers – 12 percent of them officers, with the remaining 88 percent comprised of general crew – during the third and fourth quarters of 2012.

Astrium Services Senior Product Manager of Crew Communications Tilmann Michalke said that the main objective of the survey was to establish a clear picture of current crew communication requirements, the level of access to communications, what crew paid for these services and how they paid for them.

“Many shipping companies face staff retention issues and communication services can represent an attractive incentive to crew members,” Michalke said in the study. “The popularity of using one’s own device shows that owners investing in vessel-wide broadband connectivity and corresponding Wi-Fi connections to provide either free or low-cost Internet access will experience return in terms of crew recruitment and retention. This is especially important considering the survey whitepaper states that the lack of qualified officers continues to grow, from a deficit of 10,000 to 13,000 in the period between 2005 and 2010.”

In exploring the availability of communications for crew, 68 percent of seafarers confirmed in the survey that they can now use some form of communication service most or all of the time when at sea. Almost all crew confirmed that they are at least occasionally able to make voice calls using a vessel’s satcoms system.

Astrium has a number of solutions available to the maritime connectivity market. The company’s survey aimed to show a clear emergence of on-board hybrid networks using both VSAT and MSS services, empowering owners to provide cost-effective connectivity required to support changing communication usage patterns. Web compression and filtering solutions were also suggested as a method to help control communication costs and make crew communications affordable.

Astrium Services’ Head of Maritime Services Tore Morten Olsen noted that shipping companies that are able to offer strong crew welfare packages are better positioned to recruit from the limited pool of talent and increase staff loyalty.

“It’s clear to see that seafarers are keen to be able to communicate with friends and family when they are at sea, just as easily as they could at home. Offering this capability supports any operator’s crew welfare strategy,” said Morten Olsen. “This new data will assist us in developing innovative new solutions that will directly meet future user requirements. Likewise, with a stronger understanding of what drives the user, we can support operators through the on-going development of our core connectivity services and value added services.”

There’s no question that SES and Astrium’s numbers and methodology are undoubtedly sound. What is interesting about this research push is that it shows an effort by satellite companies to display confidence against much larger terrestrial competitors and to promote victories where and when they happen. Since the rough infancy of German pay-TV operator Sky Deutschland, many market analysts look at the German market as an example of a challenging, budget- and offering-conscious market. The same could be said for the maritime consumer market, where satellite holds a logistical advantage. If anything, SES and Astrium’s reports show that, in these instances, end-users are more than willing to accept satellite as an equal – for the right price.

 

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Intelsat, Digital Networks Sign Deal to Improve VSAT Communications in North America
March 29, 2013
Intelsat has signed a multi-year deal with Digital Networks, provider of business-class satellite solutions to the energy sector. Under the agreement, Digital Networks will improve its support very small aperture terminal (VSAT) communications networks in North America using Intelsat’s capacity via its satellite fleet and IntelsatOne terrestrial network.

Additionally, Digital Networks will leverage Intelsat's teleport services and capacity on the Galaxy 3C satellite to expand its network in the United States and Canada.

"This agreement will enable Digital Networks to quadruple its available throughput for delivering integrated voice, data and real-time applications for our energy customers," Digital Networks CEO Curtis Blankenship said on a statement.

 

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Soyuz Completes Successful 1801st launch
March 29, 2013
Arianespace has announced the 1801st flight of a Soyuz launch vehicle was performed successfully from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan today. The company and its Russian partners reported that the Soyuz TMA-08M manned transport spacecraft was accurately placed on the target orbit for another mission to the International Space Station. This was the third Soyuz family mission in 2013.

With the introduction of Soyuz at the Guiana Space Center (CSG) in October 2011, this Russian medium-class launch vehicle became an integral part of the European launch vehicle fleet, together with the heavy-lift Ariane 5 and the lightweight Vega.

 

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MDA Awarded $81 Million Contract Support Canadian Robotics on the International Space Station
March 29, 2013
MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates (MDA), a global communications and information company, has signed a contract with the Canadian Space Agency valued at CA$81 million (excluding GST/PST) to provide sustaining engineering and operational support for its robotic elements on the International Space Station (ISS) through December 2015.

MDA’s robotic systems were used in the construction of the ISS and continue to play a vital role in on-going operations such as berthing visiting vehicles like the SpaceX Dragon and Japanese HTV spacecraft, and performing technology demonstrations.

MDA is the one of the Canadian Space Agency’s main contractors for the Mobile Servicing System, which consists of Canadarm2, Dextre, and the Mobile Base System.