Governmental plans for broadband deployment in the U.S. and other countries should emphasize universal connectivity rather than a limited population’s reaching the highest speeds, David McGlade, Intelsat’s said Tuesday on a panel at the Satellite 2010 conference in National Harbor, Md. Speeds as high as 100 Mbps, although reachable, make sense only for the densest regions, he said.
Continued uncertainty in the launch market hurts the satellite industry’s ability to develop strategic business plans for investors, said Michael McDonnell, Intelsat’s chief financial officer. At the Satellite 2010 conference in National Harbor, Md., he joined other CFOs on a panel Monday in saying he hopes Sea Launch can emerge soon from bankruptcy to help keep the launch market competitive.
The Senate passed legislation reauthorizing satellite TV providers’ distant signal licenses for five years Wednesday. It’s a significant step for what has proven to be a difficult piece of legislation to complete. The Satellite TV Extension and Localism Act of 2010 (STELA) was an amendment to a larger jobs bill (HR-4213), which passed 62-36. The bill will next move to the House, where leadership will decide to vote on the bill as-is, or make changes with the Senate through a conference, industry and Senate officials said.
EchoStar and Mexican partner MVS Comunicaciones agreed to buy Satelites Mexicanos (Satmex) for $267 million in cash. The deal still requires regulatory and bondholder approval and a Q3 completion is expected, EchoStar said. The acquisition is both highly risky and strategic, company executives said during a quarterly earnings call Monday.
EchoStar and Mexican partner MVS Comunicaciones agreed to buy Satélites Mexicanos (Satmex) for $267 million in cash. The deal still requires regulatory and bondholder approval and a Q3 completion is expected, EchoStar said. The acquisition is both highly risky and strategic, company executives said during a quarterly earnings call Monday.
Mobile satellite service (MSS) providers are taking FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski’s comments about dealing with their spectrum as a major policy victory, industry officials said. Genachowski said Wednesday the National Broadband Plan will seek to resolve spectrum disputes in MSS and wireless- communications services bands by “giving licensees the option of new flexibility.” Recent comments filed by wireless providers said MSS/ancillary terrestrial component (ATC) spectrum isn’t being adequately used, fueling speculation that the commission would take back some spectrum. A satellite executive called Genachowski’s statement a serious blow to the commenters.
Sirius XM probably won’t pursue a reverse stock split to get back into compliance with NASDAQ’s listing requirements, executives said on an earnings call Thursday. NASDAQ had warned the company in September that its stock must trade above $1 for 10 straight business days by March 15 or risk delisting.
Sirius XM probably won’t pursue a reverse stock split to get back into compliance with NASDAQ’s listing requirements, executives said on an earnings call Thursday. NASDAQ had warned the company in September that its stock must trade above $1 for 10 straight business days by March 15 or risk delisting.
The FCC National Broadband Plan will likely recommend proceedings on how to implement set-top boxes as broadband gateways, said several FCC and industry officials. Technical details of what the plan will recommend remain sparse and the broadband task force appears to still be deliberating on how to proceed once the full plan is made public next month. FCC officials also said spectrum plans are still being worked out.
Increased credit requirements for DirecTV subscribers helped bring down subscriber growth below company expectations in Q4 of 2009, the company said during a conference call Thursday. The company gained 119,000 subscribers in the quarter, down from 136,000 in Q3. Despite the slowed growth in subscriber additions, the company can rely on a higher quality of subscriber as it rolls out new products, like multi-room viewing, it said.