The European Space Agency’s (ESA) 15 member states decided Tues. to support Arianespace in its continued production of the generic Ariane 5 launcher, ESA said. The company announced in Feb. that it planned to order 6 additional Ariane 5G launchers in the wake of the failure of the 10-ton Ariane 5 (CD Feb 3 p9). ESA also approved implementation of a plan to intensify govt. use of the 10-ton Ariane 5 and to create launch cooperation between countries, it said. In a response to the decisions, Arianespace said it would be collaborating with Russia and using the Soyuz launcher from French Guyana: “These decisions will enable Arianespace to meet all customer requirements by offering a range of launchers… covering all commercial and government missions requirements.” Arianespace said that the decisions would “guarantee the long-term viability of the company.”
Russia export controls and sanctions
The use of export controls and sanctions on Russia has surged since the country's invasion of Crimea in 2014, and especially its invasion of Ukraine in in February 2022. Similar export controls and sanctions have been imposed by U.S. allies, including the EU, U.K. and Japan. The following is a listing of recent articles in Export Compliance Daily on export controls and sanctions imposed on Russia:
The Russian Satellite Communications Company (RSCC) and Gilat Satellite Networks signed a contract involving gaming company JackPot, Gilat said, terms undisclosed. RSCC will receive a Skystar 360E hub and a VSAT network with 500 remote sites, Gilat said. Although the network will begin as a part of JackPot, the RSCC said it hoped to expand its uses to broadband and IP services. The expansion would be “a stimulus for the further development of the VSAT market in the country,” RSCC Gen. Mgr. Alexander Duka said. In a separate announcement, RSCC reached agreement with Thuraya, Thuraya distributor TMSat and Hughes Network Systems (HNS) to offer satellite-enabled Thuraya mobile phone service in Russia, Hughes said. Hughes will provide a gateway and earth station for TMSat in Dubna, Russia, that will be operated by RSCC.
“Billions of dollars” would be needed to rebuild and upgrade the destroyed telecom infrastructure in postwar Iraq, the Dept. of State (DoS) “Future of Iraq Project” working group, which focuses on IT and telecom infrastructure, estimated. Iraq will need $1.2-$1.5 billion just for the initial stage of rehabilitation of the existing infrastructure, said Rubar Sandi, a member of the infrastructure working group.
A European Commission (EC) report released Wed. said the World Radio Conference (WRC) that starts in June had shifted its focus from obtaining spectrum for new applications to protecting the acquired rights of incumbents. EC listed priorities for WRC-03 as: (1) Protecting allocations won at WRC-2000 for 3G and Galileo. (2) Moving toward internationally harmonized frequencies for public protection and disaster relief. (3) Supporting alternative wireless platforms, including wireless local area networks at 5 GHz.
The European Commission (EC) seeks closer ties with Russia on telecom and Internet issues, Information Society Comr. Erkki Liikanen said Fri. While the EC and Russia already are engaged in active dialog on some issues in the G8, the Council of Europe and bilaterally -- and while Russian companies and organizations are participating in the EC’s information society program -- there’s room for greater cooperation in several areas, Liikanen said at an Information Technology Security Russia Conference in Moscow. They include: (1) Policing illegal online activities such as child pornography. (2) Helping Russia liberalize its telecom market. (3) Interconnecting European Union and Russian research networks.
European Commission (EC) Enterprise & Information Society Comr. Erkki Liikanen will visit Moscow today (April 4) to discuss policy initiatives, cooperation and investments in telecom, information society and other industries. Liikanen will meet with Russian officials to discuss prospects for the EU-Russia Industrialists’ Round Table (IRT) process and the next Plenary Conference planned for the fall. IRT is a business-driven process that seeks to become a permanent forum for businesses to present joint recommendations to the EC and the Russian govt. on business and investment conditions in Russia and the EU and the promotion of industrial cooperation.
The mi2g Intelligence Unit in London suggested in a report that hackers in Eastern Europe and Russia might be targeting satellite communications, particularly signals from GPS satellites. “Some elements in Iraq are already interfering with GPS signals through jamming and spoofing GPS transmissions to confuse the coalition forces and lead some guided bombs astray,” mi2g said. An industry official said that “it is in the realm of theoretical possibility, but hardly seems feasible.” The official said that each signal was highly encrypted and hacking the GPS signal would require highly sophisticated equipment.
NEW ORLEANS -- The Bush Administration is close to releasing a proposed bill that would give the FCC authority to set user fees on unauctioned licensed spectrum, which was part of the White House’s budget package for fiscal 2004, NTIA Dir. Nancy Victory said at the CTIA Wireless 2003 show here late Tues. She also said NTIA was “actively” examining whether fees or some other incentives could help increase the efficient use of govt. spectrum, although the agency hadn’t reached any conclusions on whether such a system would be workable. On the same panel, FCC Comrs. Abernathy and Adelstein said the agency’s Spectrum Policy Task Force report, while proposing potentially major changes, wasn’t taking a one-size-fits-all approach to spectrum management.
The U.S., Russia, China, Brazil, India and Indonesia will generate more than 500 million net new subscribers and $800 billion in mobile service revenue over the next 5 years, analyst group Pyramid Research said. It said China’s mobile subscriber base would more than double by 2007 to almost 2.5 times larger than the U.S. However, service revenue earned by Chinese operators by 2007 would amount to only half of that earned by U.S. operators, the latter having only 1/3 as many subscribers but among the highest ARPS in the world, Pyramid Research said. It said Russia, with only 10% of the number of subscribers as China, would generate 20% as much revenue by 2007.
Soyuz family of launch vehicles completed 1,647th successful mission Tues., Starsem said. Launch took place on time at 3:20 p.m. Moscow time from Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Russia, company said. Payload was Russian govt. spacecraft. Launch was 9th Soyuz mission this year, it said.