5 November 2000

Satcoms

AT&T Uses PanAmSat Internet Backbone Services in Latin America
AT&T Latin America of Peru has signed on for PanAmSat's Spotbytes DVB high-speed Internet backbone access service.

As part of the agreement, PanAmSat will create a two-way broadband pipeline employing spacecraft in the company's Atlantic Ocean Region fleet. The satellites will link AT&T Latin America's Point of Presence (POP) in Lima, Peru to PanAmSat's Atlanta, Georgia., teleport and operations centre, which is linked directly to the Internet backbone.

Service Features:

Based on PanAmSat's Spotbytes line of Internet services, Spotbytes DVB delivers Internet traffic in a digital video broadcasting (DVB) transport stream, offering low startup and recurring costs, flexible and scalable bandwidth, as well as support for multiple points of presence (POPs). Spotbytes DVB offers unparalleled versatility and cost-efficiency for ISPs and telecommunications companies with diverse backbone access requirements. Spotbytes DVB features include:

• Low-cost equipment, consisting of small antenna (0.90 - 1.2 m), DVB receiver and router.
• Multiple-channel-per-carrier transmission platform, delivering IP traffic to multiple customers via a single, shared carrier.
• Scalable bandwidth ranging from rates as small as 64 kb/s up to 45 Mb/s.
• Support for multiple POPs, segmenting total bandwidth allocation between receive sites, each with the capability for dynamic allocation depending on bandwidth requirements.
• Increased service options, using either a duplex satellite or hybrid link to the US backbone, offering the choice of employing PanAmSat spacecraft for two-way transmissions or sending small Internet requests over an alternate terrestrial path and returning the bandwidth-intensive Internet content via satellite.

C&W Optus and POSMedia Team to Explore Multimedia Satellite Delivery
Cable & Wireless Optus Ltd has signed a memorandum of understanding with POSMedia Online Ltd to explore a multimedia satellite delivery network.

The two companies will investigate multimedia services screens for shopping centres, malls, entertainment venues, tourism kiosks and automatic teller machines.

Interactive media services company POSMedia Online already uses C&W Optus' satellite delivery services for the transmission of advertisements to online systems in major retail malls.

eSat Receives Satellite Order from San Bernadino County Sheriff's Dept
eSAT Inc has received an order from the San Bernardino County, California., Sheriff's Department for its Nexstream product.

The Nexstream bi-directional satellite communications solution will provide the Sheriff's department with multiple location secure Intranet access and the ability to create Virtual Private Networks (VPNs).

In addition, it offers several advantages over competing systems including flexible bandwidth of 32 kb/s to 384 kb/s uplink speed and up to 3 Mb/s downlink speed, DES 56 encryption, and short procurement cycles with accelerated installation times.

The San Bernardino Sheriff's Department will use eSAT's Nexstream satellite solution in conjunction with its mobile crime lab division.

Mobile crime lab units are sent to crime scenes throughout the county where they obtain critical information including fingerprints and crime scene photographs. This information is then sent back to the Sheriff's headquarters for analysis.

With eSAT's Nexstream product, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department will have a highly transportable, cost-effective communications solution that will transmit this data instantaneously, allowing officers the ability to immediately begin pursuit of suspects without having to return to their home base.

The San Bernardino Sheriff's Department is charged with protecting the largest county in the continental United States and which consists mainly of empty desert terrain and small rural towns.

The Nexstream service will allow for high-speed data transmissions with no reliance on problematic telephone dial-up services, cable or fibre optic networks. Additionally, the system will serve as a highly effective back-up for terrestrial communications lines in the event of a natural or man-made disaster.

Eutelsat Leases RSCC Transponders
Eutelsat has signed a contract with the Russian Satellite Communications Company (RSCC) for the purchase of 12 transponders on a new satellite (Express AM1) that will be delivered into orbit in early 2003.

According to the contract , 12 Ku band transponders of a total of 18 on the new satellite at 40° E have been bought by Eutelsat. The satellite's coverage in the Ku band will include the south of Europe, North Africa, the Arab peninsula and the Indian sub-continent.

Inmarsat to Use Thuraya for Data Services
Inmarsat Ltd, the global mobile satellite communications company, has announced contracts in the region of US$ 220 million with Hughes Network Systems (HNS) and Thuraya to launch a 144 kb/s mobile broadband service in 2002 using the Thuraya satellite system.

The new service is planned to enable Inmarsat service users to have faster access to internet and intranet content and solutions, email, and remote LAN access over Europe (excluding Scandinavia), Northern Africa, the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent.

The new service is planned to be available during 2002 using the Thuraya satellite system and is part of Inmarsat's strategy to develop high bandwidth data solutions to meet the needs of national, multinational and government customers doing business within the Thuraya coverage area. These include those working in industry segments like construction, mining, transport, media, manufacturing, finance and global services.

Inmarsat has leased capacity on the new Thuraya-1 geostationary satellite, which was launched on October 21. Inmarsat has also contracted HNS to build a new ground station and a gateway to provide packet data services via the Internet to service providers, and to develop end user mobile wireless terminals.

HNS is contracted to build the ground station and gateway and site installation work is expected to start late in 2001. Inmarsat's network control centre will be upgraded as part of this contract allowing system management from Inmarsat's London headquarters. Service providers will be able to interconnect to the ground station using standard terrestrial Internet protocols, making it cheaper and easier for them to provide these new services to their customers.

The new service provided over the Thuraya satellite system will support data rates of up to 144 kb/s compatible with GPRS terrestrial cellular services and will support SIM card roaming from cellular service providers.

The new user terminals being built by HNS will be designed to have both wired and wireless connections to PC's. Weighing around 1 kg, including batteries, they are planned to be about the size of a Notebook computer. The new service is part of Inmarsat's focus on delivering high broadband solutions to customers, ranging from its existing 64 kb/s Global Area Network (GAN) Mobile ISDN and planned packet data services. To the 144 kb/s regional service to be provided through Thuraya, and its 432 kb/s B-GAN service to be provided over the planned Inmarsat I-4 satellite system to most of the world's landmass during 2004.

Insat 2B Loses Earth Lock
India's Insat 2B satellite shut down on Friday after it lost Earth lock and was at risk of draining its batteries. Service was restored on Saturday.

The satellite has 12 transponders that are used to for telecommunications including VSAT services and is one of seven Insat satellites used for Indian telecommunications and broadcasting. The satellites also carry meteorological payloads.

Insat 2B was launched in 1993 and has a lifespan of seven years. The reason for the fault is not yet known.

Intelsat 702 Relocates
The Intelsat 702 satellite has been successfully repositioned as part of a three-phase plan to respond to growing customer demands in the Pacific Ocean Region (POR).

When completed in 2003, the plan will result in a 36% increase in capacity in the POR. This is being accomplished by switching from a three-degree spacing configuration to a two-degree configuration, which will allow for the deployment of a fourth satellite to serve the region.

In the first phase of the new plan, Intelsat 702 was moved from 177° E to 176° E in a four-day controlled drift that began on October 23. The move created room for Intelsat 602 to be operated in the inclined orbit mode at 178° E. Intelsat 602 will be moved in May 2001 as the second phase. The third and final phase comes in 2003, when Intelsat 705 is scheduled to replace 602.

The two-degree spacing configuration is being implemented between the orbital arc of 174° E to 180° E. In the three-degree arrangement, Intelsat 802 was located at 174° E, Intelsat 702 was at 177° E and Intelsat 701 at 180° E. In the new configuration, the 802 and 701 satellites will remain in the same positions.

Microspace Leases Telstar Capacity for its Velocity Service
Microspace has leased capacity on Loral Skynet's Telstar 4 and Telstar 8 satellites to support its Velocity service.

The agreement for 1 Ku band transponder on Telstar 4 will commence December 1, 2000. An additional transponder will be added when Telstar 8 is launched in 2002.

Microspace's Velocity service is a point-to-multipoint satellite based MPEG 2/DVB technology that delivers digital video and high-speed Internet data for business applications. Highlights of the service include inexpensive digital receivers that are available from multiple sources, coupled with small satellite receiving antennas. Velocity provides dedicated full-time bandwidth at a fixed monthly cost that is totally independent of the number of receive locations.

Orbicom and Lockheed Martin Team for African Internet Services
An Orbicom and Lockheed Martin Global Telecommunications joint venture is poised to bring satellite-delivered Internet and telecommunication services to Africa.

The initiative, will be implemented in three phases, and represents an investment of up to ZAR 100 million (US$ 13 million.)

The first phase of the project focuses on Internet service providers (ISPs), of which 330 have already been identified. Phase two would add corporate communications services. Phase three consists of the formation of a "Super PoP" (Point of Presence) which would offering web hosting facilities.

The service will probably use the LMI-1 satellite.

Satyam Infoway Opens Indian Gateways - More to Follow
India's leading private Internet provider Satyam Infoway Ltd (SIFY) has opened two gateways in India following recent regulatory changes.

Satyam Infoway's first international satellite gateways are in Mumbai and Ahmedabad, and have been built in partnership with Singtel. Previously SIFY has used international telecommunications gateways provided by Indian overseas telecom carrier Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited. Recent changes in Indian law permits telecom companies, to operate their own international gateways.

Satyam Infoway is currently building a further 17 C/Ku band gateways in 13 cities. Most of the gateways will have an initial capacity of 10 Mb/s with the capability to upgrade to much higher capacities in the future as required. For these gateways SIFY has partnered with Singtel, Loral Cyberstar and New Skies.

New Skies Satellites will provide a total of 60 Mb/s of international Internet bandwidth to Satyam, at six locations across India, for a period of four years from January 2001 for a charge of US$ 600,000. New Skies will divert bandwidth on the NSS 703 satellite, from a transponder currently directed at the Middle East to the Indian subcontinent.

ViaSat to Produce Astrolink's Broadband Ka Band Terminals
Astrolink International LLC and ViaSat Inc have entered into a contract under which ViaSat will develop and manufacture next generation, broadband, two-way Ka band satellite terminals for use with the Astrolink system.

The initial contract commitment includes the development, integration and testing of pre-production terminals and the delivery of production terminals to support Astrolink's service beginning in 2003.

The terminals will provide IP connectivity for enterprise users around the world, supporting uplink transmission speeds up to 20 Mb/s and downlink reception speeds up to 100 Mb/s. After acceptance of the initial production terminals, Astrolink and its service providers will be able to order additional terminals from ViaSat to fulfil their customer requirements as the system expands to full global coverage.

Over time, and assuming the successful launch and expected growth of the Astrolink service, ViaSat expects to sell over US$ 100 million in terminals under this agreement.

Astrolink and ViaSat have also entered into a Memorandum of Agreement under which ViaSat will provision, market and supply Astrolink's broadband satellite services to customers. As a part of this agreement, ViaSat is committed to a multi-million dollar purchase of broadband satellite services from Astrolink over a multi-year period. The agreement, which is subject to the negotiation of definitive documentation and related agreements, is expected to enable ViaSat to offer value-added broadband service to its existing and planned VSAT customers and through expanded sales channels developed jointly with Astrolink.

Earth Observation

Transient Problems Hit NASA's Terra
NASA's Earth observation satellite Terra experienced several problems last week which may have been caused by the current high levels of solar activity.

Terra stopped sending high-rate data on 26 October when a telemetry monitor turned off the onboard Science Formatting Equipment. The telemetry monitor was originally implemented to trap any single event upsets in the Science Formatting Equipment. Normal science operations were resumed the following day, according to the latest available status report.

There have also been several "trips" in the High Gain Antenna Motor Drive Assembly caused by particle flux.

An anomaly team has been formed which will attempt to understand and resolve the problem.

Military Space

Servicing Satellites in Space
Sanders, a Lockheed Martin Company, has received a 14-month, US$ 6 million award from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to conduct an Advanced Technology Demonstration for a new Space Operations Architecture called "Orbital Express."

DARPA's Orbital Express program is designed to provide a cost-effective, autonomous capability for on-orbit pre-planned electronics and hardware upgrades, satellite refuelling and reconfiguration of spacecraft components to support a broad range of future US national security, civil and commercial space programs.

The effort will be led by an integrated team between Sanders and Lockheed Martin Space Electronics & Communications, Manassas, Virginia. Other team members include Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, Colorado, Space Systems/Loral, Palo Alto, California, Charles Stark Draper Laboratory Inc, Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Moog, East Aurora, New York.

During Phase I, the concept definition phase, the team will analyse and identify the cost effectiveness of satellite servicing under the DARPA proposal for a number of military and commercial missions, and base its analysis on simple, standard interfaces and inexpensive launch approaches. Key components of the Orbital Express architecture include a space-based robot vehicle called Autonomous Space Transfer and Robotic Orbiter (ASTRO). The robot will service satellites within a specified range of orbital inclinations and altitudes. Another key component will be the NEXTSat which is representative of a next-generation class of satellites designed to be serviced by the ASTRO.

During Phase II, a preliminary design will be developed for a demonstration system to show how the ASTRO will provide service to the NEXTSat. The winner of the demonstration system design should be announced in 2002 and the demonstration spacecraft is scheduled to be launched in 2004. The Sanders team is one of three competing to win the Advanced Technology Demonstration.

Science

NASA Cancels Asteroid Rover
NASA has cancelled development of a miniature rover, which would have been part of the US contribution to a Japanese mission to an asteroid. The primary reasons given for the cancellation were rising costs and weight.

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory has been instructed to stop work on the MUSES-CN nano-rover and instead transfer the material and resources already developed to be available for possible use in other projects.

NASA will hold discussions with the Japanese Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) to consider alternative co-operation in the Mu Space Engineering Spacecraft-C (MUSES-C) mission, the first asteroid sample-return mission, scheduled for launch in late 2002. The designation "MUSES-CN" referred specifically to the NASA nano-rover.

The MUSES-CN rover was originally expected to cost US$ 21 million, but had recently experienced significant cost growth, resulting in a management and cost review at NASA Headquarters.

The rover was small enough to fit in the palm of a hand and weighed a little more than 1 kg. The rover would have been equipped with visible-light and infrared cameras and could be modified for use on other places such as comets, moons of other planets and on Mars.

Technology

NASA and Veridian Demonstrate Internet Based Satellite Control
NASA has successfully demonstrated a new Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) based architecture which could be used to enable trusted distributed command and control of on-orbit assets for future space missions.

Led by NASA's Glenn Research Center (GRC), the design and development of NASA's "TCP/IP in Space" initiative is supported by Veridian's "Nautilus Horizon" project and GRC's "Tempest" software.

The demonstration of NASA's TCP/IP in Space initiative was held at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, November 1-3, during NASA's Inspection 2000. NASA conducts their annual inspection events to showcase the latest NASA-developed technologies. The demonstration included remote operators at various locations sending commands through the Internet using NASA's Tempest software. The commands were then processed through Veridian's Secure Mission Operations Control Center (SMOCC) set up at Johnson Spaceflight Center (JSC) and then sent to a simulated spacecraft at JSC via a NASA TDRS satellite. The demonstration also employed a Veridian "hacker" trying to crack the security of the network.

In the near future, standard Internet protocols will be used for controlling and commanding experiments and operations aboard NASA spacecraft from networked, remote ground locations using highly secure Internet connections.

GRC's Tempest software allows command and control of on-orbit assets via a web browser. Tempest allows an experimenter to access experiments and data from a networked desktop in their office. The experimenter no longer needs to reside in a Mission Control facility, or wait for data to be stripped out, formatted and made available for their use, a process that can take several weeks.

Currently the process of integrating commands is very labour intensive and centralised. Nautilus Horizon offers automated mission integration ensuring that these distributed commands are sent by authorised individuals, that experimenters are not in conflict with one another, and that the specific commands will not adversely impact critical station keeping and health and welfare of the flight hardware.

In addition to the ability to control on-orbit operations from multiple ground command stations, TCP/IP in Space and Nautilus Horizon provide the capability for NASA to test operation of space vehicles, equipment, satellites and components in a virtual environment, prior to final assembly and launch of the satellite/space vehicle. The capability to test components early in the production cycle of a spacecraft will allow substantial time and money savings on a program by identifying integration problems much earlier than currently possible.

A critical component to the security of TCP/IP in Space and Nautilus Horizon is the Veridian-developed SMOCC. The SMOCC creates a controlled and trusted environment for space mission commands by integrating a host of internetworking technologies, internetworking security technologies, information protection tools and techniques together with space mission integration and assurance systems and processes.

During Inspection 2000 the connectivity of Nautilus Horizon and the strength of the SMOCC security features were tested by adding and removing successive layers of security protection.

Launch Services

ATK Awarded Delta IV Composite Aeroskirt Contract
ATK (Alliant Techsystems) has been awarded a contract from The Boeing Company, Huntington Beach, California., to manufacture composite aeroskirts for the new Boeing Delta IV family of launch vehicles. Deliveries under the contract will continue through 2003.

The Delta IV aeroskirts will be manufactured by ATK Aerospace Composite Structures Company at its Southern Composites Center in Iuka, Mississippi.

ATK was selected by Boeing in 1998 to produce composite structures for the Delta IV under a long-term contract that could be worth approximately US$ 1 billion if all options are exercised.

NASA - Australia Co-operation Re-affirmed and Extended
The governments of Australia and the United States of America have announced an agreement on Space Vehicle Tracking and Communication Facilities.

The Agreement amends and extends a 1980 agreement providing for the establishment, operation and maintenance of facilities in Australia operated by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

These facilities comprise the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex located at Tidbinbilla in the Australian Capital Territory and a tracking and data relay satellite ranging system facility at Alice Springs in the Northern Territory.

The network also performs radio astronomy, radar and radio science experiments to improve knowledge of the solar system and the universe.

It provides information to assist in selecting landing sites for NASA space missions, determining the composition of the atmospheres and the surfaces of planets, studying the star formation process, and imaging and investigation of asteroids and comets.

Russia Offers Old ICBMs as Launchers
General Vladimir Yakovlev, the head of Russia's nuclear missile arsenal used the opportunity presented by the launch of the Expedition 1 crew to the ISS from Baikonur to offer hundreds of reconditioned ICBMs for the commercial launch of satellites.

Whilst such an offer is not new, what is surprising is that literally hundreds of ICBM boosters appear to be becoming available for launches. By 2009 some 250 Russian ICBMs are scheduled to be decommissioned and these will be available commercially, when reconditioned and modified for satellite launching.

Launches

Beidou 1

Launched: 30 October 2000
Site: Xichang Satellite Launching Center, Sichuan Province, southwest China
Launcher: Long March 3A
International Number: 2000-069A
Name: Beidou 1
Contractor: Research Institute of Space Technology

Beidou is a Chinese navigation test satellite and is reported to be the first in of a constellation of navigation satellites.

Soyuz TMA-01

Launched: 31 October 2000
Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan
Launcher: Soyuz
Orbit: LEO: 240 km
International Number: 2000-070A
Name: Soyuz TMA-01 carrying the Expedition 1 crew for the International Space Station

This mission carries the first crew for the International Space Station, who will stay at the station for four months. Crew: Bill Shepherd, Yuri Gidzenko, Sergei Krikalev.

The Soyuz spacecraft docked with the ISS on Thursday.

Launch Schedule

November 5: Ekran M on a Proton-M/Briz M from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan
November 9: GPS on a Delta II from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida
November 10: Anik F1 on an Ariane from CSG Kourou, French Guiana
November 14: Progress M1 supply ship to the ISS on a Soyuz U from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan
November 15: PAS-1R, Amsat P3D, STRV 1C and STRV 1D on an Ariane 5 from CSG Kourou, French Guiana
November 16: EO1, SAC-C, Citizen Explorer and Munin on a Delta II from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California
November 16: Kosmos on a Tsiklon from Plesetsk Space Centre, Russia
November 18: EO-1 and SAC-C on a Delta from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California
November 19: QuickBird 1 on a Kosmos SL8 from Plesetsk Space Centre, Russia
November 28: Eurasiasat 1 and L-Star 1 on an Ariane 5 from CSG Kourou, French Guiana
November 28: Eros 1A on a Start 1 from Svobodny, Russia
November 30: ISS 4A (PV module P6) on the Shuttle Endeavour (STS-97) from the Kennedy Space Center, California
November 30: Sirius 3 on a Proton from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan
December: LDREX on an Ariane from CSG Kourou, French Guiana
December 21: Aqua on a Delta II from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California
December 21: Astra 2D, GE-8 on an Ariane 5 from CSG Kourou, French Guiana
January 15: DMSP on a Titan II from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California
February 23: BSAT 2A and EuroBird on an Ariane from CSG Kourou, French Guiana
March 7: JASON and TIMED on a Delta II from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California
March 31: Orbview and Quicktoms on a Taurus from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California

Delayed: Altair on a Proton from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan
Delayed: Badr-2, Meteor-3M, Maroc-Tubsat, Reflector on a Zenit-2 from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan
Delayed: GSAT on a GSLV (Indian Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle) from Sriharikota, India
Delayed: MLV-11 on an Atlas 2AS from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida
Delayed: Tempo 1 on an Atlas
Delayed: VCL on an Athena 1 from Kodiak Island, Alaska

Business

BCE Completes Teleglobe Acquisition
Teleglobe Inc has completed its transaction with BCE, Canada's largest communications company, whereby BCE acquired all of the outstanding shares of Teleglobe.

Teleglobe's multi-gigabit capacity backbone maintains extensive public and private peering arrangements throughout Europe, Asia and the Americas providing customers in over 110 countries with one-hop connectivity for fast access to, and delivery of, Internet content worldwide. These features are a key component of GlobeSystem, a five-year, US$ 5.0 billion data and Internet global IP-based network initiative designed to deliver the first integrated Internet, data, video and voice network.

Teleglobe has already proceeded with the Company's new business plan, installing a new executive management team, pruning non-profitable service lines and customers and ramping up engineering and sales staff to meet the growing needs of customers worldwide.

Teleglobe's Internet customer base already represents 11% of the world's Internet routes making Teleglobe among the top five Internet backbone providers in the world. Teleglobe is the backbone, which hundreds of successful ISPs, ICPs, Broadcasters and Carriers rely upon for reliable connectivity, hosting and content distribution capabilities. Teleglobe's superior network offers high quality, high-speed connectivity for IP, broadband, virtual private network, ATM, Internet telephony and broadcast services. Teleglobe is the largest provider of international Internet access to North America, and the largest provider of Internet access via satellite.

Eutelsat Invests on TV Files
Eutelsat is to invest in TV Files, the broadband company that multicasts video, audio and data content via satellite for corporations and the television industry.

Eutelsat's decision to invest in TV Files follows the last month's announcement of a partnership agreement based on substantial technological co-operation. Both parties agreed on the joint development of satellite solutions and applications under the Internet Protocol through a common platform in order to target Content Providers, Internet Service Providers and large corporations.

TV Files has already established a strong foothold in the Business-to-Business IP broadband market, bundling delivery services with software and hardware in order to offer a full range of Internet broadcasting products and services (Interactive Distance Learning, Videoconferences, Interactive Business Television and Website Distribution to Servers at the edge-of-the-net). Already operating via capacity on Eutelsat's W2 satellite, the company owns an open standard hardware platform based on the IP/DVB data standard which is fully suitable for business-to-business applications.

Headquartered in Rome, TV Files opened branch offices in New York and Los Angeles in 1999, and an office in London in June this year. It plans to build service centres and sales operations in the UK, France, Holland, Germany and Spain in order to secure business growth on a pan-European basis.

Fairchild Defense Sale Completed
Orbital Sciences Corporation has completed the sale of its Fairchild Defense electronics business unit to a US subsidiary of Smiths Industries plc for approximately US$ 100 million, subject to a working capital adjustment.

The sale, first announced in September, has now received all necessary U.S. government regulatory approvals.

The proceeds of the sale will be used mainly to improve the Orbital's balance sheet, to reduce overall debt and for general corporate purposes.

Globalstar's Downward Spiral
In the last week LEO telephony satellite operator Globalstar Telecommunications Ltd has posted massive losses and its main financial backer Loral Space and Communications has cut off support.

Globalstar shares lost 60% of their value as the company announced a third-quarter net loss of US$ 97.5 million, on revenue of US$ 1.4 million. In the last year Globalstar shares have lost 95% of their value.

The reason for the problems - "unacceptably slow" subscriber growth in the last quarter according the Globalstar CEO Bernard Schwartz. The real reason is more likely to be an "unacceptably optimistic" business plan coupled with a high level of borrowing which the current level of revenues cannot support.

Loral Space and Communications which owns a 40% equity stake in Globalstar has said it will no longer provide Globalstar with financial support.

Schwartz continues to insist that Globalstar is still viable and will eventually repay its debts and turn a profit. Interesting that Schwartz is also head of Loral Space and Communications. Could this be a case of do as I say not what I do?

Analyst continue to remain sceptical of Globalstar's predictions and many now expect the company to follow Iridium and ICO into bankruptcy.

Globalstar currently has US$ 285.9 million of cash, enough to remain operational until the end of May next year following a US$ 56 million equity investment last month. It has debts of US$ 2.9 billion.

At the end of this last quarter Globalstar had some 21,300 subscribers which generated 2.3 million billable minutes in the quarter. The company is reported to require 1.6 million subscribers to cover its costs and to service its debt.

New Bidder for Iridium
Iridium Satellite LLC (ISLLC) has become the latest bidder for the US$ 5 billion assets of the Iridium satellite phone company.

ISLLC is offering US$ 25 million for Iridium's assets (broken down as US$ 6.5 million in cash and US$ 18.5 million in deferred payments.)

Apparently negotiations have been ongoing for some time and are near completion with Motorola. There have also been parallel negotiations with Boeing which will take over the operation of the satellites from Motorola. Boeing will not make an equity investment in the system.

Motorola has had court approval to deorbit the Iridium constellation since March but has so far chosen not to do so.

A hearing is scheduled for 8 November for ISLLC to obtain court approval for its bid for the system.

SES Buys Into Embratel
Embratel and SES (Société Européenne des Satellites) have announced an agreement to create a jointly-owned satellite company with the transfer of the assets of Embratel's Satellite Division.

Anatel, the Brazilian telecommunications authority, approved the transfer of assets from Embratel to the new company on October 25, 2000.

Embratel will retain 80.01% of the new company, with SES taking a 19.99% interest. The new company will begin operations with five satellites in orbit.

Products and Services

Norsat Introduces Complete SpectraWorks Broadband Product Line
Norsat International Inc has introducing an expanded satellite broadband connectivity product line which will enable it to provide a fully-integrated, end-to-end network solution to support interactive multimedia applications over satellite.

The product line includes:

• a complete SpectraWorks DVB Return Channel System (RCS) satellite broadband terminal;
• the SpectraWorks IPE 400 Series of DVB IP Encapsulators which offer significantly improved performance, features and benefits over the IPE 200 Series; and
• a line of SpectraWorks Return Channel Routers.

The terminals will expand the functionality of the Norsat outdoor unit (ODU), currently being delivered for use on the ASTRA BBI network, by providing the full interface between a satellite and a PC or other enabled device, and will be available for small office/home office (SOHO) and advanced consumer multimedia communications in the later half of 2001. A consumer version of the new broadband terminals will be offered in 2002 to help make affordable, high-speed Internet access universally available across most of Europe.

Among the features of the new SpectraWorks encapsulators is a 100 Mb/s output rate. The increased output will maximise satellite transponder occupancy and offer a significantly higher throughput for applications such as fast Internet, multicasting, fast streaming and voice-over-Internet-Protocol (VOIP). The IPE 400 Series Encapsulators are available immediately.

The SpectraWorks routers, which allow for multiple users from a single broadband terminal, are available for immediate delivery and can be used in any DVB-based broadcast system, either two-way or hybrid wireless/terrestrial, and consists of the RCR-1000 for consumer and SOHO applications, the RCR-2000 for small and middle-sized enterprise applications and the RCR-3000 for 7/24 multi-user environments such as corporate WAN interconnection. In addition to application on new systems, the routers can be used to expand performance on existing hub installations.

There are currently 25 SpectraWorks hubs installed around the world.

Philips Electronics Announces Digital Satellite Receiver/Recorder
Philips Electronics has announced the launch of its DSR6000, an innovative set-top box which integrates the digital programming of DirecTV with the convenience and control of TiVo Personal TV.

Delivering the next generation in television viewing, the DSR6000 allows consumers to personalise their viewing among more than 225 digital quality channels from DirecTV. With the ability to store up to 35 hours of video content, this fully integrated digital satellite receiver offers a new level of control over television viewing.

Additionally, the TiVo service allows viewers to easily find and schedule their favourite television shows automatically. A new Advanced Program Guide (APG) from DirecTV allows consumers to view program listings up to 14 days in advance.

The DSR6000 incorporates a host of traditional and powerful new features from TiVo including Wish Lists, Parental Controls, TiVo Takes, and the ability to pause, rewind and slow motion live TV. Sports fans and movie buffs will have full control of live television programs and sporting events available on DirecTV programming in full digital-quality. Viewers have the ability to instant replay and fast forward as well as playback in normal speed, slow motion or frame by frame. Using DirecTV's Advanced Program Guide (APG) to review the wide variety of program selections, viewers can now find exactly what they are looking for and even create their own TV listings based on their favourite programming.

The TiVo service is US$ 199 for the life of the unit or US$ 9.95 a month as part of a DirecTV subscription. DirecTV programming packages are available from US$ 21.99 per month. The DSR6000 is expected to be priced at US$ 399.

People

Norsat Announces Senior Appointments
Norsat International Inc has announced that Geoffroy Gardair has been appointed Managing Director, Europe, and that Gary Daly has been appointed Senior Business Development Manager, Europe, for Norsat Broadband Networks.

In his newly-created position, Gardair will be responsible for expanding the installed base of Norsat terminals and hubs within the European and Middle East broadband satellite communications markets. Daly will be responsible for direct sales as well as supporting the activities of Norsat's geographic account managers and channel partners. Both Gardair and Daly are based in France.