16 September 2001

Terrorist Attacks on USA

The devastating terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, New York and the Pentagon have shocked and horrified us all. The attacks also caused disruption for satellite and space companies across the USA.

• NASA closed all of its field centres as well as its headquarters following the attacks, sending all non-essential staff home. The four space shuttles were put in safe modes and were left in their hangers or, in the case of Atlantis, in the Vehicle Assembly Building. NASA began reopening its facilities on Thursday.
• XM Satellite Radio, which is to provide US car listeners with 100 channels of digital music, news, sports and talk channels via satellite, has postponed the launch of its commercial services in San Diego and Dallas. The launch was scheduled for September 12 and would have featured events in the two cities as well as in Washington DC. XM's launch would have continued through September and October achieving national coverage in November.
• The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) is reported to have allocated new tasks to the fleet of spy satellites it controls.
• The launch of NASA's Kodiak Star from Alaska has been postponed probably until September 21. The delay has been caused because commercial air traffic closures in the USA and Canada have made it impossible for the launch crew to travel to the launch complex on Kodiak Island.
• Boeing closed many of its offices including its new Chicago corporate headquarters, its office in London, as well as Boeing Satellite Systems offices in El Segundo and its National Missile Defense office in Crystal City. The company also suspended launch operations at Vandenberg, the Kennedy Space Center and at its Sea Launch site in California.
• Lockheed Martin closed its offices including its Lockheed Martin Astronautics facilities.
• The SkyForum conference scheduled for September 14 in New York has been cancelled.
• International Launch Services' Users' Conference scheduled for 18-20 September 2001 has been postponed.

Among the thousands who were killed during the attacks was Akamai Technologies co-founder and Chief Technology Officer Daniel Lewin. He was on one of the flights which crashed into the World Trade Center. Akami, the company he founded with Tom Leighton, is a world leader in the production of technology for online content delivery.

Satcoms

Aramiska to Use Belgacom Uplink to Eutelsat
Aramiska, a new European provider of two-way satellite-based broadband services, has selected Belgacom to provide the Earth station facilities and Internet infrastructure via a Eutelsat satellite.

Eindhoven-based Aramiska was established in 2000 and intends to offer the first commercial two-way broadband Internet access service using the new DVB-RCS standard. Services will be launched in 2002 in the UK and then in other European countries.

Aramiska will site its Network Operation Centre (NOC) and Internet Data Centre (IDC) at Belgacom's telecommunications ground station site at Liedekerke, near Brussels. This will provide Aramiska with direct connection to the Internet backbone via the Belgacom Belbone, as well as direct access to Belgacom's uplink via a high-speed fibre optic connection.

Astrolink Flight 1 Payload Module Fabrication Ahead of Schedule
Astrolink International LLC has announced that the flight panels for its first satellite were completed six weeks ahead of schedule.

Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems (LMCSS) delivered the flight panels to TRW Space Park in Redondo Beach, California to begin testing and integration. This marks a critical milestone for Astrolink, which is on schedule to launch service in the first quarter of 2003.

Astrolink will provide state-of-the-art bandwidth-on-demand services over satellite to subscribers at broadband data rates as high as 1,000 times faster than conventional telephone dial-up capability. The flexibility and speed of the platform will enable Astrolink to deliver highly cost-effective broadband services tailored to the evolving requirements of the enterprise market.

Astrolink will launch these services in multiple phases. The first phase will include Internet access/Internet service, point-to-point connectivity, multicasting, and IP virtual private networks (VPN).

The satellite structure delivered by LMCSS will contain the on-board processors or switches being developed by TRW. These on-board switches will enable Astrolink to provide high-speed, any-to-any IP connections to enterprise sites around the world.

BetaDigital Renovates DTH Uplink with Harmonic Headend Systems
Harmonic Inc's encoding and multiplexing systems are being installed by BetaDigital, a subsidiary of the KirchPayTV. In the upgrade of its largest digital headend broadcast facility, BetaDigital is deploying Harmonic's systems across its site to manage the broadcasting of video channels to consumers in Germany and Austria. BetaDigital has chosen DiviCom encoders in support of its open systems business environment.

The BetaDigital headend processes satellite signals from Premiere World, Kirch's digital Pay-TV service company, which is Germany's largest direct-to-home (DTH) provider and also from other external providers. The headend, located in Unterfoehring, Germany, delivers a wide variety of programming including over 100 television, music and radio channels.

The DiviCom encoders enhance BetaDigital's satellite service by introducing three major improvements: more effective use of existing bandwidth, greater processing power, and superior noise management. The DiviCom encoders incorporate integrated noise filtering and reduction features, which increase the available bandwidth and improve efficiency across the system. The noise reduction features also prevent blurring effects caused by fast movements in video pictures.

Delta System, Harmonic's system integration partner in Germany, installed the Harmonic encoders and multiplexers.

Boeing Wins First Linearised TWTA Contract
Boeing Electron Dynamic Devices (EDD) has received its first contract for linearised travelling wave tube amplifiers (LTWTAs).

Orbital Sciences Corporation recently placed an order for 32 C band LTWTAs in a contract initially worth US$ 5 million, with a total value of up to US$ 16 million.

The LTWTAs will be used on a C band commercial geosynchronous satellite being built by Orbital for PanAmSat Corporation. Should PanAmSat exercise additional satellite options with Orbital, EDD will produce LTWTAs for two additional flight sets.

Communication satellites use travelling wave tube (TWT) amplifiers as the final amplifier to transmit very low level radio frequency signals back to Earth for a variety of applications including voice, TV and data. On satellites that carry a large number of signals, a lineariser is added to the TWT to cancel the amplifier distortion. This results in clearer communications that benefit the customers of the satellite operator. The final assembly is referred to as an LTWTA.

A typical TWTA assembly consists of a travelling wave tube and its associated Electronic Power Conditioner (EPC). Each LTWTA for Orbital will include a 37 W Model 8560Hx C band TWT, a Model 2000Hx electronic power conditioner (EPC), and a lineariser from Narda Microwave West in Folsom, California Deliveries are scheduled to begin in December 2001 and be completed next February.

Broadcom, Sencore and Xantic Demonstrate IP Backbone Connection
Broadcom Corporation , a leading provider of integrated circuits enabling broadband communications, will demonstrate its 8PSK Turbo Coding System, which increases throughput for advanced satellite broadcast services up to 50% over a commercial satellite link, during the IBC show in Amsterdam.

The demonstration, which will feature an actual satellite connection, highlights Broadcom's collaboration with Sencore, which developed the satellite modem, and Xantic, which offers the IP data backbone connectivity via satellite. The system that will be demonstrated provides satellite broadcasters with an efficient method of increasing throughput over existing satellite infrastructures and providing new services for their customers.

In addition to satellite TV broadband applications, Broadcom's 8PSK system can be used for distribution of data for IP backbone applications, TV distribution to cable headends, and other point-to-point data link applications. Broadcom developed the complete 8PSK Turbo Coding technology system for this demonstration, which is enabled by Broadcom chips, including the BCM4500 Advanced Modulation Receiver and the BCM3440 CMOS Satellite TV Tuner.

New products and services will be enabled by the functionality and performance of this new system. In addition to the efficient use of bandwidth offered by the 8PSK Turbo Coding System, the BCM4500 is capable of operating in a data optimised mode, providing for the efficient utilisation of valuable satellite transponder resources.

The Sencore demonstration modem design is based on Sencore's ASM988 Advanced Satellite Modulator, currently available for the digital audio/video markets. Sencore's modem design incorporates Broadcom modulator and demodulator technology and offers a flexible solution with data rates ranging from 1 Mbaud to 30 Mbaud.

Although developed for data rates up to 30 Mbaud, the Sencore modems that will be used in the IBC demonstration system run downstream at 4 Mbaud and upstream at 1 Mbaud. The modems will communicate to the uplink station located at Xantic's teleport facility in Hilversum in the Netherlands and will connect to the KPNQwest IP backbone via an RS530 data interface. At the IBC, where the downlink station is located, the RS530 data interface will also be used to connect a PC via a router. For connection to the satellite dish, each modem will have a 70 MHz IF output and an L band input.

The Broadcom BCM4500 is a highly integrated, all-digital satellite receiver integrated circuit that supports BPSK, QPSK, 8PSK and 16QAM modulation, thus operating with both advanced modulation satellite systems and legacy QPSK systems. The advanced modulation turbo-code Forward Error Correction (FEC) decoder delivers extremely high performance, approaching theoretical capacity limits, with no requirement for external RAM. This versatile receiver supports full variable rate operation from 1-30 Mbaud, providing multiple operating points for optimal system deployment.

The BCM3440 Direct Conversion Satellite Tuner provides extremely low phase noise to enable high performance 8PSK operations with low-cost QPSK LNBs (Low Noise Block Converters). It is designed to accommodate the full DVB-S operating range, with support for 950 to 2150 MHz L band input frequencies. The BCM3440 is based on a direct-conversion architecture to reduce external component count and increase performance.

The BCM4500 and BCM3440 offer the advantages of being manufactured in a standard logic CMOS process, a widely available, cost-effective technology that provides a path for integration with other Broadcom satellite products. Both chips are currently sampling.

EMS Technologies Second Sources DVB-RCS Terminals
EMS Technologies Inc has announced that a second, independent source of satellite interactive terminals is now available from the Raytheon Company, to operate with EMS' DVB-RCS satellite broadband hub.

In June 2000, EMS became the first company in the world to deliver a DVB- RCS open-standard satellite broadband hub. Demonstration systems have been in operation in Europe and North America for over a year, and commercial deliveries have been ongoing since February 2001. EMS's management believes that it enjoys at least an 18-month time-to-market lead over announced competitors in the DVB-RCS market.

EMS designs and manufactures satellite broadband access hubs and terminals compliant with the DVB-RCS open standard.

EMS also announced today that it has received an order to supply a DVB-RCS Return Link Sub-System and several satellite interactive terminals to Telesat Canada for use in multi-media applications trials for schools and businesses in Canada. The system will be delivered and installed in Q4 2001. Terms of the sale were not released.

First Big Order for Paradise Datacom's P300 Turbo Modem
Paradise Datacom has received the first major order for its new P300 Turbo modem, the Turbo Coded version of its popular P300 Satellite modem. The equipment ordered, more than 150 units, is worth more than US$ 550k and will be deployed in a complex satellite communications system in the Far East.

Turbo coding is a powerful new forward error correction scheme, which may be used by earth station operators either to save bandwidth by applying less error correction information prior to transmission, or to achieve their required quality of service at lower power levels. In practice, bandwidth savings of 40%, or close to 2.5 dB in power, are possible compared to techniques in common use at present. These improvements result directly in ongoing revenue savings for the operators of all satellite communications circuits, from closed network VSAT systems through to international trunking of data or IP (Internet Protocol) traffic.

In addition to accepting an optional plug-in Turbo Codec card, the P300 Turbo provides the full P300 feature set, providing any combination of BPSK, QPSK, OQPSK and 8PSK/TCM operation, with IBS/SMS, IDR, Closed Network or Closed Net plus ESC services. It may be fitted simultaneously with Viterbi, Sequential, Trellis (TCM) and Turbo FEC and may also operate uncoded. A variable code rate Intelsat compliant Reed-Solomon outer codec is also available.

Harmonic Supplies IP-Over-Satellite System for Canadian Schools
Harmonic Inc is supplying its CyberStream IP-over-satellite system to upgrade Saskatchewan Communication Network's (SCN) distance learning infrastructure. The system upgrade allows SCN to expand the scope and quality of its curriculum by delivering high speed TCP/IP wide area networking with multicast streaming video capability to schools throughout Saskatchewan.

One of the region's first distance learning networks, the SCN system operates from Regina, Canada and streams MPEG-2 video into remote Canadian classrooms. The network is built upon a DVB-based delivery environment that integrates Saskatchewan's fibre optic system with satellite carriage to provide students with immediate access to an instructor's classroom from a distance.

The CyberStream system supplied by Harmonic Data Systems allows SCN to bring interactive services to schools by upgrading their network with broadband IP capabilities. SCN's network includes high-speed data transfers, multimedia applications, television and radio broadcasting, as well as Intranet and extranet connectivity.

Regional colleges manage SCN Centres in approximately 55 Saskatchewan communities and provide learner support and counselling for students. In addition, there are 64 high schools, four SIAST sites, and 25 others in the Province equipped to receive one-way video and two-way audio live interactive programming by satellite.

SCN receiving sites are equipped with a Ku band satellite dish/receiver/decoder, television monitor, video cassette recorder, telephone, and facsimile machine. In high demand centres, duplicate rooms are installed, allowing two or more classes to be received simultaneously. The network upgrade includes a CyberStream server with complete network management software located at the SCN digital headend in Regina and at least one CyberStream Enterprise1 receiver/router located at each remote site.

Kingston inmedia and Tandberg Trial IP Over 16QAM
Kingston inmedia and Tandberg Television have completed trials to test the real-world performance of Tandberg Television's 16QAM satellite systems. In tests using Tandberg Television's unique PREKOR 'Dynamic Pre-Correction' system and Kingston inmedia's satellite Teleport facility at Gerrards Cross in the UK, the two organisations completed a world first by delivering a number of different IP streams at rates in excess of 100 Mb/s, at full satellite transmission power, during tests using a 36 MHz transponder.

Tandberg Television's new modulation process addresses broadcasters' and service providers' needs to send much larger amounts of broadcast distribution and contribution material through existing satellite transponders. It is also well suited to other broadband applications such as Internet backbone, as transmission costs per bit are effectively halved.

Kingston inmedia's trials, co-funded by the British National Space Centre, have seen the company test IP streams to investigate potential applications throughout the company's business including broadcast services and in particular Internet and carrier services where Kingston inmedia is providing solutions for voice, data and internet satellite delivery to developing regions such as Africa. The trials enabled Kingston inmedia to gain enhancements of the outbound satellite signal to achieve increased quality and stability previously unachievable with 16QAM modulation.

Kingston inmedia was able to deploy remote antennae of only 3.7 metres, compared to the standard 6.5m/7.6m antennae, enabling large potential costs savings at remote sites in multicast satellite operations.

What makes Tandberg Television's modulator unique, is its ability to be enhanced with the optional PREKOR. The use of higher order modulation schemes brings with it increased susceptibility to distortion in the satellite and earth station, which in turn means that transmitted signal levels very often have to be 'backed off' from full power, or 'saturation'. PREKOR is a modulator-based technology that corrects for both earth station uplink and satellite based distortions and allows the system to actually operate at full power. The Tandberg Television PREKOR system is integrated into the SM5600 modulator and allows significantly smaller receiver dish sizes and smaller, cheaper earth station amplifiers to be used.

The DVB-compliant SM5600 modulator is interoperable with any DVB-S/DVB-DSNG compliant receiver in the field that supports QPSK, 8PSK or 16QAM and is shipping/available today.

PanAmSat Adds Fibre to Satellite Network
PanAmSat Corporation has added trans-Atlantic fibre capacity to its global satellite-based communications network. The new fibre connectivity will support fully integrated, hybrid video, data and Internet services between the United States, Europe and Asia.

The terrestrial link, combined with PanAmSat's satellite network, will enable the company to offer customers an added transmission choice, increased service options and the ability to transmit between New York and Tokyo via a single satellite hop in London.

Spanning from New York to London, the broadband pipe will link PanAmSat's Spring Creek teleport outside New York City with a London gateway. The Spring Creek gateway serves as a major conduit for video and data traffic, relaying signals to and from the Waterfront Communications terrestrial link circuit, with throughput to PanAmSat and other distribution channels.

The high-speed link will enable the delivery of full-time and ad hoc transmissions from anywhere in the United States to London for uplink to PanAmSat's Indian Ocean Region fleet. The PAS-4 and PAS-7 satellites as well as the new and more advanced PAS-10 spacecraft offer coverage of Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Customers throughout these regions will also be able to beam signals to the United States with equal ease and efficiency.

In addition to accessing PanAmSat satellites for point-to-multipoint distribution and ubiquitous coverage, the fibre link will access local loops at both ends for competitive point-to-point video, data and Internet transmissions between the United States and Europe.

Military Space

Lockheed Martin Team Passes SBIRS High System CDR
The Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) High team led by prime contractor Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company has successfully completed the system critical design review (CDR) with its customer, the US Air Force. The review demonstrated that SBIRS High would meet the customer's requirements and establish the foundation for the next generation space-based surveillance systems.

More than 300 people from the Air Force, Department of Defense and industry participated in the two-day session at Lockheed Martin's Sunnyvale facility.

The CDR validated that the SBIRS High architecture supports Air Force space surveillance requirements and operating concepts. SBIRS High ground systems are planned to be compatible with legacy Defense Support Program (DSP) and SBIRS satellites. The successful system CDR was preceded by extensive reviews of the payload sensors, the geosynchronous earth orbit (GEO) spacecraft, and ground segment designs earlier this summer.

The SBIRS program will provide the USA with new worldwide missile detection and tracking capabilities. It is an integrated "system of systems" with multiple space components and an evolving ground element. Increment 1, currently being evaluated for initial operational capability later this year, will consolidate functions of three legacy DSP ground stations into one and provide an open architecture to accommodate SBIRS High and Low components as they are fielded. Increment 2, also known as SBIRS High, will add four satellites in geosynchronous earth orbit (GEO) and two sensors in highly elliptical orbit (HEO). Increment 3, or SBIRS Low, will add 20-to-30 satellites in low earth orbit (LEO) to provide mid-course missile tracking.

Lockheed Martin is the prime contractor for SBIRS Increments 1 and 2, and overall "system of systems" integrator for the three increments. Key members of the Lockheed Martin team are Northrop Grumman, Aerojet, Honeywell and SAIC.

Launches

USA 160

Launched: 8 September 2001
Site: Vandenberg Air Force Base, California
Launcher: Atlas 2A
Orbit: LEO
International Number: 2001-040A
Name: USA 160
Owner: National Reconnaissance Office

This classified launch was probably of a NOSS satellite.

Pirs

Launched: 14 September 2001
Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan
Launcher: Soyuz
Orbit: LEO
International Number: 2001-041A
Name: Docking Compartment 1 - Pirs (ISS flight 4R)
Owner: Russian Space Agency

The Pirs docking module is a second airlock for the International Space Station and will enable ISS astronauts the ability to perform spacewalks using Russian spacesuits. It also provides an extra docking port and storage space.

Business

Astrotech Completes Financing Package
Spacehab Inc's Astrotech Space Operations subsidiary has completed a US$ 20 million financing of its satellite processing facility expansion project in Titusville, Florida.

The expanded facility, targeted for completion in October 2001, will accommodate larger satellites for launch on next-generation Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicles (EELVs): Lockheed Martin's Atlas V and Boeing's Delta IV. SouthTrust Bank, headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, is providing the financing.

Proceeds will further enable early retirement of Astrotech's remaining US$ 3 million debt to the CIT Group/Equipment Financing Inc, and replacement of a portion of Spacehab's working capital now invested in the facility. Astrotech's long-term contracts with Boeing and Lockheed Martin to process satellites for launch from Florida now represent US$ 85.3 million in guaranteed minimum revenue for the company through 2010.

Astrotech supports final launch site testing, propellant loading, encapsulation, and launch countdown operations for satellites at company-owned facilities in Titusville and at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, and at Boeing Sea Launch facilities in California. It has processed more than 100 payloads to date at the Florida facility. Astrotech's expansion project will increase its Florida processing facilities by 75%, from 90,000 to 160,000 square feet, encompassing over 62 acres. New processing and encapsulation bays at this site will enable simultaneous processing of multiple satellites.

The newly expanded facility will accommodate satellites that are increasing in size from four to five meters in diameter and from 6,000 to more than 10,000 pounds (payload fairings are increasing from 37 to 75 feet in length). The expanded facility will be the only satellite processing complex at Kennedy Space Center/Cape Canaveral Air Force Station specifically designed to accommodate five-meter payload fairings for Atlas V and Delta IV missions.

iBeam Announces Preliminary Funding Discussions
iBeam Broadcasting Corp, a leading provider of streaming communications solutions, has engaged in preliminary discussions with its principal shareholder regarding additional funding and has updated its previous guidance.

The company announced that it is in preliminary discussions with Williams Communications, which holds approximately 49% of the company's voting stock, to provide the company with financing sufficient to support its continued operation. The company did not disclose whether a binding commitment for such financing is imminent, the amount of funding being discussed, or whether any such financing would be in the form of equity or debt.

The company also updated its previous guidance. With respect to the additional financing required to fully fund its operations, the company affirmed its belief that it currently has sufficient resources to operate into October 2001, but revised its guidance on the incremental investment required to fully fund the company to between US$ 25 and US$ 30 million. iBeam also announced an acceleration of the timeframe in which it expects to turn cash flow positive from the fourth quarter of 2002 to the third quarter of 2002, assuming that sufficient funding is secured.

New Consortium for Broadband Airline Connectivity
Four leading aerospace and communications companies have announced their intent to bring satellite Internet connections and real-time television programs to passengers on commercial airlines in the next 12 months.

ARINC, Astrium, and Tenzing Communications, with the full support of Airbus, jointly demonstrated their broadband technology to airline executives on September 11 at the World Airline Entertainment Association conference.

Tenzing Communications currently is the only company to successfully deploy in-flight e-mail on commercial flights, using existing technologies and current onboard networks. ARINC, with 60% of the airline communications market, operates global high-speed networks. Astrium, Europe's leading aerospace company, builds and operates satellite communications networks. Airbus, with half the world's market in commercial aircraft, intends to offer a range of broadband services to its airline customers.

Unlike its market competitors, the new consortium offers a broadband solution that builds on current technologies many airlines already have in place. Airbus intends to have available at the right time an efficient broadband solution that fits perfectly with its Airbus In Flight Information Services (AFIS) strategy. It recently purchased a major stake in Tenzing Communications.

rStar and Gilat Revise Terms for Acquisition of StarBand Latin America Business
rStar Corporation and Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd have agreed upon revised terms for the previously announced acquisition of Gilat's StarBand Latin America business by rStar and tender offer for shares of rStar common stock. rStar is approximately 65% owned by Gilat.

Under the revised terms of the tender offer, rStar will increase the number of shares of rStar common stock that it will acquire in the offer from approximately 20% of the outstanding shares of rStar common stock not held by Gilat and its corporate affiliates to approximately 29% of the outstanding shares of rStar common stock not held by Gilat and its corporate affiliates. More specifically, under the revised terms of the tender offer, rStar will now make an offer to acquire up to 6,315,789 shares of rStar common stock in exchange for US$ 0.95 in cash and .0738 of an ordinary share of Gilat for each share of rStar common stock tendered in the offer. Gilat and its corporate affiliates have agreed not to tender their shares of rStar common stock in the offer.

rStar stockholders will have the opportunity to tender all or a portion of their shares of rStar common stock in the offer. If more than 6,315,789 shares of rStar common stock are tendered, rStar intends to purchase shares on a pro rata basis up to 6,315,789 shares of rStar common stock.

On September 7, 2001, the last full trading day before the announcement of the revised terms of the tender offer, the closing price of rStar common stock was US$ 0.49 per share and the closing price of Gilat ordinary shares was US$ 9.18. The rStar stockholders whose shares are exchanged in the offer will be paid the cash portion of the purchase price net in cash, without interest, and will be issued the Gilat ordinary shares as soon as practicable after expiration of the tender offer. The tender offer is not conditioned on any minimum number of shares of rStar common stock being tendered by the rStar stockholders.

rStar's board of directors has approved the revised terms of the tender offer. However, neither rStar nor its board of directors is making any recommendation to its stockholders as to whether to tender or refrain from tendering their shares. Stockholders must make their own decision as to whether to tender their shares and, if so, how many shares to tender. The tender offer is expected to close during Nov. 2001.

Products and Services

PanAmSat Launches Global Two-Way SPOTbytes Internet Backbone Service
PanAmSat Corporation has launched its new SPOTbytes two-way service, offering flexible, cost-effective Internet access over the company's global satellite network.

The new service offers PanAmSat customers a total connectivity solution, including a digital video broadcast (DVB) outbound satellite link, a single-channel-per-carrier (SCPC) return satellite link, a teleport uplink and a direct connection to a Tier One backbone provider.

The company also announced that Nigeria's COSMOS is the first Internet service provider (ISP) to take advantage of the two-way SPOTbytes platform. The high-speed, two-way service was created by providing an asymmetric satellite link to the US Internet backbone employing the company's PAS-1R Atlantic Ocean Region spacecraft and Atlanta teleport as well as Radyne ComStream's IPSat Internet Satellite Terminal. With the two-way service in place, COSMOS effectively becomes the largest bandwidth provider in West Africa, with plans to provide Internet access to as many ISPs and corporate organisations as possible throughout Nigeria.

Radyne ComStream's IPSat products provide broadband 2 way TCP/IP communication over satellite. A compact single indoor box provides users with up to 72 Mb/s of DVB compliant downstream data and up to 2 Mb/s of return data. IPSat also includes built-in MPEG audio and video decoding. Radyne ComStream's IPSat solution is a cost-effective way of providing connection speeds that surpass T1, DSL and Cable connections.

SPOTbytes delivers Internet traffic in a DVB transport stream, offering low start-up and recurring costs, flexible and scalable bandwidth, as well as support for multiple points of presence (POPs). The service includes satellite capacity, teleport uplink services and Internet port access to multiple Tier One Internet backbone providers.

SPOTbytes highlights include:

• Scalable bandwidth ranging from 64 kb/s to 48 Mb/s
• Support for multiple POPs, segmenting total bandwidth allocation between receive sites, each with the capability for dynamic allocation depending on bandwidth requirements
• Low cost, easy-to-integrate equipment
• Twenty-four hour Technical Support Call Center
• Fully redundant infrastructure

Tandberg Launches 4th Generation MPEG-2 Encoder at IBC
Tandberg Television has launched its fourth generation MPEG-2 encoding architecture, built on over 10 years of MPEG compression research and development. The launch sees Tandberg Television reduce its encoding range from four units to just two, each designed to combine the highest performance compression and flawless picture quality, with the industry's most flexible and upgradeable solutions.

The compact 1U E5710 with two option slots and the high-end 2U E5720 with six options slots provide low bit rate performance through a unique combination of pre-processing, encoding techniques and collaboration with other encoders (when operating in Reflex( statistical multiplexing mode). Improvements upon previous models include the addition of enhanced noise reduction circuitry and special processing to maintain signal quality in repeated encoding/decoding scenarios with a new auto concatenation feature. Both units are ideal for use in multi-channel environments for broadband, cable, satellite, terrestrial or distribution applications and for IP streaming. They can be upgraded through software options, making them highly future-proofed and able to grow with a broadcaster's evolving needs.

Both units include a number of key features as standard:

• Extensive bit rate range with high quality images. MPEG-2 4:2:0MP@ML video encoding 1.5 Mb/s to 15 Mb/s
• "Pixel Perfect" fully exhaustive motion estimation
• SDI or analogue Composite PAL/NTSC video input
• MPEG Layer II audio encoding
• Dolby( 5.1 and Dolby( E Pass through support
• RS-232 and RS-422 low and high speed data inputs
• Low delay modes

In addition, the E5710 and the E5720 are able to benefit from a number of software options which can be added at the time of purchase or through a simple telephone call to Tandberg Television's post sales support desk to obtain a software key. These options include:

• MPEG-2 4:2:2P@ML
• Reflex statistical multiplexing, variable bit rate
• Professional grade noise reduction
• Auto-concatenation detection and alignment system
• Performance upgrade and low bit rate operation down to 256 kb/s
• Dolby Digital((AC-3) audio encoding
• Tandberg Television RAS scrambling for secure transmissions

Upgradeable hardware options

• Basic Interoperability Scrambling System (BISS) modes 0 & 1
• REMUX module supporting 3 ASI inputs

The E5710 1U encoder allows for up to two additional audio modules (four mono or two stereo pairs per module), allowing a maximum of six stereo pairs. The E5720 2U encoder allows for up to three additional audio modules (four mono or two stereo pairs per module), allowing a maximum of eight stereo pairs.

The Tandberg Television E5710 and E5720 can be ordered now and will be available for shipping at the end of this month.

Xantic Announces Broadband Services
Xantic has launched a range of satellite broadband multimedia solutions targeted at organisations - both large and small - demanding faster and more cost-effective access to the internet using the optimum performance benefits of satellite communications.

Xantic's Broadband Multimedia solutions are based on a combination of satellite and internet technology that enable the efficient delivery of multimedia content to multiple locations across a large geographical area. Xantic's new services have a distinct advantage over cable based solutions in its ability to simultaneously multicast of rich multimedia content from point to multipoint. Currently available across Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, the services will be eventually extended to the Asia Pacific region and the Americas.

Xantic has installed and deployed the SES Group's ASTRA-NET technology directly at its uplink and ground control premises in Hilversum. The new solutions are based on an ASTRA-NET IP-broadband platform and delivered through satellite capacity leased on the NSAB's Sirius satellite system.

The three services being launched are:

• High Speed Internet Access Service for companies making the Internet an
  ever-more integrated part of their business process.
• A File Delivery Service, which enables large quantities of data to be sent
  in a fully controlled manner to any number of recipients. Examples of
  applications include the distribution of multimedia files and software,
  video wall remote control, promotional displays, and business portals
  (Intra/Extranet). Advantages over traditional cable-based solutions
  include its extremely high availability and quality, guaranteed delivery
  within an agreed time and cost efficiency.
• An IP Streaming Service, which enables multimedia content to be transmitted
  in real time to a virtually unlimited number of recipients via guaranteed
  bandwidth. Applications include real time audio, video, data or a
  combination of these, live video presentations, real time stock exchange
  information, business TV or radio, and distance learning. In addition to
  being highly cost effective, IP Streaming offers high availability and
  quality, plus a guaranteed ultra-high bandwidth

People

PanAmSat Appoints Manager for Asia-Pacific Sales Region
PanAmSat Corporation has announced that Ashley G. Fernandes, an executive with more than 20 years of telecommunications experience and extensive knowledge of the Asia-Pacific market, has been named vice president of sales for PanAmSat's Pacific Ocean Region.

Mr Fernandes will be responsible for the sales and marketing of PanAmSat's full-time video, telecommunications and Internet services. The region reaches from India across Asia to Japan, Australia and the Pacific Islands, including offices in Hong Kong, Seoul, Sydney and Tokyo. Mr Fernandes reports to Tom Eaton, PanAmSat's executive vice president of global sales, based in Wilton, Connecticut.

Mr Fernandes comes to PanAmSat from QoS Networks, where he was responsible for recruiting, training and motivating a sales and management team as well as establishing new operations in Japan, Hong Kong, Australia and South Korea. Prior to QoS, he served as vice president, Asia-Pacific for Concert, where he formed a new sales team in the region and achieved significant growth within the wholesale bandwidth and IP market. Mr Fernandes also brings sales experience from MCI International and Telstra gained within the MNC and Carrier sales portfolios. He established and ran the Singapore regional office for OTC/Telstra. Mr Fernandes began his career at IBM in Australia, spending nearly 10 years in a number of sales and sales support positions.

Tandberg Expands Sales Management Team
Tandberg Television has announced three new senior sales appointments. The newly created positions are designed to further strengthen the company's management team, position and business reach into the European, Middle Eastern and African (EMEA) markets.

Philip Burnham has been appointed Region Sales Manager for Southern Europe, responsible for France, Spain, Greece, Turkey and The Middle East. Based in Oslo, Norway, Philip joins Tandberg Television from Cisco where he was a Senior Account Manager for the EMEA-North, New Technologies Group.

Michael Schulthei has been appointed Region Sales Manager for Central Europe, responsible for Germany, Austria, Luxembourg and Switzerland. Based in Munich, Germany, Michael joins Tandberg Television from AVID Germany where he held the position of Manager for Broadcast Sales and Marketing.

Rajiv Thapar has been appointed Region Sales Manager for Northern Europe with responsibility for the UK, Ireland, Belgium, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and South Africa. Based in Oslo, Norway, Rajiv has been at Tandberg Television, Norway, for five and a half years and has been promoted to his new position from Senior Account Manager responsible for Eastern and Central Europe.

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