19 August 2001

Satcoms

Arel Awarded a US$ 1.5 Million Distance Learning Contract
Arel Communications and Software Ltd has received an initial award totalling US$ 1.5 million from a leading North American telecom service provider for Arel's satellite-based IDL system.

In this first phase of a larger project Arel will deliver its Arel Ideal solutions to over 500 service centres, dealerships and regional offices across the USA.

The flexibility and unmatched scalability of Arel's open platform will enable the US-based giant to deliver high quality video and audio for live expert-led distance learning, and later on, self-paced interactive training on demand. By initially introducing the Arel VirtualClass solution for live remote classroom environments, and adding the Arel Spotlight desktop solution in the expected second phase expansion, the telecom service provider will be able to accelerate its training capabilities, enhance its internal communications, reduce operating costs and provide a higher level of customer care services to its growing customer base.

Loral Skynet do Brasil's New Ground Station
Loral Skynet do Brasil, a wholly owned subsidiary of Loral Space & Communications, has established a ground station in Rio de Janeiro that will serve as its telemetry, tracking and control (TT&C) centre for the Estrela do Sul 1 satellite when it starts service in the fourth quarter of 2002.

Loral Skynet do Brasil will staff this facility with local engineers and support personnel.

Loral Skynet do Brasil will lease the property from Construtora Internacional, Ltda. and will purchase the ground station equipment from Telesat Servicos de Telecomunicação SA. The equipment includes one 7.6m Ku band antenna that has been successfully tested with the company's Brasil 1 satellite, currently occupying Loral's 63° W slot. Loral Skynet will provide back-up TT&C services from its Hawley, Pennsylvania facility.

Estrela do Sul 1, currently under construction at Space Systems/Loral, is expected to enter service in the fourth quarter of 2002 and will replace Brasil 1. The all Ku band Estrela do Sul 1 will provide satellite services throughout Brazil, most of North and South America and the North Atlantic Ocean Region. Estrela do Sul 1 will support a variety of Ku band applications, including the Connexion by Boeing service.

Mexico Grants Access to US Satellites
Mexico's Transport and Communications Ministry has awarded licences to four satellite operators to land and offer their satellite services in Mexico.

Licences have been awarded to: PanAmSat de Mexico, GE-Americom, Grupo Televisa and Satmex. Satmex is already an established operator in the Mexican market.

PanAmSat is a partnership between Pegaso PCS and PanAmSat Corp. It has applied to register eleven satellites for Mexican landing rights.

US satellite operator GE-Americom has applied for landing rights for five satellites.

Satmex is a partnership between Loral Space & Communications Ltd and Principia. Satmex has complained about the new licences because, unlike the other licence holders, Satmex is obliged to invest in Mexico and to reserve 7% of its satellite capacity for Mexican government use.

ND SatCom Wins Follow-up Order from Bundeswehr
In July 1999, ND SatCom started the development of a satellite communications network for the control of the crisis reaction forces in the Bundeswehr. The performance of this system was demonstrated in May/June of this year in a service test conducted together with the Bundeswehr. ND SatCom has now been awarded the large-scale order for series production of the SATCOMBw, Phase 1 Bundeswehr program; this mid-term solution is scheduled to run until the end of 2002.

The system "SATCOM Bundeswehr Phase 1" covers the delivery of more than thirty mobile and fixed satellite ground stations, a powerful network management system for planning, controlling and monitoring the overall system, as well as training equipment for conducting the necessary system operation courses. Long-term contracts with civilian and military satellite operators meet the demand for satellite transmission capacity.

The missions in Somalia, Bosnia and Kosovo show that the Bundeswehr has taken on a greatly expanded role in international crisis management. This has created an urgent need for long-range, high-performance communications systems, such as a Bundeswehr-own satellite communications system.

PMSI and AzCom to Use Gilat's SkyBlaster VSATs for 2-Way Satellite Internet in Philippines
Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd has been selected by Philippine Multimedia Systems Inc and AZ Communication Network Inc to provide a high-speed satellite communications network.

Gilat's SkyBlaster Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) equipment will power PMSI's planned nationwide, two-way satellite Internet service to consumers, small office/home office (SOHO) users and small to medium enterprises (SMEs) throughout the Philippines.

The Internet service to be offered by PMSI and AzCom, known as Dream VSAT, represents a pioneering deployment of broadband, two-way satellite Internet access in the Philippines. PMSI is already established as a provider of a Direct-to-Home (DTH) satellite television service called Dream Broadcast. With Gilat's new SkyBlaster 360 satellite modem, PMSI intends to offer a bundled, single-dish DTH/Internet solution.

Under the agreement, Gilat will serve as the wholesale provider of VSAT equipment for the Dream VSAT service, which PMSI expects to be available nationwide by the fourth quarter of this year.

Gilat's SkyBlaster VSAT network offers a persistent or "always on" connection that saves time when connecting to the Internet and eliminates the need for a telephone line dedicated to Internet use. The satellite network's multicasting capabilities will enable customers to download content-rich media. The network will also support multi-PC connectivity for SOHOs in the Philippines.

The Dream VSAT service is the latest example of new consumer/SOHO Internet services powered by Gilat VSAT equipment. Similar services announced recently include the StarOne service in Brazil, the Tiscali service in Europe, the Cable & Wireless Optus service in Australia, and the Bharti Broadband service in India.

SingTel Aeradio's Norsat SpectraWorks DVB Data Hub in Service
SingTel Aeradio Pte Ltd has announced that a SpectraWorks DVB (Digital Video Broadcasting) Data Hub purchased in January from Norsat International Inc has been installed, commissioned and is ready for delivering DVB broadband services across Asia on the ST-1 satellite.

The SpectraWorks DVB Data Hub is installed at the Bukit Timah Earth Station in Singapore and used for a range of DVB over IP (Internet Protocol) applications including high speed Internet, videoconferencing, VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) and data transfer.

SingTel Aeradio Pte Ltd (SAPL), a wholly owned subsidiary of the SingTel Group, is a leading IT service provider in Singapore. Its customers include those in government agencies, educational institutions, aviation and service industries and the property sectors.

SS/Loral to Build Digital Satellite for Mobile Broadcasting Corporation
Space Systems/Loral has received an authorisation to proceed (ATP) from Mobile Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) of Japan to design and build MBSAT, a satellite that will deliver digital multimedia information services such as CD-quality audio, MPEG-4 video and data to mobile users throughout Japan.

On-orbit delivery of the spacecraft is scheduled for fourth quarter 2003 with service expected to begin in early 2004.

The MBC services will be the first in the world to deliver not only high-quality music but also video and data to mobile users through various kinds of mobile receiver terminals including those in cars, ships, trains, handheld terminals, personal digital assistants (PDAs), cellular phones and home portables. A very small antenna will be sufficient to receive MBC broadcasting signals even inside office buildings and in vehicles moving at high speed. MBC will supplement their satellite service with terrestrial signal repeaters.

MBSAT will provide 2,400 W RF power over 25 MHz of S band spectrum to run more than 50 channels of audio and video from 16 S band transmitters operating at 120W. In addition, the satellite will provide a 25 MHz Ku band service link to transmit the broadcast signal to terrestrial repeaters. The satellite will generate more than 7,400 W of DC power continuously throughout its 12-year life. The satellite will deploy a 12-meter antenna reflector to transmit the MBC programming.

MBSAT's S band payload, using MPEG-4 and AAC compression, will deliver CD-quality audio and TV-quality video, in addition to various types of data. The system will use code division multiplexing (CDM) MPEG-4 for video, and advanced audio coding (AAC) for audio. The system will be able to broadcast more than 50 programs simultaneously.

The new spacecraft will be a version of SS/L's three-axis, body-stabilised 1300 bus, tailored to meet the specific requirements of MBC.

Technology

SpaceDev Completes Test Firing of Micro Orbital Maneuvering Vehicle
SpaceDev has test fired its revolutionary new miniature orbital Maneuvering and Transfer Vehicle (MTV). The 25 kg MTV is the smallest of the family of three, and is designed to move payloads from standard Geo Transfer Orbits (GTO) to a variety of Low Earth Orbits (LEO) or to Geo Stationary Orbits (GEO).

The MTV is also designed to perform on-orbit rendezvous, and with its universal payload interface can carry customer payloads to perform inspection, repair, refuelling, robotic manipulation, science, earth observation or operations on other orbiting satellites.

The SpaceDev family of MTVs currently consists of three sizes: 25, 50 and 100 kg, with the large size appropriate for such missions as International Space Station (ISS) resupply. The MTVs can have three levels of intelligence ranging from simple timer controlled kick motor applications, up to multiples of 300 MIPS of raw processing power for use in rendezvous, docking and manipulation applications. The intelligence for the MTV family gets its heritage from the CHIPSat microsat SpaceDev is building for UC Berkeley as NASA's first University Explorer (UNEX) mission. SpaceDev orbital transfer applications are optimised for maximum change in velocity (delta-v), and depending on payload mass, can reach 1600 meters per second or more.

The MTV family evolved from SpaceDev's original Secondary Payload Orbital Transfer Vehicle (SPOTV) concepts, which were expanded and improved with funds from the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) and Air Force Office of Space Launch (OSL).

Business

Globalstar Reports Continuing Problems, Halves Workforce
Globalstar's second quarter financial statement reveals that the financially challenged mobile satellite operator has not managed to increase the number of its subscribers to a viable level and that its losses continue unabated.

To reduce the outflow of cash Globalstar is reducing its workforce from the current level of 340 to 175 - just enough to keep the company operational. This is on top of an earlier round of layoffs in July.

Globalstar now has only US$ 98 million in cash remaining and, without further financing, will only be able to continue in business until the end of the year. It will continue to suspend principal and interest payments on all of its funded debt, including its credit facility, vendor financing and senior notes, as well as dividend payments on its preferred stock.

Globalstar's reported second quarter loss was US$ 145 million, the same as its reported first quarter loss. Gross service revenues for the second quarter were a negligible US$ 2.3 million, with a net revenue of US$ 1.8 million.

The number of users of the mobile phone system continues to rise, but far too slowly to offer Globalstar any chance of recovery. At the end of the second quarter Globalstar had about 51,600 subscribers increasing to about 55,000 at the end of July.

The company is currently finalising a restructuring plan which it expects to present to additional investors towards the end of this month.

Products and Services

Fisher Pathways Adds 5.6 m Dish
Fisher Pathways Inc (formerly FishComm) has added a 5.6 meter Ku band dual path antenna to its Seattle teleport.

Fisher Pathways now offers occasional use Ku band services for all major US domestic satellites. The new 5.6-meter Andrews antenna is located at Fisher Plaza in Seattle, and complements C band services, which have been in place since 1995.

The Ku-Band system is dual-path analogue, allowing for two simultaneous feeds on a given satellite. Fisher Pathways customers will find service available on most Anik, Galaxy, GE, G-Star and Telstar satellites, along with SatMex 5. The antenna gives Fisher Pathways the ability to integrate Ku band uplinks and downlinks with direct service to Portland, Oregon via Fisher Pathways' microwave link.

Established in 1995, Fisher Pathways provides satellite and fibre connectivity, transmitting via C band, Ku Band (fixed and mobile) and connections to national fibre networks such as Vyvx. Fiber connections also include all major sports venues in the Pacific Northwest including Key Arena, Safeco Field and Husky Stadium in Seattle, Washington and the Rose Quarter in Portland, Oregon. In addition, Fisher Pathways provides studio facilities in both Seattle and Portland. Fisher Pathways is a key access point for video distribution to global audiences during major Northwest news events, such as the WTO meetings in 1999, the Experience Music Project grand opening in 2000, the February 2001 Seattle area earthquake, and most recently, Major league Baseball's 2001 All-Star Game.

Loral CyberStar Launches High-Quality Enterprise Webcast Service
Loral CyberStar has introduced ClearStream WebCast, a solution for enterprises looking to reach all of their employees, regardless of location or access speed. ClearStream WebCast allows organisations to stream video, at data rates of up to 300 kb/s, to any authorised user connected to the Internet.

ClearStream WebCast has the ability to operate on its own, or in conjunction with ClearStream Live, CyberStar's satellite-delivered, direct-to-end-user multicast service. Using both services simultaneously gives a company a one-vendor solution to deliver high-quality video to conference rooms and desktop computers on a LAN and webcasted video to remote users who do not have a high-bandwidth Internet connection.

Information that cannot be viewed live because of scheduling conflicts, time-zone differences or travel can be viewed on-demand at the viewer's convenience through ClearStream WebCast.

Content, either live or pre-recorded, is delivered just once to CyberStar where it is encoded and then delivered real-time or on-demand as either a standalone webcast or a simulcast with the high-quality ClearStream Live product.

ClearStream WebCast requires no proprietary hardware or software at the receiving location, as viewers can use Microsoft Windows Media Player to watch the webcast on their computer screens.

CyberStar also provides video storage for complete on-demand viewing and streaming at multiple rates to maximise reach and efficiency. Security for the webcast can be assured through a controlled password entry. The ability to watch archived broadcasts offers companies major cost savings by eliminating distribution costs such as copying and shipping of CDs or videotapes and reduces corporate travel and expenses for face-to-face presentations.

CyberStar s ClearStream product line is an IP-based suite of products that enables high-quality, full-screen distribution and delivery of bandwidth-intensive applications and video through existing intranets or local area networks (LANs) to desktop PCs.

ClearStream WebCast is available in packages of 100, 500, 1000 and 2000 simultaneous live users at a variety of data rates including 56 kb/s, 100 kb/s and 300 kb/s. Live webcast packages include an on-demand access of up to 10 GB (approximately 115 user-hours), for programming that can be hosted for 30, 60 or 90 days after the original broadcast.

ViaCast's Forte 80 IP Encapsulator Approved for Use With ViaSat 2-Way VSAT
ViaCast Networks Inc's Forte 80 IP Encapsulator has been approved for use with ViaSat's ArcLight system.

With this approval in place, VSAT network operators can now combine the satellite bandwidth efficiency of the ArcLight System with the power of the Forte 80 IP Encapsulator to deliver high-speed 2-way VSAT services.

Designed for installation at Satellite network gateways and head-ends, the Forte 80 is the world's first "carrier-class" DVB IP Gateway supporting speeds up to 80 Mb/s. Its unique triple processor design combined with a truly embedded operating system provides a fault tolerant design that achieves an unmatched level of network reliability and performance, all in a space efficient 2RU design.

ViaCast Networks Inc provides an end-to-end broadband IP satellite solution offering the satellite routers and software tools to enable service providers and enterprise customers to bypass congested terrestrial networks to deliver TV-quality video, CD-quality audio and Internet/Intranet data to users PCs and TVs at speeds up to 80Mb/s. Customers include Ford, Shoppers Drug Mart, as well as, Content Delivery Networks such as Cidera, and iBEAM Broadcasting.

People

PanAmSat Names New CEO
PanAmSat Corporation has named Joseph R Wright Jr, 62, as chief executive officer.

Mr Wright is a member of the PanAmSat board of directors and succeeds R Douglas Kahn, who has been president and CEO of PanAmSat since April 1999 and is leaving the company to pursue other interests.

Mr Wright has been vice chairman and director of Terremark Worldwide Inc, a public company that develops and operates Network Access Point (NAP) telecommunications data centres, such as the NAP of the Americas in Miami. Prior to this, he was chairman, CEO and director of AmTec Inc, a public company providing telecommunications and Internet services to and from the United States and the Far East, which merged with Terremark Holdings Inc

Mr Wright was also chairman and director of GRC International Inc, a public company providing advanced information technology, Internet, and software systems to government and commercial customers. AT&T acquired GRC in March 2000.

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