20 May 2001

Satcoms

Apprize Satellite to Offer Messaging Using Microsatellites
SpaceQuest Ltd, a manufacturer of components and other technology for small satellites, has formed Apprize Satellite Inc to provide satellite-based data messaging services.

Initially Apprize Satellite Inc will provide a low-cost service to monitor sensors at fixed sites and mobile platforms such as tractor-trailer trucks using UHF equipment already flying on two existing commercial satellites.

Eventually, Apprize intends to launch its own constellation of 48 LEO satellites. Each satellite will be a 20 cm cube and will weigh about 10 kg each. The satellites will cost about US$ 1 million each to manufacture and launch.

ASICs for Astrolink
Flight production of extremely high-density digital integrated circuits for the TRW-built Astrolink communications payload is now complete.

TRW is building the broadband communications payload for Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems, the prime contractor for the Astrolink Space segment.

The Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), the key technology for Astrolink's on-board processing, were designed by TRW and fabricated by Fujitsu in just 19 months. The largest ASIC features 5.5 million gates - the equivalent of 18 million transistors, providing more processing power than Pentium III chips.

Extensive system modeling was performed on the ASICs prior to committing the designs to fabrication. This enabled 100 percent first-pass success. Exhaustive functional testing of the engineering model Astrolink payload, including the fully functional on-board processor, is underway at TRW.

The Astrolink processor is comprised of a bank of digital demodulators and an ATM router. Each demodulator ASIC contains the processing required to flexibly channelise, demodulate, decode and synchronise all 175 broadband channels within a beam, the system equivalent of a cable modem or DSL hub. To accomplish this, the channeliser/demodulator ASIC is composed of 5.5 million gates and performs 34 giga-operations per second. The ATM router is comprised of eight ASIC designs, ranging between 100,000 and four million gates. These ASICs will perform data processing functions, such as switching, routing and flow control.

Comtech Receives Venezuelan Order for Mobile Data Communications System
Comtech Telecommunications Corp has received a major international order for the mobile data communications system that the company has developed for the US Army and commercial markets.

The order was placed with the company's Maryland subsidiary, Mobile Datacom Corp. by a value-added reseller (VAR) based in Venezuela. It includes 500 mobile earth terminals to be mounted on commercial trucks to enable the trucks to be tracked and for the location information to be communicated to the customers' facilities via satellite. Also included in the order is a Comtech Antenna Systems Inc antenna-system installed at the VAR's facility in Caracas, satellite access, and a variety of support services. First-year revenues from the sale are expected to exceed US$ 1 million.

The mobile data communications system permits operators of trucks, aircraft, ships and other mobile units to monitor the movements of their vehicles and communicate with them on a real-time basis. Deliveries will begin almost immediately and will be completed this summer. Comtech is assisting in the installation of a Venezuelan data centre that will backed up by Comtech's gateway facility in Germantown, Maryland.

Consumer Deals for Gilat in S America and Europe
Gilat reports that it has signed key wholesale agreements Signed with UOL and Star One in Brazil, and alarge information services provider in Europe.

Gilat has entered into a business agreement with Universo Online (UOL) and Star One to provide Brazil's first consumer, two-way satellite broadband Internet service. UOL is Latin America's largest Internet Service Provider. Star One is a partnership of Embratel and SES Astra. Under the agreement, Gilat will provide Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) satellite communications equipment, hub management services and advanced technical services on a wholesale basis to Star One, the full service provider. The always-on, high-speed Internet service will initially be marketed to selected consumer markets by UOL, and to the residential and small office/home office (SOHO) markets by Star One. Successful trials of the two-way satellite service began last year and wide availability of the service is expected by the third quarter of 2001. The initial launch hardware order includes 3,700 VSATs and the contract has significant growth potential for 2001 and beyond. The project is expected to be the centrepiece of the StarBand Latin America business.

Gilat has also signed an interim agreement with the entertainment, communication and information services division of a very large multinational company to provide a 100,000-site broadband satellite communications network in Europe. The Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) equipment will serve as the foundation for Europe's first consumer, two-way broadband satellite Internet service, which the provider plans to publicly launch in the near future. The deal is a wholesale agreement for services and equipment. The customer will be committed to purchase 100,000 VSATs from Gilat over a three-year period, upon the signing of a final agreement. A significant number of VSATs are expected to be delivered in 2001, supplementing the initial order for the pilot VSATs and certain hub equipment which have already been delivered and payment of US$ 6 million received. Though the interim agreement itself is binding, the parties have agreed to conclude the final details in a definitive agreement within 90 days of the signing of the interim agreement. There can be no assurance that this interim agreement will result in a final agreement, or as to the terms of any such agreement, nor whether the anticipated orders will be placed or implemented in the time estimated.

Gilat also announced a number of other recent contracts for its Skystar Advantage interactive data and DialAw@y IP rural telephony VSAT networking products.

• AT&T France is to provide a pan-European, 3,000 site Skystar Advantage network to a large retail industry client. AT&T France will use the network to support a wide range of interactive data and voice applications for its customer, including credit card transaction handling, database replication, cashier and other corporate applications, as well as business radio. The network will serve nine countries in Europe. Network rollout is expected to be completed by the end of this year.
• Two subsidiaries of Portugal Telecom Group will provide a private, 520-site broadband satellite communications network. PT Prime, based in Lisbon, will use the new VSAT network to support X.25-based interactive data applications to serve Portugal's nationwide lottery telecommunications needs. In addition to lottery game processing, the VSAT network is expected to be used in the future for nationwide, high-speed Internet access and business television applications. Network implementation is expected to begin this month and is forecast for completion by the end of this year.
• Telerep, a leading Peruvian telecommunications integrator, is to establish a DialAw@y IP fixed rural satellite telephony network for use in public call offices in nearly 2,000 communities throughout Peru. The network also includes the provision of high-speed Internet connectivity to more than 200 of those sites. The network is part of the National Program for Rural Telecommunications Projects managed by Peru's Telecommunications Investment Fund (FITEL) a department of OSIPTEL, Peru's national telecommunications agency.

First Satellite for Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan has announced plans to launch a communications and military satellite next year.

The satellite, which will be Uzbekistan's first, will be placed in low earth orbit and will be used for communications and observation of Uzbekistan and surrounding regions.

Scopus Platform Selected by EBU
Scopus Network Technologies has been selected by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) to supply Digital Satellite News Gathering (DSNG) platforms to the organisation.

Scopus, which has already supplied DSNG platforms to Deutsche Telekom, France Telecom and other DSNG operators, is equipping the EBU with a series of CODICO E-1100 Encoders and several Integrated Receiver Decoders (IRDs). Scopus is providing the EBU with state-of-art DSNG platforms to enable EBU's mobile vehicles to gather news from various locations in Europe and transmit, in real-time, the digitally compressed channels via satellite links throughout the world. Scopus DSNG platforms deploy EBU's new DSNG-CA BISS digital security standard.

The E-1100 Professional Encoders operate at 50 Mb/s and handle the new EBU scrambling standard for DSNG application (DSNG-CA BISS). The E-1100 supports both MPEG-2 4:2:0P@ML and 4:2:2P@ML encoding levels. The E-1100, housed in a single unit rackmounted enclosure, uses an advanced video pre-processor to deliver flexible encoding capabilities and high quality pictures at any given bit rate and with a very low delay.

Shin Satellite Demonstrates iPSTAR
Shin Satellite of Thailand has successfully demonstrated its new iPSTAR two-way broadband Internet satellite system.

The tests demonstrated the operation of the service of a high speed broadband Internet connection from the iPSTAR gateway in Bangkok to a terminal in Phuket via Thaicom 3. The service will use Thaicom 3's Ku band transponders and the iPSTAR ground system prior to the full commercial launch of services in 2003. When the iPSTAR-1 satellite is launched, the service will provide up to 40 gigabits per second of capacity to the Asia Pacific Region.

iPSTAR currently uses a gateway developed by Nera SatCom and prototype terminals and headend from ECC.

Shin Satellite expects to soft launch commercial use of the ground system in Thailand, Malaysia and some other Asian countries during 2001. Initially, each terminal's maximum downlink speed will be 7.7 Mb/s, rising to more than 10 Mb/s with the launch of iPSTAR-1 while the uplink speed will go from 512 kb/s up to 4 Mb/s per terminal or user.

SpaceData Receives TDRSS Licence
SpaceData International has received formal notification from the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) of a long term FCC Order and Authorisation to operate the NASA Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) on a "time-share" basis with NASA and the US Government.

The first of it's kind in the commercial world; this FCC License for SpaceData with the NASA TDRS is the result of a co-operative effort between NASA, the National Telecommunication Information Agency (NTIA) and the Federal Communication Commission.

With the NASA TDRSS, SpaceData has designed, developed and now operates the fastest commercial satellite data transfer capability in the world transferring data today at 311 Mb/s with 466 Mb/s under development.

SpaceData's initial commercial business is a new service, SeismicStar, for the marine seismic exploration segment of the gas and oil industry with the high speed satellite broadband-on-command delivery of 3-D seismic data files directly from ocean going seismic exploration vessels to terrestrial supercomputers for processing and evaluation. Designed to transmit data at 311 Mb/s directly from operational seismic exploration vessels in international waters worldwide, SpaceData's SeismicStar provides a complete end-to-end seismic data transfer service for the gas and oil industry when mapping the sub-ocean floors to locate and manage drilling sites for new and existing oil and gas reservoirs.

SpaceData's first customer for SeismicStar is the world's largest seismic service contractor, WesternGeco, a joint venture between Schlumberger and Baker Hughes. SpaceData's SeismicStar services for WesternGeco began with sea-trials last September, under FCC Special Temporary Authority (STA), operating off the coast of Brazil and transferred over 13 terabytes of uncompressed marine seismic data to WesternGeco's Houston facility to date. SpaceData's SeismicStar reached a one-day satellite broadband record transferring 422 gigabytes of data directly from the Western Patriot seismic vessel to NASA's White Sands Center and then by fibre to WesternGeco's Houston site.

SpaceData's subcontractor for operations and support is General Dynamics Worldwide Telecommunications System, a business unit of General Dynamics, where SeismicStar is assembled, integrated, tested, installed, and remotely operated onboard seismic vessels. General Dynamics is also responsible for operating the SeismicStar network's terrestrial earth station's facilities and high-speed fibre connectivity to customer's terrestrial supercomputers for seismic data processing. SpaceData's Control Center (Las Cruces, New Mexico), built and operated by GD-WTS, provides operational control and maintenance for the entire end-to-end worldwide SeismicStar system.

Earth Observation

ITT Industries Awarded Contract for Next Generation GOES Imager
NASA has awarded ITT Industries' Aerospace/Communications Division an US$ 8 million contract for formulation phase work on an advanced imager for the next generation of geostationary weather satellites operated and funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The new Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) will be a primary instrument on NOAA's future Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES) beginning with the GOES-R mission in 2008. The ABI will view the Earth from geostationary orbit gathering weather data for use by the National Weather Service for routine and severe storm forecasts.

ITT Industries' Imagers have a long history of service with NOAA starting with the TIROS weather satellites. Evolutionary changes to the sensors are flying on board the current GOES spacecraft as well as the Low Earth Orbit POES satellites. Similar instruments being produced by ITT will also be critical to both the European and Japanese weather forecasting systems.

The ABI is an advanced version of the current series of GOES Imagers, but will have a greater number of channels, improved spatial resolution and faster Earth coverage rates to provide more accurate measurements that will improve forecasts of hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, and other severe weather.

ITT's Industries' partners include Boeing Missile Defense & Space Control's Sensor & Electronic Systems Group, Integral Systems Inc., SSG Precision Optronics, ASRC Aerospace Corporation, and Kodak.

Navigation

Germany Invests in Space
The German government has earmarked DM 8 billion (4 billion euros, US$ 3.5 billion) over the next four years to space projects.

Most of the money will go into the development and manufacture of Galileo, the European satellite navigation project. The system is intended for a range of civilian and military uses including global traffic observation, navigation of large ships, detection of environmental damage, prevention of natural catastrophes and peacekeeping.

Germany will also invest in the Ariane launcher programme, the International Space Station and space based scientific research.

ITT Industries Modernising GPS
Lockheed Martin Space Systems has awarded ITT Industries Aerospace/Communications Division (A/CD), a US$ 39 million contract to upgrade up to twelve Global Positioning System (GPS) Block IIR satellites. The satellite payloads will be modified to incorporate a second civilian signal and two new military signals.

In addition to new military and civilian signals, the GPS IIR modifications will include increased signal power and the ability to reconfigure signals and power in orbit. These improvements provide for increased accuracy and better resistance to jamming. Work on this contract will be performed at ITT Industries' Clifton, New Jersey facility and is a follow-on to a development contract awarded in August 2000.

Previously, modernisation of the GPS would not begin until 2005. Under that schedule, a fully modernised constellation would not be available to users until 2015. Under the ITT/Lockheed plan modernisation begins in 2003 with all twelve modernised IIRs being in service by 2006.

Technology

Fibre Optic Hydrogen Leak Detection System
Boeing has successfully demonstrated the world's first fibre optic hydrogen leak detection system during a static fire test on a Delta IV orbital rocket at the NASA Stennis Space Center.

The detection system was developed by Intelligent Optical Systems Inc (IOS), a privately held R&D company specialising in the design and development of proprietary optical communications, monitoring and signal processing technologies. The multi-point fibre optic sensor system is composed of a low-cost light source, standard telecommunications-grade optical fibre as the transmission medium and easy-to-manufacture optrodes with temperature sensitive indicators.

Using optoelectronic sensors instead of electrochemical technology offers several distinct advantages: First, since optical sensors require no power at the sensing point, there is no danger of faulty wiring causing a spark. Second, these sensors are immune to electromagnetic interference and operate effectively in a wide variety of media. Third, optical fibre is flexible and resistant to temperature extremes and many caustic chemicals. Optical sensors are superior to the current technology utilising electrochemical sensors connected to multiple monitoring units by copper wiring. This antiquated system increases payload weight and power consumption, as well as having the potential for explosion caused by electromagnetic interference or a simple spark.

The sensor system, which utilises optical transduction technology, logs and processes data based on real-time inputs and stored calibration parameters. The sensor outputs are displayed instantaneously to facilitate immediate corrective actions. Multiple sensors are linked together to monitor a wide variety of critical points.

Phase One of the hydrogen leak detection project was initiated at IOS by a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the NASA Stennis Space Center followed by funding from Boeing. Further engineering of the system will be supported by a Phase Two SBIR grant, and commercialisation of the technology is being funded by a CalTIP grant from the State of California.

Sub-Orbital Test for TRW Micro-thrusters
A micro-thruster array, designed by a TRW-led team for use on micro-, nano- and pico-satellites, has successfully demonstrated its functionality in a live fire test aboard a Scorpius sub-orbital sounding rocket.

Individual micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) thrusters, each a poppy seed-sized cell fueled with lead styphnate propellant, fired more than 20 times at 1-second intervals during the test staged at the White Sands Missile Range. Each thruster delivered 10-4 Newton seconds of impulse.

The MEMS design, based on silicon chip fabrication technology, offers several advantages over conventional thrusters: It has no moving parts, utilises a variety of propellants, is scalable, eliminates the need for tanks, fuel lines and valves, and fully integrates the structure of the satellite with the propulsion to power it. The micro-thruster is being developed by TRW, Caltech and the Aerospace Corp. under a contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

The MEMS micro-thruster arrays are fabricated as a three-layer silicon and glass sandwich, with the middle layer consisting of multiple small propellant cells sealed with a rupturable diaphragm on one side and an ignitor on the other. Each cell is a separate thruster, and when ignited, delivers one impulse bit. Delivering propulsion in discrete increments by igniting thrusters in controlled sequences has lent the technology the name "digital propulsion."

Launch Services

NASA's Space Launch Initiative
NASA has announced the first round of contract awards in an initiative to find a more affordable and reliable highway into space. The Space Launch Initiative (SLI) is a research and development effort designed to substantially improve safety and reduce the high cost of space travel.

The studies initiated with these awards are not intended to provide a specific vehicle design. This first step marks the beginning of a process that will lead to the development of a common set of alternative technologies that NASA will make available to all US companies. These developments will be used for future government and commercial launch systems and space transportation operations. The SLI investment is expected to pay off with full-scale spacecraft development options by mid-decade.

NASA first solicited proposals last autumn and has now awarded contracts valued at US$ 767 million dollars to 22 contractors, including large and small companies, to allow maximum competition. The money will be used to develop concepts and the technologies needed to pioneer this extraordinary effort, which is expected to make the vehicle at least 10 times safer and crew survivability 100 times greater, all at one-tenth the cost of today's space launch systems. These leap-ahead technologies include crew survival systems, advanced tanks and airframe structures, long-life rocket engines and thermal protection systems.

The awards are for a 10-month base period with options for one or more additional years. The options enable NASA to measure performance on a yearly basis to make sure the program's ambitious goals are met. This approach also allows for continued competition in key technology areas and for NASA to take advantage of new emerging technologies.

The planned budget for the Space Launch Initiative totals US$ 4.8 billion through fiscal year 2006. Additional solicitations in the autumns of 2001 and 2002 will commit significant additional funds to the effort.

Contracts awarded include:

• a US$ 86.6 million systems engineering and risk-reduction contract to Northrop Grumman Corporation's Integrated Systems Sector (ISS); under the four-year contract, Northrop Grumman will perform program management, systems integration and technology integration in the areas of structure, subsystems and integrated vehicle health management.
• a US$ 136 million contract to Boeing for work in five different technology areas.
• a US$ 135 million contract to Kistler to conduct a flight demonstration of its K-1 launch vehicle; NASA will pay US$ 10 million for vehicle and test data and a further US$ 125 million if Kistler performs a flight demonstration of technology developed during SLI.
• a US$ 115 million to a Pratt & Whitney-Aerojet joint venture for advanced reusable booster engine technology.
• a US$ 94 million to Lockheed Martin for systems studies and work on airframes, vehicle subsystems, operation, integrated vehicle health management systems and NASA-unique requirements.
• a US$ 53 million contract to Orbital Sciences including US$ 47 million for a flight demonstration of an orbital manoeuvre vehicle called Dart that would launch on an expendable rocket.
• a US$ 65 million to Rocketdyne for upper stage and propulsion work.

Saab Separation System for Atlas V
Lockheed Martin Astronautics has selected a new Low Shock Separation System from Saab Ericsson Space for their Atlas V launch vehicle.

The low shock separation system will reduce the launcher induced satellite shock environment several orders of magnitude, while at the same time being capable of supporting future growth in satellite mass. A ten-year contract has been signed between the companies covering two types of standard separation system diameters.

Saab Ericsson Space has supported the Atlas with its standard separation system since the commercialisation of Atlas in the late eighties. The Saab Ericsson Space separation systems has a flight record of more than 260 in-orbit-separations with a success rate of 100%.

Launches

PAS-10

Launched: 15 May 2001
Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan
Launcher: Proton K/Block DM
Orbit: GEO, 68.5° E
International Number: 2001-019A
Name: PAS 10
Owner: PanAmSat
Contractor: Boeing Satellite Systems

PAS 10 is a commercial communications satellite. It carries 24 C band and 24 Ku band transponders and will replace PAS 4. It is based on a Boeing 601 HP platform and has a separation mass of 3772 kg and a design life of 15 years. The arrays will generate 9,600 W of power.

GeoLITE

Launched: 18 May 2001
Site: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida
Launcher: Delta 2
Orbit: GEO
International Number: 2001-00A
Name: Geosynchronous Lightweight Technology Experiment (GeoLITE)
Owner: National Reconnaissance Office (NRO)
Contractor: TRW

GeoLITE is an advanced technology demonstration satellite with a laser communications experiment and an operational UHF communications mission.

It is the first mission for TRW's T-310 satellite bus, a new lightweight, highly stable platform.

Business

Alcatel to Buy Thales Share of Alcatel Space
Alcatel is to purchase the 49% of Alcatel Space it does not own from Thales for 795 million euros (US$ 715.5 million).

Thales will receive half the payment in cash, and the rest in Alcatel stock. Following the sale, Alcatel's share ownership of Thales will drop to 20% from the current 25.3%.

Analytical Graphics to Distribute Transponder Optimisation Tool
Analytical Graphics Inc (AGI) is to distribute Lockheed Martin Global Telecommunications' (LMGT) Complan software, a capacity management tool for satellite transponders.

This software enables users to increase revenues and reduce costs by managing satellite resources more efficiently. Complan accurately models and analyses operations of C, Ku, X and Ka band transponders. Satellite manufacturers, integrators, operators, and high-volume end-users currently employ Complan to interactively schedule optimal frequency and power.

Ericsson Sues Globalstar
Financially challenged Globalstar has reported that it is being sued for US$ 31 million damages by mobile phone company Ericsson for failing to meet minimum purchase requirements for phones.

In Globalstar's latest quarterly filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Globalstar reported that Ericsson has claimed the damages, alleging that Globalstar failed to purchase the minimum number of phones agreed in two contracts, one for fixed phones and one for mobile phones.

Globalstar recently reduced the number of phone suppliers to its system from three to two, now only providing phones manufactured by Qualcomm Inc and Telit Mobile Terminals SpA.

As a result of its own internal reorganisation, Ericsson has stopped manufacturing fixed satellite phones and will only accept orders for mobile satellite phones for the next few weeks.

Globalstar Problems Continue
In its latest quarterly results Globalstar reports continuing substantial losses as well as confirming that it is defaulting on debt payments. Furthermore, three satellites have been taken out of service because of problems.

Globalstar reports that the estimated number of mobile and fixed subscribers at the end of March was 40,700, and at the end of April, there were approximately 44,000 subscribers. This is far below the number of subscribers required to make the company financially viable in its current form.

Globalstar continues to push marketing of its system and reports relatively high levels of growth. In addition, the company introduces new services such as fixed phones and data services. Unfortunately even these measures will not provide enough income to keep Globalstar in business much beyond the end of this year.

Net revenue for the quarter ending at 31 March, including royalty income from phone sales and less discounts and promotions, was US$ 1.5 million, an increase of 32% over the fourth quarter of 2000. Globalstar LP reported a net loss applicable to ordinary partnership interests for the quarter of US$ 145 million.

As of March 31, 2001, Globalstar had approximately US$ 138 million in cash and cash equivalents, including restricted cash. According to the company's current operating plan, Globalstar has sufficient cash to continue operations through the end of 2001.

In line with its previously stated policy of indefinitely suspending principal and interest payments on all of its funded debt, including its credit facility, vendor financing agreements and Senior Notes, as well as dividend payments on its preferred stock, Globalstar confirmed that it is now defaulting on payments. These measures are expected to conserve company cash flow by some US$ 400 million during 2001.

Globalstar also reported that three satellites have experienced operational anomalies and have been taken out of service pending further analysis and investigation. While work on restoring these satellites continues, on-orbit spare satellites are gradually being manoeuvred toward the orbital slots of the affected satellites. The loss of these satellites has resulted in service outages for some users particularly those at high latitudes or close to the equator.

Motient and Rare Medium to Merge
Motient Corporation and Rare Medium Group have signed a definitive merger agreement through which Motient will acquire 100% of Rare Medium Group using a combination of newly issued Motient stock, shares of XM Satellite Radio stock owned by Motient and certain other consideration.

The merger will create a company that owns and operates the largest wireless data network in the United States, complemented by a broad range of wireless and e-Business solutions. These services will include strategic and technological consulting, web development, user experience and information architecture design, e-Commerce system integration, branding services, wireless application development and network integration, and integration of wireless services with corporate intranets. The company will continue to feature the industry leading eLink and BlackBerry by Motient wireless email products.

The merged companies will operate as Motient Corporation, and will be headquartered in Reston, Virginia, with additional locations in Chicago, New York, Atlanta, Dallas, and California. Motient plans to have shared support functions for both the wireless network and e-Business solutions businesses, while operating each as a separate division. The combined company is expected to have service revenues in excess of US$ 100 million, and will have substantial opportunity to develop joint product offerings that could stimulate growth across both businesses. The company's employee base will nearly double to almost 1,000 employees.

Shiron Establishes Asian Support Center With Fibercom
Due to the increase of InterSKYTM customers in Asia, Shiron Satellite Communications and Fibercom T Phil Inc have established a technical support centre in the Philippines.

Fibercom is a Filipino solutions company with extensive background and expertise in the Philippine telecommunications market. Fibercom is also Shiron's exclusive technical support representative in the Philippines and Southeast Asia. The centre will serve Shiron's customers in the region, providing them with service and support for their broadband Two-Way via satellite communications systems.

Shiron's InterSKYTM is a broadband Internet access, two-way via satellite communications system that supports all IP applications, including Fast Internet Access, Videoconferencing, Interactive Distance Learning, Voice over IP and Multicast Transmission. InterSKYTM provides broadband Internet infrastructure, extending existing terrestrial infrastructure to remote regions. InterSKYTM offers high data rates along with Demand Assigned Multiple Access, Bandwidth On Demand and Automatic Power and Frequency Control, ensuring that satellite resources are used at maximum efficiency.

SSE Telecom Files for Chapter 11 Protection
SSE Telecom Inc has announced that it has filed for protection under Chapter 11 of the US bankruptcy statutes.

Lee Blachowicz, SSET's President and CEO, commented "as a result of the current depressed state of the public equity and telecom equipment markets, we have been unable to raise the additional working capital we need to maintain our legacy transceiver and modem business while going forward with the ramp-up of our new iP3 Internet-over-satellite product line. Although we believe that our iP3 offers a superior solution for satellite Internet transport and our traditional business of satellite transceivers and modems remains viable, we have decided to seek protection of the Court to allow us to preserve the value inherent in these product lines while we continue to pursue alternatives, including sale of all or part of our assets."

Products and Services

Comsat Mobile Communications Inaugurates Advanced Technology Comsat-A Service
Comsat Mobile Communications (CMC) has announced the inauguration of enhanced Comsat-A mobile satellite service.

CMC's modernised "A" service features a fully digital system, enhanced call quality and data throughput, improved control processors and software, and advanced Public Switch Telephone Network (PSTN) interconnections.

These latest upgrades offer Comsat-A customers significant performance advantages including enhanced data transmission, consistent connections, and improved throughput. Comsat-A accommodates a full range of data, high-speed data, fax, and voice communications. This service offers direct Internet access and also can be used with CMC's new prepaid calling card.

Offering global coverage, CMC's recent installation of fully digital Comsat-A systems in both its Southbury, Connecticut, and Santa Paula, California, land earth stations completes the digital conversion. These new digital systems replace the older, slower and less reliable analogue technology still used by many other mobile satellite service operators.

Additionally, CMC has implemented a new digital Automatic Level Control (ALC) to match the level of the PSTN signal that is required by the customer's satellite modem. This software upgrade used with the new digital equipment results in clearer calls and less time waiting for a connection.

Encryption for Globalstar Phones
Globalstar and CopyTele Inc, a developer and provider of multi-functional encryption products, have announced the introduction of the CopyTele DCS-1200, an encryption device that attaches to Globalstar phones to provide end-to-end security for satellite voice and data calls.

The DCS-1200 is the first security device to be made commercially available for use over the Globalstar system, providing strong levels of encryption on top of the high degree of security that is already inherent in Globalstar's CDMA architecture.

Using the DCS-1200, voice signals are digitised at a rate sufficient to produce very high quality voice and then encrypted with one of several algorithms. They are then sent over the Globalstar satellites as circuit switched asynchronous data and decoded by a receiving DCS-1200 unit which converts the data back to an audio signal.

The default encryption algorithm used by the device is the CITADEL(TM) CCX by Harris Corporation. It features a 128 bit encryption key, which provides more than 3.4 x 1038 possible coding combinations. The DCS-1200 also supports data encryption at either 4.8 or 9.6 kb/s. The DCS-1200 can alternatively be programmed with Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) or Data Encryption Standard (DES) digital cryptographic algorithms. All of these ensure users the highest degree of commercially available protection against unauthorised signal interception.

The DCS-1200 can also be used with many terrestrial cellular systems which support circuit switched asynchronous data and with analogue office telephones. This means that calls from Globalstar phone to Globalstar phone, Globalstar to cellular, Globalstar to wired phones, cellular to cellular and wired to wired can be encrypted. The device also supports encryption of files within computers and software to protect against viruses.

The DCS-1200, which supports both RJ8 and DB9 (RS-232) interfaces, runs either on AC power or using an internal rechargeable battery that is sufficient for more than four hours of operation.

TrueTime Introduces NTS-150 Network Time Server
TrueTime Inc, a leading provider of precision time and frequency products, has introduced the NTS-150 Network Time Server. The high-performance NTS-150 is a Stratum 1 network time server that offers users the ability to accurately synchronise enterprise servers, workstations, routers and other important networked devices to within one to 10 milliseconds.

Accurate synchronisation is essential for many mission critical network operations and applications, and particularly important for network log file accuracy to improve network fault diagnosis and forensics.

The NTS-150 derives reliable and secure time directly from the atomic clocks aboard the GPS satellite system and distributes it over the network using the Network Time Protocol (NTP). The high-bandwidth capability of the NTS-150 is essential as modern broadband networks grow larger and faster and the need for reliable time becomes critical. The high availability and throughput of the NTS-150 ensures that it can support thousands of network clients with no degradation in timing accuracy.

People

EBU Appoints Two Directors
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has announced the appointment of Stefan Kürten of ZDF and Raina Konstantinova of Radio Bulgaria as part of a major renewal of the Union's senior management.

Mr Kürten, Controller of Sports Rights at ZDF (Germany's second national TV channel), will succeed Henri Pérez as Director of Operations. Ms Konstantinova will take over from Thomas Alexanderson as Director of Radio. They will assume their positions in the autumn following the retirement of their predecessors.

Olof Lundberg to Head Globalstar LP
Bernard L Schwartz has resigned from his executive positions with Globalstar LP and Olof Lundberg has been named chairman of the company.

Mr Lundberg also has been named acting chief executive officer and will become chief executive officer upon receipt of the appropriate US immigration documents. Mr Schwartz will continue as a member of Globalstar's General Partners Committee and as a director of Globalstar Telecommunications Limited. Loral will continue as the managing general partner of Globalstar.

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