23 November 2003
Satcoms
China
National Ocean Oil Corporation Uses ViaSat's StarWire Technology
Danish
Radio100FM powered by PROFline DVB system
HNS Inaugurates North Las Vegas Network Operations
Facility
LinkStar Selected by Guangzhou Weida to Expand Chinese Broadband
Network
New
Skies to Link More Than 500 Locations in Bulgaria
Sky Perfect to Upgrade Headend
Sites With DiviCom Encoders
Earth
Observation
NOAA Awards Harris Corporation Advanced Architecture
Study
Navigation
Boeing Awarded Three Additional Air Force GPS-IIF
Satellites
Manned
Space
Lockheed Martin to Provide Cargo Mission Services For ISS
Spacehab Lands New
Space Station Mission
Technology
NASA Successfully Tests Ion Engine
Launch
Services
NASA
Reaches Major Milestone in Development of an Autonomous Flight Safety
System
Launches
Launch Schedule
Business
Court Approves Acquisition of Globalstar by Thermo
Capital Partners
Ofcom Begins Operation
Sirius Announces Common Stock
Offering
Products and Services
France Telecom Mobile Satellite Communications Completes
Range of Prepaid Inmarsat Cards
Intelsat Launches New Video Distribution Network with
Level 3
WCC Offers
Iridium's Short Burst Data Services
People
iDirect Technologies Hires VP of Operations
iSECUREtrac
Appoints David G Vana CFO
China National Ocean Oil
Corporation Uses
ViaSat's StarWire Technology
(18 November 2003) ViaSat Inc will supply satellite
networking for China CNOOC Limited, the dominant producer of crude oil and
natural gas offshore in China. The network will carry high-speed data,
videoconferencing and voice/fax services for CNOOC operations in about 40
locations using ViaSat StarWire bandwidth-on-demand VSATs.
StarWire is the first VSAT system to use Paired Carrier
Multiple Access (PCMA), that can as much as double the capacity of satellite
bandwidth. No financial terms were announced.
CNOOC is switching to
StarWire from a competing VSAT technology to take advantage of the bandwidth
savings of PCMA. StarWire's PCMA advantage saves CNOOC up to 10 MHz in
satellite bandwidth rental. CNOOC will be the first customer to use the new
Calypso IV terminal that can accommodate two high-speed, PCMA capable modems
per chassis. ViaSat also developed a low-cost L-band to 70 MHz converter so
that CNOOC could continue using its installed base of 70 MHz transceivers and
antennas. While a central network control station will be located in Beijing,
StarWire directly connects all remote sites in a peer-to-peer network
architecture. CNOOC will be connecting Beijing with six "sub-centres" that each
supervise operations at a number of offshore locations.
CNOOC is
implementing this comprehensive StarWire network after a Phase I trial that
measured the bandwidth savings of PCMA. PCMA is a patented ViaSat technology
that increases the capacity of satellite bandwidth. While most satellite
transmissions require separate frequencies to transmit and receive, PCMA
combines them into the same bandwidth. A terminal equipped with PCMA recognises
the signal that it sent and simply cancels out that information, leaving it
with the information received from any other location. PCMA is compatible with
all modulation, coding, and multiple access techniques on "bent pipe"
satellites.
Incorporated in Hong Kong in August 1999, CNOOC is one of
the largest independent crude oil and gas exploration and production companies
in the world. The company has interests in 45 crude oil and gas properties in
four major producing areas: Bohai Bay, Western South China Sea, Eastern South
China Sea and East China Sea.
(source: ViaSat)
Danish
Radio100FM powered by
PROFline DVB system
(18 November 2003) PROFline has completed the delivery
of a new smallband DVB-S compliant audio satellite system for the Dutch based
Talpa Radio International (holding company of Dutch commercial broadcasters
NoordzeeFM and Radio10FM).
The new Danish commercial
broadcaster Radio100FM officially started broadcasting on November 15th.
The PROFline smallband satellite is based on the latest DVB-S technologies
including RDS data transport supporting dynamic RDS and occupies only 256 kb/s,
fitting perfectly in Eutelsat’s requirement of 360 kHz channel
spacing.
The uplink is situated in Copenhagen. Both MPEG audio and RDS
data are transmitted to the satellite as a DVB-S compliant satellite signal.
With a symbol rate of 256 kb/s the signal has an excellent performance for
radio distribution. On the uplink PROFline’s DVB Packetiser takes care of
multiplexing the MPEG audio signal with RDS data and adding the DVB
packets.
On the reception side the TRS, PROFline’s DVB audio
satellite receiver, supplies both analogue and digital AES/EBU audio as well as
UECP compliant RDS data over the RS-232 output.
The audio and RDS-data
are transmitted all over Denmark by FM and Cable TV.
(source:
PROFline)
HNS Inaugurates North Las Vegas Network Operations
Facility
(18
November 2003) Hughes Network Systems (HNS) has commenced initial network
operations in its new North Las Vegas, Nevada location. The West Coast
Operations centre will become an essential site for managing the company's
nation-wide DirecWay satellite service, including support of SpaceWay, the
company's advanced Ka band satellite system scheduled for launch next year.
The North Las Vegas facility consolidates west coast
operations of DirecWay, serving a wide range of enterprise customers, small and
medium-sized businesses, and consumer residential services. DirecWay provides a
modular set of integrated broadband access, network services and corporate
applications, such as financial and point of sale transactions, business video
and Intranet/Extranet managed solutions. The new site connects directly to the
Internet backbone for network interconnectivity with DirecWay.
The new
facility is also being equipped to be a key part of the network operation and
control system for SpaceWay, enabling the company to maintain high levels of
network availability. Scheduled for launch in 2004, SpaceWay's innovative
peer-to-peer architecture will unlock a wealth of high-bandwidth satellite
services across the United States.
(source: Hughes Network
Systems)
LinkStar Selected by Guangzhou Weida to Expand Chinese Broadband
Network
(17
November 2003) ViaSat Inc is supplying LinkStar high-speed broadband VSATs
(Very Small Aperture Terminals) to Guangzhou Weida Communications Technology
Company Ltd for digital satellite communication networking services, initially
covering the rural areas of western China.
Guangzhou
Weida is the first private company to receive a VSAT communication license from
the Ministry of Information Industry of People's Republic of China.
To
date, ViaSat has delivered and commissioned a hub and 300 LinkStar broadband
VSAT terminals for Guangzhou Weida. The hub is in Suzhou, west of Shanghai, and
connects the VSAT network to the public terrestrial network.
Remote
terminals connect education centres and business customers to the Internet, for
data , video, and retail services. Business customers include banks,
supermarkets, and gas stations. While this network acts as the primary
connection for many locations, it also provides backup protection to some
sites, and includes mobile satellite terminals that can be quickly set up for
emergency communications.
The network uses Ku band space segment on
the AsiaSat 3-S satellite, giving excellent coverage throughout China. The
network will also have full support and technical service from ViaSat's China
engineering service centre based in Beijing and the 24-hour network operations
help desk based in Carlsbad, California, USA.
LinkStar is a hub-based
VSAT system that provides two-way, broadband communications with more
efficiency and higher data rates than other satellite networks. Remote LinkStar
terminals receive data from a shared, 60 Mb/s broadcast from the access hub,
and can transmit back to the hub at up to 1.15 Mb/s. Dynamic bandwidth
allocation increases or decreases data rates on-the-fly for better service and
more efficient use of bandwidth. LinkStar hubs and remote terminals are
compatible with the digital video broadcast (DVB) international standard. Since
its introduction in September 2001, approximately 12,000 LinkStar DVB-RCS-ready
terminals have been shipped world-wide.
(source: ViaSat)
New
Skies to Link More Than
500 Locations in Bulgaria
(18 November 2003) TRANSAT JSCo, a subsidiary of
Bulgaria's Petrol PLC and the country's first public VSAT operator, is using
New Skies' NSS-7 satellite to link hundreds of petrol stations, banks and
corporate locations in the nation's largest VSAT network.
TRANSAT, based in Sofia, was created in November 2002 to
establish a highly reliable, nation-wide communications infrastructure to
satisfy the needs of state and private companies throughout Bulgaria.
The company chose NSS-7 based on its high-powered and comprehensive coverage of
Bulgaria with excellent connectivity to the rest of Europe and the United
States. The service began in September 2003 and the network, which will consist
of more than 500 sites, is scheduled to be completed early next year. It
initially will provide high-speed digital voice, video and data communications
among 450 petrol stations, 30 bank branches and 17 corporate office
locations.
(source: New Skies Satellites)
Sky
Perfect to Upgrade
Headend Sites With DiviCom Encoders
(17 November 2003) Sky Perfect Communications Inc,
Japan's leading digital multi-channel satellite broadcasting company, is
upgrading its video infrastructure with Harmonic Inc's digital headend
systems.
Harmonic's DiviCom MPEG-2 encoders and
DiviTrackXE statistical multiplexer, which form the foundation of the new
service, are expected to effectively double the capacity of Sky Perfect's
existing satellites while improving picture quality. Sky Perfect will also use
Harmonic's NMX Digital Service Manager to maximise service availability and
simplify the operation of its geographically distributed video infrastructure.
The system is scheduled to be fully operational in January 2005.
With
more than three million direct-to-home (DTH) subscribers, Sky Perfect is
Japan's leading digital multi-channel satellite broadcasting company. A
respected pioneer of digital broadcast services, Sky Perfect has grown its
subscriber base by continually expanding its video and audio programming.
Though satellite is the primary service platform, Sky Perfect is exploring
delivery vehicles such as fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) to extend its reach.
Harmonic systems will deliver approximately 280 digital video and audio
channels over Sky Perfect's 36 existing satellite transponders. Using Harmonic
equipment, Sky Perfect can scale to more than twice the initial number of
channels with bandwidth still available for future growth. Harmonic systems
will also power two global redundancy and two test systems. Initially, each
transponder, redundancy and test system will use between 7 and 14 encoders.
In addition, Sky Perfect will use Harmonic's NMX Digital Service Manager,
a powerful monitoring and management system, to maximise service availability
and operational efficiencies. By managing the infrastructure as a series of
services, rather than discrete hardware and software elements, NMX reduces the
time and resources dedicated to system operation. With NMX, services can be
quickly added or removed with a few mouse clicks. In the event of a failure,
NMX automatically notifies an operator and re-provisions equipment to minimise
downtime. The client/server architecture also enables the entire distributed
infrastructure to be controlled and monitored locally or remotely.
(source: Harmonic)
NOAA Awards Harris Corporation Advanced Architecture Study
(17 November 2003)
Harris Corporation has been awarded a one-year study contract by the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for ground segment work
supporting the advanced Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-R
(GOES-R) program. Scheduled to launch in 2012, GOES-R will feature highly
advanced sensor technology and will provide much higher resolution and data
frequency than the current GOES spacecraft family.
Under
the GOES-R contract, Harris will study the application of its advanced ground
data processing and command and control technologies to the overall satellite
ground system architecture, and provide end-to-end system integration
solutions. The study phase contains a six-month option at the end of the base
year contract. At the completion of the study phase in May 2005, NOAA will
select the winning companies to compete for the prototype phase of the program.
The prototype phase will end with a "fly-off" competition in 2006, with NOAA
selecting a single company for development and production of the GOES-R ground
segment.
GOES-R will carry several operational instruments including
the 16-channel Advanced Baseline Imager, which will provide visual and infrared
imagery of the Western Hemisphere every five minutes; a Hyperspectral
Environmental Suite, which will provide full disk atmospheric soundings to
assist in severe weather forecasting; an extended Solar X-Ray Imager; and a
Space Environment Monitoring Suite, which will monitor the effects of solar
activity on the Earth's atmosphere. This suite of instruments will produce over
100 times the information provided by the current system and will offer a wide
variety of unique observations of the environment, with particular emphasis on
severe weather and hurricane activity in the Western Hemisphere.
The
study contract was awarded through NOAA's National Environmental, Satellite,
Data and Information Services (NESDIS) office, which manages the nation's
operational environmental satellites, provides data and information services,
and conducts related research. NESDIS is purchasing the ground command, control
and data processing systems. NASA is purchasing the actual satellite and
sensors.
Harris ground data processing systems consist of complex
suites of hardware and software that receive sensor data from satellites and
process it into useable environmental parameters under stringent timelines,
turning the data into useable information. The company's command and control
systems feature commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) design and high levels of
flexibility. Designed for government and commercial applications, they support
single-satellite missions as well as the largest and most complex satellite
fleets deployed today.
(source: Harris)
Boeing Awarded Three Additional Air Force GPS-IIF Satellites
(18 November 2003) The
US Air Force has awarded Boeing a US$ 142.5 million fixed-price-incentive-fee
contract for three additional Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites. This
action authorises modernisation and production of GPS-IIF satellites numbers
four through six, and the production of long-lead parts for IIF satellites
seven through nine.
With the first satellite scheduled
for a mid-2006 launch, the GPS-IIF series is designed for flexibility and
growth, enabling new capabilities, including improved anti-jam, increased
accuracy, higher integrity and critical secure operational military codes.
(source: Boeing)
Lockheed
Martin to Provide Cargo
Mission Services For ISS
(17 November 2003) Lockheed Martin Space Operations
(LMSO) has won a NASA contract to support cargo mission services for the
International Space Station (ISS). The potential value of this contract to
Lockheed Martin is about US$ 165 million.
Work under the
contract will include planning, preparation and integration of cargo slated for
transport to and from the International Space Station. In addition, if options
under the contract are exercised, Lockheed Martin would also provide stowage
integration services to the Space Shuttle Program, NASA prepacked-cargo
processing for the Japanese H-II Transfer Vehicle and NASA prepacked-cargo
processing for the European Automated Transfer Vehicle, which are planned to
provide future logistics support to the ISS.
The basic period of the
cost-plus-award-fee contract is four years and nine months, with an estimated
value of US$ 108.5 million. Two one-year extension options to the basic period
are available and would bring the total contract value to US$ 165.8
million.
Work on the contract will be performed mainly at NASA's
Johnson Space Center in Houston and NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Major subcontractors include United Space Alliance of Houston, Teledyne Brown
Engineering, and Bastion Technologies.
(source: Lockheed Martin Space
Operations)
Spacehab Lands New Space Station Mission
(20 November 2003) Spacehab Incorporated has
been awarded a new mission under its Research and Logistics Mission Support
(ReALMS) contract with NASA for cargo services to the International Space
Station (ISS).
A modification to the ReALMS contract has
been signed, adding the use of Spacehab's Integrated Cargo Carrier (ICC) to the
STS-121 space shuttle mission scheduled for launch in November 2004.
Additionally, the contract was amended to fund equitable adjustment payments
through December 2003 for services being provided on ISS missions STS-116
(12A.1) and STS-118 (13A.1) due to space shuttle launch delays.
NASA
has directed Lockheed Martin, the recent winner of the ISS Cargo Mission
contract, to establish a contract with Spacehab for continued ICC and logistics
module support beginning January 1, 2004. This allows the ReALMS contract to
end on its expiration date without creating any lapse in service to the
Government.
Spacehab is supporting the transition of the ISS Program
Integration and Control function as a subcontractor to the ARES Corporation
team. This effort utilises Spacehab's core competency in configuration
management services. This five-year initiative is currently valued at
approximately US$ 22.0 million for Spacehab, and if exercised, two additional
one-year contract options would increase the award by an additional US$ 10.0
million.
(source: (Spacehab)
NASA
Successfully Tests Ion
Engine
(20 November
2003) NASA's Project Prometheus has reached an important milestone with the
first successful test of an engine that could lead to revolutionary propulsion
capabilities for space exploration missions throughout the solar system and
beyond.
The test involved a High Power Electric
Propulsion (HiPEP) ion engine. The event marked the first in a series of
performance tests to demonstrate new high-velocity and high-power thrust needed
for use in nuclear electric propulsion (NEP) applications.
The test
was conducted in a vacuum chamber at GRC. The HiPEP ion engine was operated at
power levels up to 12 kilowatts and over an equivalent range of exhaust
velocities from 60,000 to 80,000 meters per second. The thruster is being
designed to provide seven-to-ten-year lifetimes at high fuel efficiencies of
more than 6,000-seconds specific impulse; a measure of how much thrust is
generated per pound of fuel. This is a contrast to Space Shuttle main engines,
which have a specific impulse of 460 seconds.
The HiPEP thruster
operates by ionising xenon gas with microwaves. At the rear of the engine is a
pair of rectangular metal grids that are charged with 6,000 volts of electric
potential. The force of this electric field exerts a strong electrostatic pull
on the xenon ions, accelerating them and producing the thrust that propels the
spacecraft. The rectangular shape, a departure from the cylindrical ion
thrusters used before, was designed to allow for an increase in engine power
and performance by means of stretching the engine. The use of microwaves should
provide much longer life and ion-production capability compared to current
state-of-the-art technologies.
This new class of NEP thrusters will
offer substantial performance advantages over the ion engine flown on Deep
Space 1 in 1999. Overall improvements include up to a factor of 10 or more in
power; a factor of two to three in fuel efficiency; a factor of four to five in
grid voltage; a factor of five to eight in thruster lifetime; and a 30 percent
improvement in overall thruster efficiency. GRC engineers will continue testing
and development of this particular thruster model, culminating in performance
tests at full power levels of 25 kilowatts.
HiPEP is one of several
candidate propulsion technologies under study by Project Prometheus for
possible use on the first proposed flight mission, the Jupiter Icy Moons
Orbiter (JIMO). Powered by a small nuclear reactor, electric thrusters would
propel the JIMO spacecraft as it conducts close-range observations of Jupiter's
three icy moons, Ganymede, Callisto and Europa. The three moons could contain
water, and where there is water, there is the possibility of life.
Development of the HiPEP ion engine is being carried out by a team of engineers
from GRC; Aerojet; Boeing Electron Dynamic Devices; Ohio Aerospace Institute;
University of Michigan; Colorado State University and the University of
Wisconsin.
(source: NASA)
NASA
Reaches Major Milestone
in Development of an Autonomous Flight Safety System
(17 November 2003) NASA has recently
completed the design phase of a flight safety system to potentially lower range
operations cost for the launch of expendable launch vehicles. The Autonomous
Flight Safety System (AFSS) is being developed in three phases by a NASA team
of flight systems, operations and range safety personnel.
Design comments have been received from NASA and Department
of Defense range safety experts for the single, on-board processor system to be
developed in the current phase, Phase III. The core of the flight-qualified
system is the design structure comprised of the processor, algorithms and
sensors.
The AFSS will be an independent subsystem that would be
mounted on expendable launch vehicles that require flight safety systems. If
successfully demonstrated and adopted for flight by the ELV community, this
on-board system for flight termination or destruct should reduce the need for
safety specific ground based telemetry and radar tracking.
If
required, flight processors will initiate the flight termination function
automatically. Redundant on board sensors will gather vehicle navigation data
and flight termination will be based upon that data and software-based
rules.
In addition, the AFSS will allow for launches from remote
locations that do not have extensive ground-based range safety equipment such
as tracking radars.
Prototype system flight-testing will take place
through lab simulations and on suborbital sounding rockets. Flight-testing of
the prototype system is scheduled for September 2004 and flight tests on the
redundant system are scheduled for September 2005.
This phase is a
three-year effort to produce a flight qualified system that will be tested by
existing launch ranges such as the NASA's Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops
Island, Virginia; the Eastern Range, Cape Canaveral, Florida; and the Western
Range, Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.
NASA Headquarters,
Office of Space Flight and Office of Safety and Mission Assurance are providing
funding. The project is an example of "One NASA" providing Agency resources
from multiple locations to develop new technologies in space flight. The
Wallops Flight Facility is providing project management, systems engineering,
sensors, flight algorithms, software support and simulation testing. Kennedy
Space Center in Florida is providing flight computer and sensor interface,
software development and process management, flight algorithm support and
systems engineering support. Earlier phases of the project were supported by
the Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama.
(source: NASA)
Court
Approves Acquisition of
Globalstar by Thermo Capital Partners
(21 November 2003) Thermo Capital Partners has
received court approval for its plan to acquire a majority interest in a
reorganised Globalstar.
The proposed transaction would
give Thermo an 81.25% ownership of a new company that would take control of
Globalstar's assets and operations, in exchange for a cash investment of up to
US$ 43 million. The remaining 18.75% of the equity interests in the new company
will be available to Globalstar for distribution to its creditors.
Additionally, Globalstar's creditors will have the right to purchase additional
equity interests in the new company for an aggregate ownership interest of up
to 33.87%.
The Thermo transaction would supersede Globalstar's May
2003 agreement with ICO Global Communications (Holdings) Limited, under which
ICO intended to acquire Globalstar.
Final documentation for the Thermo
transaction is expected to be completed by December 2. Closing of the
transaction will be subject to regulatory approval, which is expected to be
obtained in early 2004, and the companies anticipate completing the Chapter 11
process shortly thereafter.
(source: Globalstar)
Ofcom Begins Operation
(18 November 2003) Oftel (the UK's telecommunications
regulator) is merging with the Broadcasting Standards Commission, the
Independent Television Commission, the Radio Authority and the
Radiocommunications Agency (the UK's radio spectrum regulatory agency) to form
Ofcom, the new regulator for the communications sector in the UK.
Oftel’s staff will transfer over to Ofcom’s
headquarters at Riverside House, London on Friday 21 November, and begin
working for Ofcom on Monday 24 November.
(source: Oftel)
Sirius Announces Common Stock Offering
(19 November 2003) Sirius has announced that
it priced an offering of 73,170,732 shares of common stock at a price to the
public of US $2.10 per share.
The offering, underwritten
by UBS Warburg LLC, is expected to close on Monday, November 24th. Sirius
intends to use the net proceeds from the offering of approximately US$ 150
million for general corporate purposes, including investments in programming
and retail and automotive distribution.
As part of the offering, the
company granted UBS Securities LLC an over-allotment option to purchase an
additional 10,975,610 shares.
(source: Sirius)
France
Telecom Mobile
Satellite Communications Completes Range of Prepaid Inmarsat Cards
(18 November 2003)
France Telecom Mobile Satellite Communications has completed its range of
Scratch and Phone prepaid cards by launching the Opti-time card, for use in all
Inmarsat digital satellite handsets: Inmarsat-Fleet, Mini M, B and M.
Catering for the private call requirements of seafarers and
staff at remote sites not covered by conventional networks (land line, GSM),
the new Opti-time card extends the existing range of prepaid cards: the
“Classi-Call” card (works with all Inmarsat voice systems: A, B/M,
Mini M or Fleet, with three different time formats: 5, 20 or 60 minutes, usable
at any time.) and the “Universal Happy Hour” card (works with
Inmarsat B/M, Mini M or Fleet systems, providing calls of either 20 or 60
minutes at a very competitive price (0.99 US$/min) from 11:00 pm to 03:00 am
UTC).
The Opti-time Scratch and Phone card offers users particularly
good call terms, enabling them to talk longer with their family and friends for
the same price.
Scratch and Phone prepaid cards are an effective call
supervision tool for firms and other organisations which have to manage site
workers (oil rigs, mines), merchant navy crews, or military contingents. They
allow “business” and private calls to be clearly separated,
considerable reductions in the costs of handling private calls, and greater
control of the organisation’s communications budget.
The
Opti-time Scratch & Phone card offers a single price per minute, whatever
the number called (to land-line or GSM networks) and per-second billing. The
user also enjoys longer call times by choosing the time of day for their call:
depending on the time slot - Off-Peak or Happy Hour - the user gains extra
minutes (up to more than twice the original time), allowing them to stay on the
line longer.
Scratch and Phone cards use a confidential 12-digit code
which the user obtains by scratching the back of the card. This code gives
access to the Scratch and Phone voice server, reports the minutes remaining,
and transmits the call to the chosen number. A tone warns the user one minute
before talk-time is used up, and again ten seconds before cut-off.
(source: France Telecom)
Intelsat Launches New Video Distribution Network with Level 3
(19 November 2003)
Intelsat and Level 3 Communications Inc have announced an agreement to launch a
new video delivery network to serve North American broadcast customers. The new
Intelsat-operated network, scheduled for launch in the beginning of 2004, will
be deployed using Level 3’s state-of-the-art fibre-optic network and
collocation facilities. It will be specially optimised for broadcaster
customers to provide unprecedented service reliability and the flexibility to
transmit any type of digital video feed, from standard definition to high
definition television (HDTV) for sports and news contribution and
syndication.
Intelsat and Level 3 have been working
together since Intelsat began aggressively building out its ground network in
2002. Since 2002, Intelsat has utilised Level 3’s services to interconnect
major points-of-presence (PoPs) and teleports to provision hybrid
space/terrestrial services to customers. The new video delivery network serves
as an expansion of the existing relationship between the companies.
The new network will complement Intelsat’s growing global satellite fleet,
existing terrestrial network and recently announced occasional use television
partnership with Television New Zealand (TVNZ). Through a connection to one of
the new Intelsat Video PoPs on the Level 3 network, broadcasters located in
many of the top media centres in North America will now be able to transmit
high-quality video content to/from other cities in North America, as well
global locations, via the Intelsat network.
The all-digital network
offering is expected to meet an increasing demand for flexible and reliable,
fibre-based, video delivery solutions in North America by presenting
broadcasters with a finely-tuned distribution network run by knowledgeable
operators. The offering will initially be comprised of PoPs located in many of
the largest US media centres, such as New York, Los Angeles, Washington DC,
Denver and San Francisco, with fibre interconnects into additional North
American locations. These PoPs and interconnects will enable access to media
companies, as well as to top news and sports venues in each region.
Furthermore, as customer demand for HDTV or other services grow, the network
will continue to evolve and PoPs in additional cities will be deployed.
The network is being built using 3rd Generation MPEG-2 equipment provided
by Tandberg Television. Customers will be able to choose from various analogue,
digital compressed video and HDTV interfaces, as well as the transmission speed
of their choice, based on their quality requirements. The entire network has
been designed to offer high reliability, multiple redundancy, fully diverse
route options, and fast switching capability.
(source:
Intelsat)
WCC Offers Iridium's Short Burst Data Services
(19 November 2003)
World Communication Center (WCC) has announced that they are offering Iridium's
newest data service, Short Burst Data (SBD). The Iridium Short Burst Data
service is designed for applications that send and receive short data messages
ranging from one to 1960 bytes in size, ideal for situations such as asset
tracking, remote telemetry, or pipeline monitoring. WCC will focus on
approaching markets such as research, gas, Rail, oil, maritime, aviation, and
utility industries as well as supporting government needs.
WCC currently provides short burst data capabilities to
OmniMetrix with a primary focus on the electric power marketplace. Through WCC,
OmniMetrix added Iridium SBD capabilities to acquire the benefit of Iridium's
multiple methods of connectivity, outright global roaming capability and voice
option - all while meeting the needs of their multi-national customers.
As a value-added reseller (VAR), WCC will continue to grow their strong
Iridium presence, specifically in data services and SBD. WCC has recently
launched other data services such as RUDIC-S (the newest Iridium data
transmission solution) and SMS (two-way text messaging).
(source:
WCC)
iDirect Technologies Hires VP of Operations
(17 November 2003) iDirect Technologies has appointed
Rock Arkie, a veteran with more than 20 years in sales, operations and
marketing of technology, as its vice president of operations, reporting to John
Kealey, president and CEO.
In this new position, Arkie
will be responsible for all operations as well as the company's professional
services business.
Arkie most recently served as vice president at
Tanberg, a global videoconferencing equipment supplier, where he was in charge
of the customer advocacy group, accountable for order intake, order processing,
logistics, manufacturing of key applications products, education, technical
services and information technologies. Additionally, he was president of the
company's service provisioning business.
Previous to Tanberg, Arkie
served as the executive vice president and general manager of Marconi Services
- Americas. In this role, he managed all aspects of the US$ 400 million
organisation, which consisted of 1,300 direct employees providing business
consulting, technical consulting, system implementation, services marketing,
field support services, technical education, and program management. As vice
president of global services marketing, his responsibilities entailed services
product management, marketing communications, marketing intelligence, vertical
marketing programs, and marketing support services.
Arkie was vice
president operations for the Service Provider Business Unit at Fore Systems,
managing product marketing and creating service offerings and deployment
methodologies for its service provider customer segment. At Fore, he also held
the position of vice president of professional services organisation. In that
role, he spearheaded the creation of Professional Services and Certified
Training Partner Programs, and created innovative education methodologies
including media-based technical training.
(source: iDirect
Technologies)
iSECUREtrac Appoints David G Vana CFO
(20 November 2003) iSECUREtrac Corp has
appointed David G Vana as Chief Financial Officer. Mr Vana joined iSECUREtrac
Corp in November, 2001, as Senior Vice President of Product Development. In
that capacity, he led the development of the company's personal tracking unit
model 2100 series product offering.
Prior to joining
iSECUREtrac Corp, he was with TRI Communication Solutions Inc where he served
as Chief Financial Officer and Board Member. Prior to TRI Communications, Mr
Vana was with Ernst and Young's Management Consulting Practice in Kansas City,
Missouri where he specialised in leading enterprise application development
initiatives. Mr Vana previously was the CFO for Pyramid Computing Solutions,
Director of Financial Systems for MFS Communications and Accounting Manager for
America First Companies. Mr Vana holds a BSBA with a major in Accounting and an
MBA from the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
(source:
iSECUREtrac)