Japan’s largest communications satellite operator JSAT said on Monday it has agreed with U.S.-based PanAmSat to jointly launch a satellite in 2007 to meet demand for high-definition TV and other services in the United States.
JSAT said it would invest $140 million in the venture with PanAmSat, the world’s third-largest communications satellite operator whose broadcast customers include CNN, HBO and MTV.
The two companies will form a joint venture company to operate a satellite that will be able to cover almost the entire U.S. market, JSAT said in a statement.
The PanAmSat/JSAT partnership on Horizons-1 was the first of its kind, uniting a non-U.S. company with a domestic one to provide reliable satellite capacity over the North American market with connectivity to Japan. Now, as the two companies enter a new arrangement, PanAmSat will provide its premium orbital slot and infrastructure with support for mobile video, HDTV and IP-based content distribution.
No word (yet) on any Imperial encounters with Sky Dayton and SK-EarthLink.
In other satellite news, Loral Skynet today announced that it has entered into an agreement with BtNAccess, a global provider of communications services, to extend Loral’s SkyReach IP-enabled communications services to Asia, providing regional users with Internet and private networking services, including broadband Internet access, voice over IP (VoIP), and managed data services.
Loral Skynet’s Asia has an iDirect IP hub at the BtNAccess teleport in Hong Kong. Skynet will combine satellite capacity on its Telstar 10 and Telstar 18 Asian satellites with teleport and terrestrial communications services, including multi-protocol label switching (MPLS), provided by BtNAccess.
“Skynet’s satellite and IP resources combined with the terrestrial MPLS and teleport capabilities of BtNAccess instantly allows us to deliver an integrated IP-based network capability that surpasses any other IP offering in the region,” said Patrick Brant, president of Loral Skynet.
“By combining our new SkyReach capability in Asia with other SkyReach hub locations in the U.S. and Europe, Loral Skynet provides a unique, global IP-based solution that addresses the local, regional and international needs of enterprise-level users.”
BtNAccess is headquartered in Reston, VA and Hong Kong, with teams based in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. The company offers fiber and satellite- based business class voice and data solutions, including Hosted PBX and MPLS VPN, to carriers, service providers and enterprises.
BtNAccess is a subsidiary of PCCW Limited, a leader in next generation broadband solutions with holdings that include the former Hong Kong Telecom Company.
Meanwhile Mobile Satellite Ventures announced the start of its satellite procurement process of a huge, hybrid satellite at 101 degrees W. Longitude and associated terrestrial network. The new satellites are expected to be the largest and most powerful commercial mobile satellites ever built with antennas more than seventy feet across covering North America with hundreds of satellite spot beams.
MSV will issue a request for proposal (RFP) within the next three months to a number of commercial satellite providers for this next generation satellite, known as MSV-1, and for its Canadian counterpart MSV-2 as well as the previously authorized MSV-SA satellite that is intended to cover South America. This three-satellite configuration will provide coverage throughout the Western hemisphere.
MSV’s patented Ancillary Terrestrial Component (a terrestrial repeater) and Ground Based Beam Forming are expected to deliver voice and data to wireless devices that are virtually identical to cell phone handsets in terms of size, cost, and functionality.
[...] The WiBro penetration of China is projected to give much-awaited momentum to Korea’s homegrown Internet-on-the-go services, which are struggling to take root there. Meanwhile, Samsung is incorporating the Opera browser on some of its phones. Samsung has used Adaptix technology for their base station architecture. [...]
Left by dailywireless.org » Samsung WiMAXing China? on December 22nd, 2006