NEWS

LATEST NEWS EXTRACTS FROM THE APSCC

Gogo to Sell Its Commercial Aviation Business to Intelsat

August 31, 2020 - Gogo announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its Commercial Aviation (CA) business to Intelsat for $400 million in cash, subject to customary adjustments. The Gogo Board of Directors has approved the transaction. Intelsat expects to finance the transaction utilizing cash on hand and borrowings under its $1 billion debtor-in-possession credit facility and has obtained support from key economic stakeholders, as well as approval from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Richmond Division, to complete the acquisition. The transaction, which is expected to close before the end of the first quarter 2021, remains subject to customary closing conditions and certain regulatory approvals. Gogo, which will remain a public company, will use the proceeds from the transaction to improve its net debt position and continue to invest in growth opportunities such as Gogo 5G. With greater financial flexibility, including a lower cost of capital over time, the new Gogo will be better positioned to enhance the scale and profitability of its Business Aviation (BA) segment, which is uniquely well-positioned in an attractive and underpenetrated market. Intelsat intends to operate the CA business as an independent business unit, led by current CA President John Wade. The CA business will remain based in Chicago.

Viasat Receives Supplemental Type Certificate to Provide High‐Speed In‐Flight Connectivity on Gulfstream G650 and G650ER Large Cabin Business Jets

August 26, 2020 - Viasat Inc. announced its business aviation in-flight connectivity (IFC) system received Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) through Gulfstream Aerospace Corp., certifying the use of its Ka-band IFC system on the Gulfstream G650™ and Gulfstream G650ER™ business jets. When combined with its prior FAA STC for the Viasat Ku-band system, Gulfstream operators get a powerful tail-mounted Dual-band (Ka-Ku) service offering. Receiving the Ka-band STC APSCC Monthly e‐Newsletter 2 September 2020 ensures passengers and crew flying on Gulfstream's G650 and G650ER receive a premium cabin internet experience over the most heavily traveled flight routes. Viasat's expanding Ka-band coverage combined with its recent announcement of no speed caps across all Ka-band service plans, will allow Gulfstream G650 and G650ER operators to experience home-like performance in the sky with the fastest available download speeds in the large cabin business jet segment. This in turn will enable passengers and crew to simultaneously enjoy data-rich, business-critical productivity and entertainment apps from videoconferencing and accessing VPN/cloud content to email, high-definition streaming services, live TV and more.

Kymeta Corporation Secures Approximately $85 Million Financing Round to Accelerate Growth

August 26, 2020 - Kymeta Corporation, the communications company making mobile global, announced the recapitalization of the company along with the successful funding raise of approximately $85 million, led by Bill Gates with members of the leadership team personally investing approximately $1 million led by Executive Chairman, Doug Hutcheson. Since its launch of the revolutionary electronically steered flat panel antenna platform, Kymeta™ continues to strengthen and accelerate new product development and commercialization for satellite and cellular communications globally. Meeting the needs of current and future customers drives new product innovation and market development and are key areas of focus for Kymeta.

ST Engineering iDirect Collaborates with Paratus and KNS to Bring Reliable, High‐speed Connectivity to Mining Vessels

August 25, 2020 - ST Engineering iDirect, a company of ST Engineering North America, today announced that its long-term customer Paratus, a pan-African telecommunications group which provides satellite connectivity across Africa, has deployed its iDirect modems with marine antenna from manufacturer and integrator KNS, to provide reliable, high-speed connectivity to mining ships based in Guinea, West Africa. The vessels and their crew require constant and reliable communications to keep in permanent contact with their headquarters on land, and with other shipping vessels during operations at the Boffa port in Guinea, where 3G/4G connectivity is poor and internet services are limited. The ships were installed with the iDirect modem and KNS 1.2m Maritime Antenna Z12Mk2 in Shanghai, China, enabling bandwidthintensive applications including video, email and WeChat to be run. Paratus remotely configured the modems and commissioned the antennas for the ships when they arrived in Boffa. Commissioning is completed with the ships being operational.

New Solution Boosts IoT Device Connectivity

August 25, 2020 - Inmarsat has teamed up with CPN Satellite Services and MinFarm Tech to launch the MF 400 IoT Satellite Bridge incorporating its IsatData Pro (IDP) service. The solution enables data from Internet of Things (IoT) sensors operating on LoRaWAN™ low power wide area networks to be optimised for transmission over Inmarsat’s IDP, which will bring much-needed additional connectivity to IoT devices deployed in remote locations across a range of different sectors. The success of a remote operation – such as dam monitoring or agricultural resource management – depends on having robust, reliable equipment in place to do the job. IoT devices are having a significant impact in this area, due to their ability to record and transfer data in a way that reduces the need for expensive on-site visits and lowers overall maintenance costs. However, operating in remote regions means that backhauling data from LoRaWAN™ networks is not always possible via terrestrial connectivity so posing a connectivity challenge for organisations.

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About APSCC
APSCC is a non-profit, international organization representing all sectors of satellite and space-related industries. The aim of the organization is to exchange views and ideas on satellite technologies, systems, policies and outer space activities in general along with satellite communications including broadcasting for the betterment of the Asia-Pacific region.

Conferences, forums, workshops, and exhibitions are organized through regional coordination with its members in order to promote new services and businesses via satellite as well as outer space activities. APSCC membership is open to any government body, public or private organization, association, or corporation that is involved in satellite services, risk management or associate fields such as data-casting, informatics, multi-media, telecommunications and other outer-space related activities with interests in the Asia-Pacific region. More information is available at www.apscc.or.kr.