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LATEST NEWS EXTRACTS FROM THE APSCC

Atos Selected by Eutelsat to Provide Next‐Generation Satellite Payload Monitoring Solution

April 29, 2021 - Atos has been selected by Eutelsat to deliver an innovative satellite payload monitoring solution, as part of a 5-year contract. Thanks to advanced satellite carrier management features, Atos’ next-generation SkyMon solution will help Eutelsat meet the growing challenges of a new space era which include new satellite communications technologies, the need to integrate 5G and the potential increase of signal interferences caused by the growing number of satellite mega constellations. The new system will enable Eutelsat to continually monitor the radio-frequency payloads on all its commercial satellites and to identify and localize satellite interferences in one single and intuitive solution, to take counteractive measures immediately. The solution consists of a cloud-based state-of-the-art microservice architecture on top of a high-performance generic core, allowing flexible adaptation on changing requirements with minimal risks..

HughesNet Celebrates Two Years of Connecting Chileans in Rural and Remote Areas with Satellite Internet Service

April 29, 2021 - Hughes Network Systems celebrates the second anniversary in Chile of HughesNet®, the company’s flagship high-speed satellite internet service. Reaching 98% of the population of Chile, HughesNet is available from Arica down to the north of the Aysen Region, providing connectivity to the country’s most remote locations, even places where land-based Internet access, such as fiber and cable, is not available. With service plans for homes and SMEs, HughesNet brings families and professionals the access they need to work, take online classes, surf the web, connect with social media, and conduct business activities such as processing credit card transactions and managing inventory. Service is available in sectors as remote as Isla Mocha or Isla Santa María in the Biobio Region, the mining areas of northern Chile and the village of Melimoyu in the Aysen Region, bringing essential connectivity whilst also creating new employment opportunities for a network of distributors.

SES’s Next‐gen NGSO System Readies for Launch with 8 Initial O3b mPOWER Satellite Ground Stations

April 28, 2021 - SES announced that it has signed agreements with key infrastructure service providers around the world to build its eight initial O3b mPOWER satellite ground stations. Construction has already started on these advanced technology satellite ground stations, which will become operational in the second half of this year. The eight sites will provide telemetry, tracking and control capabilities to enable SES’s management of the constellation. They will also be leveraged to raise the satellites into the right orbit after the scheduled launches. As previously announced, two of the satellite ground stations are located at Dubbo, NSW, Australia (operated by Pivotel) and Thermopylae, Greece (operated by OTE). Other locations include Merredin, Perth, Australia; Phoenix, Arizona, US; Chile; the United Arab Emirates; APSCC Monthly e‐Newsletter 2 May 2021 Senegal as well as SES’s own satellite ground station in Hawaii. Four out of the eight sites will be colocated and operated with Microsoft’s Azure data centres; the one-hop connectivity to the cloud from remote sites will provide O3b mPOWER customers the ability to optimise business operations with significant flexibility and agility. The O3b mPOWER satellite ground stations have many technically advanced features compared to the existing O3b satellite ground station. They include a new generation of fast-install 5.5-metre carbon fibre antennas which can be installed without the need for expensive and time-consuming photogrammetry. In addition, they will utilise energy-efficient solid-state power amplifiers, and a low electrical load for the antenna control unit (ACU). The satellite ground stations will use SES’s gateway management system for automated operations and handovers, which will be tightly integrated with SES’s unique resource management capability, Adaptive Resource Control (ARC) and other SES software sub-systems. With this configuration, SES will dynamically manage and optimise space and ground resources to meet the changing needs of its customers.

Inmarsat and Honeywell Partner to Deliver Innovative Satcom Solutions to the U.S. Government

April 28, 2021 - Honeywell and Inmarsat announced an agreement to develop and deliver innovative commercial satellite communications (COMSATCOM) solutions to the U.S. government. The solutions will be focused on fixed-wing and non-fixed wing aeronautical platforms operating worldwide, including in Arctic regions. The agreement extends the companies’ best-in-class COMSATCOM services to U.S. Defense customers while continuing to advance solutions that meet mission-specific requirements. Through the new strategic alliance, Inmarsat and Honeywell will offer U.S. government users access to a unique suite of products and services across Inmarsat’s worldwide networks operating in L-band, as well as in the commercial and military Ka-bands. L-band frequencies are lower radio frequencies between the 1 and 2 GHz range employed for a variety of applications to include highly resilient mobility satellite communications. Ka-band radio frequencies in the 26 to 40GHz range offer higher throughput for satellite communications and other applications.

Eutelsat Enters LEO Space through Investment in OneWeb

April 27, 2021 - Eutelsat Communications has entered into an agreement with OneWeb for the subscription of a c.24% equity stake, becoming a leading shareholder of the company alongside the UK Government and Bharti Global. Eutelsat will invest $550 million in OneWeb, with closing expected in H2 2021 subject to regulatory authorisations. Eutelsat’s investment leaves OneWeb almost fully funded and the company is well advanced in terms of securing its remaining funding needs this year. Eutelsat’s investment will come with similar governance rights to the UK Government and Bharti, including board representation, where its position and expertise as one of the world’s leading satellite operators will help to drive the success of the new constellation. In a context where LEO features will enable the extension of the addressable market for satellite operators well beyond their current reach, the complementarity of Eutelsat’s and OneWeb’s resources and assets is expected to optimize both companies' commercial potential thanks to Eutelsat’s strong commercial and institutional relationships, recognized technical expertise and global geostationary fleet, and OneWeb’s ability to address the multiple applications requiring low latency and ubiquity.

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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.