Telecoms.com

The Telecoms.com Podcast: Satellites, roaming and devices

The pod welcomes returning special guest Mary Clark, a telecoms industry exec currently between gigs, this week. She starts by telling us what she’s been up to, including work with a ‘proper’ satellite-to-handset company and the Thames Estuary Growth Board. They move on to reflect on Three UK’s decision to start charging for roaming, which is especially bad news for producer Pierre, before concluding with a quick look at recent device launches by internet giants.

• 7 days ago

KDDI to use Starlink for mobile backhaul

KDDI has contracted Starlink to provide satellite-based backhaul for mobile base station sites to remote areas.

• 7 days ago

AT&T deal gives OneWeb a vote of confidence

AT&T has struck a deal to use OneWeb satellite connectivity to serve business customers in remote locations.

• 09 Sep 2021

Apple said to be mulling LEO connectivity for iPhones

The word on the street is that US gadget giant Apple is planning to introduce support for low earth orbit satellites in future iPhones.

• 31 Aug 2021

Intelsat creditors support year-end bankruptcy exit plan

Intelsat aims to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as a private company by the end of this year, having secured the support of around three-quarters of its creditors for a new reorganisation plan.

• 26 Aug 2021

OneWeb lobs another 34 satellites into orbit

OneWeb, the financial equivalent of a big black hole, has launched another load of broadband satellites into the big black.

• 23 Aug 2021

Eurobites: MegaFon extends VoLTE services across Russia

Also in today’s EMEA regional round-up: Inmarsat accelerates the L-band; Finnfund boosts connectivity in Africa; it’s time we took a ‘woliday’.

• 13 Aug 2021

Inmarsat orchestrates new hybrid network

Satellite operator to invest $100m in at least 150 LEO satellites to create a multi-orbit constellation combined with a terrestrial 5G network.

• 30 Jul 2021

Virgin Media O2 part of consortium testing ubiquitous coverage in Cornwall

Darwin Innovation Group, Virgin Media O2, Amazon Web Services and others are trying out a technology that instantly switches between 5G and satellite connectivity.

• 20 Jul 2021

Bharti ploughs $500m into OneWeb as Musk eyes $30bn satellite spend

OneWeb this week declared itself “financially secure” after receiving a further $500 million investment from shareholder Bharti Global, while arch-rival Starlink’s founder Elon Musk shared figures that suggest his company is far from it.

• 30 Jun 2021

Softbank takes to the crowded skies for coverage

Softbank has become the latest major telco to look at providing connectivity from space, announcing a raft of initiatives to broaden access to communications networks.

• 09 Jun 2021

NTT to launch data centres into space within five years

NTT and SKY Perfect JSAT have announced plans to work together to build an integrated computing network in space that will include, among other things, space-based data centres.

• 21 May 2021

Google Cloud takes SpaceX to the edge

US LEO satellite outfit SpaceX will use Google data centres for its cloud applications and services at the network edge.

• 14 May 2021

OneWeb continues Alaska, Arctic push with TrustComm buy

OneWeb has brokered a deal to acquire TrustComm, the US-based satellite services firm it partnered with a couple of months ago to further its push into the US government, looking particularly at northern latitudes.

• 11 May 2021

The Telecoms.com Podcast: Nokia, content M&A and satellites

Scott shrugged off the side-effects of the Rona vaccine to stagger into the studio this week. He and Iain start by reviewing more quarterly numbers, especially Nokia’s. They move on to look at the pros and cons of operators dabbling in the content world, before concluding with a review of the booming Low Earth Orbit satellite market.

• 04 May 2021

SpaceX gets approval to lower its LEO

Satellite company SpaceX has received permission to halve the altitude at which its low earth orbit satellites float.

• 28 Apr 2021

Eutelsat chucks $550 million into the OneWeb bottomless pit

OneWeb, the communications satellite company that investors refuse to give up on, has flogged a quarter of itself to Eutelsat for $550 million.

• 27 Apr 2021

The challenges satellite Internet must address for take off

As satellite-based services take off, concerns around regulation, technical limitations and economics are mounting amongst the Internet community.

• 19 Apr 2021

UK Minister for Digital Infrastructure updates satellite connectivity plans

We’re looking at the availability, maturity, capabilities and costs of using advanced technologies to provide people in very hard to reach places with better broadband.

• 23 Mar 2021

Orange launches affordable satellite broadband service in France

Nordnet, the satellite broadband business owned by Orange, has officially launched its satellite broadband service in France.

• 16 Mar 2021