Social Feed

http://voipforsmb.tmcnet.com/news/2006/11/12/128212.htm


Space Systems Loral Delivers Advanced Wildblue-1 Broadband ComSat To Launch Base

(Space Daily Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Space Systems/Loral (SS/L) has announced that it delivered WildBlue-1 to the Arianespace spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, where it is scheduled for launch in early December. Built for WildBlue Communications small cities, and locations with limited existing broadband infrastructure, the satellite will enable WildBlue to triple its customer capacity in the United States.

We knew Space Systems/Loral had the right combination of experience and technology to provide us with an advanced, high-power satellite, said David Leonard, chief executive officer of WildBlue Communications, Inc. WildBlue-1 will help the company keep pace with our rapidly increasing customer demand. We are confident of the value and reliability that WildBlue will experience from working with the leader in commercial satellite manufacturing.

WildBlue-1 is one of the world's first commercial all Ka-band satellites, which takes advantage of a different portion of the radio spectrum with substantially more capacity than is available in the Ku-band, a more common frequency used for satellite communications. The technically advanced spacecraft is designed to provide fast and affordable two-way wireless Internet access via satellite directly to homes and small offices in communities throughout the contiguous United States where terrestrial broadband access alternatives are either limited or unavailable.

Throughout the WildBlue-1 project, our companies shared a commitment to teamwork and quality, said John Celli, president of Space Systems/Loral. WildBlue is a bellwether for the success of broadband services via satellite. The new satellite delivered demonstrates how an innovative and flexible satellite design, which meets some very unique technical requirements, can continue to broaden the world's ability to communicate.

http://www.broadbandreports.com/shownews/75267

EchoStar & DirecTV Going WildBlue
Sign five-year distribution agreements

Satellite TV providers EchoStar and DirecTV have signed five-year distribution agreements with WildBlue, a satellite-broadband provider, to provide Internet access targeting rural consumers (MarketWatch). As part of the agreement, both EchoStar and DirecTV agreed not to team up with any other satellite-broadband provider for the next five years. Other satellite services include HughesNet, which was formerly a part of DirecTV, as well as Starband and Ground Control. The agreement is a big deal for WildBlue, which has about 60,000 customers in the U.S. EchoStar and DirecTV have 27 million customers combined, many of them in rural areas with access to few, if any, choices for broadband Internet.

http://www.broadbandreports.com/shownews/79569

WildBlue Satellite Nears Launch (Really)

Satellite broadband provider Wild Blue has been promising the launch of their Wild-Blue1 Ka-band satellite for the better part of the decade, but the launch has been consistently delayed for one reason or another. Scheduled to launch on an Ariane 5 vehicle this quarter from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana, this press release indicates the bird has actually arrived at the center. The new satellite should increase capacity for the capped service, which is a good thing considering all of the co-branding deals the provider has been striking.