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APSCC Monthly E-Newsletter APSCC Monthly e‐Newsletter September 2020 The Asia‐Pacific Satellite Communications Council (APSCC) e‐Newsletter is produced on a monthly basis as part of APSCC’s information services for members and professionals in the satellite industry. Subscribe to the APSCC monthly newsletter and be updated with the latest satellite industry news as well as APSCC activities! To renew your subscription, please visit www.apscc.or.kr. To unsubscribe, send an email to [email protected] with a title “Unsubscribe.” News in this issue has been collected from August 1 to August 31. INSIDE APSCC APSCC 2020 Conference Series Starts from August 18: LIVE Every Tuesday 9AM HK l Singapore Time from August 18 to November 17 APSCC 2020 is the largest annual event of the Asia Pacific satellite community, which incorporates industry veterans, local players as well as new players into a single platform in order to reach out to a wide-ranging audience. Organized by the Asia Pacific Satellite Communications Council (APSCC), APSCC 2020 this year is even stretching further by going virtual and live. Every Tuesday mornings at 9 AM Hong Kong and Singapore time, new installments in APSCC 2020 will be presented live - in keynote speeches, panel discussions, and in presentations followed by Q&A format. Topics will range across a selection of issues the industry is currently grappling with globally, as well as in the Asia-Pacific region. Register now and get access to the complete APSCC 2020 Series with a single password. To register go to https://apsccsat.com. SatelliteAsia Conference organized by APSCC September 29 ~ October 1, Online Event, https://www.connectechasia.com/satellite-asia/ The Asia-Pacific Satellite Communications Council (APSCC), in conjunction with Informa Markets, will present interactive online sessions at ConnecTechAsia 2020, Asia’s biggest telecom industry event. The program will be focused on customer verticals, and will feature case studies, executive interviews, presentations and themed interactive sessions – all intended to showcase APSCC members, and provide a value-added experience for participants. SATELLITE BUSINESS 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 1 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 video- conferencing 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 bandwidth- intensive 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. RBC Signals and Momentus Announce Global Ground Services Agreement August 25, 2020 - RBC Signals announced the company has been engaged by Momentus for satellite communication services. The agreement calls for Momentus to utilize assets within the RBC Signals global ground station network for satellite communication services in support of a series of upcoming Momentus missions scheduled to begin in 2021. Momentus is a Space Transportation and Space Logistics company employing new and proprietary technologies, including water plasma propulsion, to enable revolutionary low-cost orbital shuttle and charter services. The core of Momentus' business is Vigoride, a transfer vehicle delivering smallsats to custom orbits in LEO. The 2021 missions that RBC Signals will support are important for multiple companies and researchers whose satellites will be delivered to orbit on larger rockets via ridesharing. RBC Signals’ support and technology will help power Momentus' value proposition of transporting these smallsats to a final intended orbit in an extremely cost-efficient manner. APSCC Monthly e‐Newsletter 2 September 2020 Inmarsat Joins Forces with CPN and MinFarm to Simplify Connecting Low‐power Wide‐area Networks to Satellite August 25, 2020 - Inmarsat has teamed up with CPN Satellite Services and MinFarm Tech to launch the MF 400 IoT Satellite Bridge incorporating Inmarsat’s IsatData Pro (IDP) service. The solution enables data from IoT sensors operating on LoRaWAN™ networks to be optimised for transmission over
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