Really Rocket Science

So what's all this we read in The Wall Street Journal about a deal between Google and Dish Network? Just the usual "according to people familiar with the matter." Bloomberg writers use the same source. But there appears to be serious speculation as to exactly what's going on, even though we blogged it three years ago.

The service, which runs on TV set-top boxes containing Google software, allows users to find shows on the satellite-TV service as well as video from Web sites like Google's YouTube, according to these people. It also lets users to personalize a lineup of shows, these people said.

With the test, Google moves deeper into a crowded field of companies, large and small, that have been trying for years to marry the Web and TV and their business models—from rivals Microsoft Corp. and Apple Inc. to the manufacturers of televisions and set-top boxes.

Just last week, TiVo Inc. announced new digital video recorders that blend broadcast and online content.

Google's test, which began last year, is limited to a very small number of the company's employees and their families and could be discontinued at any time, said the people familiar with the matter.

Viewers in the Google test, these people said, can search by typing queries, using a keyboard rather than a remote control. Google hopes to connect the service with its nascent TV ad-brokering business, allowing it to target ads to individual households based on search and viewing data.

I think this is the beginning of something wonderful. Google will be able to target individual STBs -- in the same household, for example -- and sell the context, just as they do today across millions of Web sites. How can you do that with video? Simple: use the audio track to identify context. Yeah, Microsoft can do that, too.

Bring it!

Orbital Sciences reaches agreement to acquire spacecraft development and manufacturing business of General Dynamic's subsidiary GD Advanced Information Systems.
[SatNews - 03/05/2010]

Air Force accepts WGS-3 from Boeing.
[UPI - 03/05/2010]

RRsat Global Communications Network signs agreement with ISG Media of India to provide fiber connectivity, playout and distribution for satellite broadcast in Europe and North America.
[SatNews - 03/05/2010]

SatMAX and TLC  Engineering offer SatMAX repeaters to aid Chile.
[CNN Money - 03/05/2010]

GlobecCast's new Content Acquisition and Distribution division signs agreement with Chinese content provider ZN Animation to deliver content to Video on Demand viewers throughout Europe.
[SatNews - 03/05/2010]

GOES-P satellite, NASA and NOAA's environmental satellite completing the N -O series,  is successfully launched from Cape Canaveral.
[NASA web site - 03/04/2010]

OmniGlobe Networks EMEA signs Letter of Intent to acquire entire issued share capital and assets of privately-held Sat-Comm Ltd.
[SatNews - 03/04/2010]

Telesat expresses support for Canadian government's commitment to remove foreign ownership restrictions on Canadian satellite operators.
[SatNews - 03/04/2010]

Iridium provides satellite voice and data communications for 2010 Iditarod sled dog race.
[Market Watch - 03/04/2010]

European Satellite Operators Association representative takes part in  Commercial Satellite Critical Infrastructure Protection workshop with experts working on critical national security and emergency programmes from the European Commission, the US Department of State, and Department of Defense and others.
[SatNews - 03/04/2010]

TiVo wins court ruling against Dish Network and EchoStar for patent infringement with Digital Video Recorder software.
[Business Week - 03/04/2010]

Global VSAT Forum called upon to expand reach of the GVF VSAT Installation & Maintenance Training Programme.
[SatNews - 03/04/2010]

Texas senator proposes bill to extend space shuttle program.
[Space.com - 03/04/2010]

U.S. Air Force investigates electrical mini-thrusters for possible use in satellite propulsion.
[PHYSORG - 03/03/2010]

Secretary of State Clinton delivers satellite phones in Chile following earthquake and tsumani.
[Kaiser Family Foundation - 03/03/2010]

Gilat is chosen by Satcom Systems to deliver SkyEdge II network for broadband internet connectivity in Africa.
[Market Watch - 03/03/2010]

iDirect announces launch of Talia Home by Talia Limited, providing consumer-focused internet and telephone communications service in MENA, using iDirect Evolution technology.
[SatNews - 03/03/2010]

Tachyon Networks announces availability of new end-to-en d fixed and mobile broadband satellit solutions for Southwest Asia using ultra-small aperture terminals.
[SatNews - 03/03/2010].

Earth's day is shortened by earthquake in Chile.
[Time - 03/02/2010]

UN and Iridium rush satellite phones to Chili to help restore vital communications links.
[PC World - 03/02/2010]

MTN supplies satellite communications system for Oasis Of The Seas, the world's largest cruise ship.
[Space Daily - 03/02/2010]

Upstar Comunicacoes selects Eutelsat to broadcast ZAP, the new satellite TV bouquet of Angola.
[PR Newswire - 03/02/2010]

New satellite mobile broadband service OverHorizon, based in Arlington, VA, selects Arianespace to launch its first satellite.
[Space News Examiner - 03/01/2010]

Millions of tons of water ice found at North Pole of Moon.
[Space.com - 03/01/2010]

Russia launches 3 navigation satellites.
[Space Daily - 03/01/2010]

NASA announces plans to launch small cube-shaped satellites for educational and not-for-profit organizations.
[Space Daily - 03/01/2010]

SES WORLD SKIES announces plans to join leading broadcaster, programmers, TV makers, and technology providers in series of extensive tests aimed at accelerating delivery of 3DTV.
[SatNews - 03/01/2010]

Soldiers provide communications support in Haiti, working with a variety of networks and satellite links.
[DVIDS - 03/01/2010]

SatMAX receives 2nd U.S. Navy order for its satellite communications repeater system.
[CNN Money - 03/01/2010]

EchoStar to purchase SatMex.
[Multichannel News - 02/28/2010]

TRA grants Al Yah Satellite Communications Company a Satellite Services License.
[WAM - 02/28/2010]

Antarctic satellite broadband project wins funding under Australian Space Research Program.
[Computer World - 03/01/2010]

WBMSAT PS - Satellite Communications Consulting Services

"Saludar a mi pequeño amigo!"

That's right: say hello to my little friend. EchoStar is buying Satmex in a joint venture with MVS Comunicaciones:

Under the deal, EchoStar and MVS Comunicaciones, one of the largest media and telecommunications companies in Mexico and EchoStar's partner in the Mexican direct-to-home TV service Dish Mexico, will take ownership of Satmex, that nation's leading satellite operator that delivers video, audio and data services, through a joint venture.

According to the parties, EchoStar and MVS Comunicaciones will acquire all of the outstanding stock of Satmex for approximately $267 million in cash, plus up to $107 million in cash on the Mexican satellite operator's balance sheet at closing.

As such, there will be up to $374 million for distribution to Satmex's stakeholders. The transaction is expected to close early in the third quarter 2010.

In connection with the sale, Satmex said it intends to offer to purchase all of its outstanding senior secured notes for cash upon the closing of the sale of the Satmex shares.

Established in the mid-1980s as part of a government operation before becoming a commercial organization, Satmex, which has some 200 employees, owns and operates three satellites and two satellite uplink facilities, all of which are expected to be included as part of the transaction.

"We are pleased to make this announcement with EchoStar, a major provider of satellite services in the United States with a significant and growing presence in Mexico," said Satmex CEO Patricio Northland in a statement. "Our companies have common goals in delivering satellite communications services across the Americas, and EchoStar has the dedication and expertise for continued growth."

"The Satmex acquisition provides us with a footprint over Mexico and South America and presents us the opportunity to serve a growing global demand for satellite services," noted Dean Olmstead, president of EchoStar Satellite Services L.L.C. "We look forward to leveraging our satellite operations and uplink expertise in North America to expand our fixed satellite services throughout the Americas, including the delivery of satellite Internet to rural communities."

EchoStar set up the business a couple of years ago, a few years after they signed up with SES in the formation of QuetzSat S.R.L. de C.V. in the successful bid for the 77° West orbital location. The QuetzSat-1 satellite is expected to come into service in 2011.

Great move my EchoStar. Although Satmex 5 is a sickly HS-601, it still has several choice orbital locations and a decent business model. Satmex-6 is in much better shape (Loral FS-1300). This will definitely have a positive effect on DISH Network's plans for Mexico, as well as Central and South America.

Way to go, Dean O!

On the road again? Tailgating? No TV where you are? Bet you're bummed you missed Anja Paerson's crash in the downhill at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver. If you're RVing across North America (or caravaning in Europe), you're got a few options.

In the U.S., there's Backseat TV from Sirius XM, but that's for kids (although they're potentially entertaining for some adults). For real "on the move" satellite TV, be prepared to spend a few thousand dollars for a KVH Tracvision A7. Sadoun has them at discount, as well as others. You could also pay half that for a VuQube, essentially a portable contraption with an antenna inside that's nearly self-pointing. There are other motorized solutions out there, but it won't be cheap.

What about doing it yourself? Get an extra antenna, mount it on a tripod, grab your home satellite receiver and hit the road. You're only going to watch TV after you park your vehicle, right?

For some, this may sound simple, but it gets complicated in a hurry. The satcom techs who do home installs are trained and get it done quickly, after they do their homework. The spacecraft orbits at 22,300 miles (36,000 km), so you've got to know where to point that antenna. You can probably get yourself a signal meter (like the SF-95), calculate your look angle (elevation & azimuth) and point your antenna. Sure, you'll need a compass and your geographic coordinates (long/lat). You may not know that when you're "out there."

How do you know whether you can "see" the satellite from where you decided to park? What if you didn't do your homework ahead of time? Get yourself a good app phone like the Apple iPhone or Google Android, then download the DishPointer Pro AR app. Launch the app, then point it toward the southern horizon if you're in the northern hemisphere, and toward the northern horizon if you're in the southern hemisphere. On the equator, point straight up. Like magic, using the phone's camera, shows you what you can see and whether any obstacles on in the way. Hit compass lock and you've got elevation, azimuth and skew (polarization).

Is that awsome or what? $20 gets you the app, available via the Apple iTunes App Store and Android Market. And it totally works.

That's right, Nanook: the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) gave the approval to FreeHD Canada to provide 100 local and 150 national channels for, uh, FREE. I like that price. The summary, via the Globe and Mail:

A satellite TV upstart has won limited approval to do business in Canada. The new company, FreeHD Canada Inc., applied in August for permission to offer a package of local television channels for free - if customers agree to buy the equipment necessary to pick up the company's satellite signal. BCE Inc. and Shaw Communications Inc., which operate Bell TV and Shaw Direct respectively, have made similar proposals. FreeHD is also planning to offer an additional package of 150 pay and specialty channels. Yesterday, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission approved the licence, but said that FreeHD will have to operate under the same rules as other satellite providers. That means its basic package cannot include local stations only; such providers are required to include certain channels, such as at least one CBC station and one Radio-Canada, APTN and the Weather Network. The larger pay package must also follow rules requiring services like adult channels to be optional to consumers. 

 Read all about the "approval, in part" on the CRTC site.

Since Dave Lewis is running things at FreeHD Canada, I suspect he'll be using some capacity on the Ciel-2 spacecraft. If the box and dish cost $300 or less, this ought to sell like waffles on a Sunday.

Almost as exciting as Maelle Ricker's gold medal at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

Us rocket scientists and satnuts know that to get a signal from an orbiting spacecraft, the satellite antenna must be pointed directly at the satellite, without obstructions between the two. This means no trees and no buildings. Generally, you ought to take into consideration future tree growth, house remodeling or additions and new construction.The satellite signal will not pass through leaves or branches -- or houses and buildings.

DirecTV's self-installation guide (PDF) starts with these pointers:

The satellite is always located south of Texas. That means if you live in Miami, you must have a clear line of sight to the southwest; if you live in San Francisco, you must have a clear line to the southeast. How High Up in the Sky is the Satellite? Depending on where you live, the satellite will be at an elevationangle between 30 and 60 degrees. Southern states point more toward 60 degrees; northern states point more toward 30 degrees.

Elsewhere, the guide suggests you use a map. In Europe, ASTRA's installation assistant does a decent job of taking you through the process. For most, taking the free installation (see DISH Network) is a good idea.

Before you go out and buy a $500 BirDOG gadget, better make sure you can see the satellites. The Flash animation on ASTRA's site can help you when you're in the field, unless you calculate your look angle ahead of time.

On-site and need help with your site survey? There's an App for that (both for iPhone and Android).

I've got one location where the trees grew since installation, so this has ongoing practical use. DigitalTrends selected it as one of the best augmented reality apps.

If guys in Afghanistan can use it, so can you.

Canadian upstart Ciel Satellite Group is in a battle with DirecTV over the 103° West orbital slot, via the Ottawa Citizen:

In a war of words at the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, the two companies are accusing each other of threatening effective operation of broadcast satellites and undermining global industry rules. But behind the rhetoric is the deadly serious business of building investor confidence to finance satellites that cost $300 million each to construct, insure and launch.

Ciel is working with an undisclosed manufacturer on the Ciel 6 satellite, scheduled for launch in 2012.

DirecTV got FCC approval in July to launch the RB-2A satellite. Now called DirecTV-12, it was shipped earlier this month to Kazakhstan for launch in the near future.

Combined with two other DirecTV satellites, it will deliver 200 high-definition channels. The FCC said the new satellite "will stimulate competition in the United States and provide consumers more alternatives in choosing communication services." The FCC must consider major issues in the dispute.

In theory, the two satellites can co-exist in the same orbit path. But that would involve technology compromises to avoid signal interference. The changes could limit the markets each seeks to tap.

With consumers and business demanding more bandwidth-hungry high-definition television, video and Internet services, the battle for spectrum and satellites to support the market is growing.

DirecTV is the biggest U.S. satellite direct-to-home service company with 18 million subscribers, plus another six million in Latin America.

It said recently that two-thirds of new subscribers signed up for high-definition TV and related hardware services in the September quarter, the highest level in company history.

DirecTV generated $5.47 billion U.S. in revenues in the September quarter, 10 per cent more than a year earlier.

Ciel has only one satellite in service but it has some powerful allies. Its investors include Borealis, an arm of the giant Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS), and SES Americom, one of the world's biggest satellite operators.

It won its first Canadian licence in 2004 and launched its first satellite last year to serve an orbital slot off the coast of B.C. It is developing business plans for six more slots awarded by the federal government last year.

It also has a big customer in DISH Network, which is a direct competitor to Direct TV. Calian Technologies manages the Ciel satellite under a long-term contract.

I'm relatively certain Telesat is in this fight, too. EchoStar is on the bench, ready to jump over the boards if required.

As they say in hockey, it's part of the game.

Now we're getting somewhere with this "TV everywhere" concept.

With it's ubiquitous coverage, satellite TV is already "everywhere." Now DISH Network, and it's Sling Media technology, is truly flinging its signals around. The critical summary, via Light Reading's Cable Digital News:

Dish, which bought Sling Media in 2007 for $380 million and later folded it into its EchoStar Technologies LLC set-top and technology division spinoff, is basing its TV Everywhere strategy on a combination of new hardware and software products that enable customers to "sling" video from the set-top to PCs, mobile handsets, and other video displays with broadband connections. (See EchoStar to Buy Sling Media and Sling Media Slings at CES.)

That all starts with the ViP 922, an HD-DVR that features a 1-terabyte hard drive with Sling's technology built in. Dish, which was expected to launch that box last year, is matching that with the "TV Everywhere Adapter," a sleeker version of the old Slingbox that gives place-shifting capabilities to a number of Dish HD-DVR receivers using a USB connection. According to Dish's Website, six existing receivers are compatible with the new place-shifting adapter: the 522, 625, ViP 612, ViP 622, ViP 722, and ViP 722k.

Dish's new hardware also includes a free-standing, 16x9 WiFi Monitor, also developed by Sling, that is capable of wirelessly transmitting an HD video signal from a set-top to another device on the home's wireless network. The display itself renders video in 720p and can be used to access the functions of the connected Dish receiver, including the ability to manage DVR recordings.

Dish has also developed a Web-based "Remote Access Mobile App" so customers can manage their DVR recordings on multiple receivers. It also has the ability to transform an iPhone or iPod Touch device into a remote control for TVs connected to compatible Dish boxes. Although Dish's TV Everywhere hardware components won't be out until the second quarter, it's already offering the Remote Access Mobile App for free download.

Dish hasn't announced any pricing on its TV Everywhere offerings, including the fancy WiFi monitor, but intends to reveal those details closer to the official launch, a company spokeswoman said.

With Sling at the core of this strategy, Dish should find itself ahead of its cable competitors when it comes to TV Everywhere, a term that the satellite-TV giant has since trademarked (it reportedly filed for the trademark last fall), at least in terms of the types of screens it will support at the get-go.

Comcast Corp. (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) launched its initial TV Everywhere product, Fancast Xfinity TV, last month, providing authenticated PCs access to a walled garden of on-demand content. Comcast plans to add support for mobile devices later this year. Dish's version already supports mobile devices, as well as access to the subscriber's lineup of linear programming. (See Comcast's 'Xfinity' Goes Live and Comcast's 'Xfinity' to Go Mobile in 2010 .)

However, cable MSOs will have an opportunity to offer much of what Dish is introducing in the second quarter. EchoStar, Dish's tech spinoff, is also marketing a lineup of Sling-loaded boxes for U.S. and European MSOs, but has yet to announce any cable deals. EchoStar officials have also expressed interest in selling Slingboxes directly to MSOs, and it would appear that Sling's latest standalone box, the 700U, would fit the bill.

Great idea and excellent use of in-house technology. Who knows, maybe I'll go back to DISH for this?

Having a mobile app for your DVR has some practical use, as we've noted before.

Meanwhile, DirecTV is all about 3-D TV at CES. I don't know, man. Didn't we just accept HDTV as the "OK, I got it now" technology? Now 3-D? Seems a little early for that, but the "Avatar" movie is out to change that.

Beautiful launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome last week, putting DirecTV 12 into orbit:

The new satellite will boost DIRECTV's High-Definition capacity by 50 percent, to more than 200 HD channels, increase the number of local HD markets DIRECTV will serve and significantly expand movie choices on the DIRECTV CINEMA™ and DIRECTV on DEMAND services. DIRECTV offers more than 130 HD channels today and delivers local HD programming to 138 markets, representing 92 percent of U.S. TV households. Click here to see which HD channels DIRECTV currently carries.

D12, a Boeing 702 model satellite, lifted off on an International Launch Services Proton Breeze M vehicle at 4:22 p.m. PT yesterday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Controllers at the ground station in Hartebeesthoek, South Africa, have made contact with the satellite and confirmed that all systems are functioning properly. 

Here's the integration work...

...and the traditional 6:30 a.m. roll-out (yeah, it was cold) ...

...and finally, the launch itself...

Shopping around for HD sports programming options in New York, you're sure to find out you can't get MSG-HD on Verizon's FiOS TV. Why? It's Jimmy's channel and he wants it exclusively on Cablevision. Looking to add Comcast SportsNet HD to your DirecTV package in Philadelphia? No, sorry, not available.

How can they shortchange their viewing customers with this tactic? A 1992 law's loophole. But not anymore as the FCC is looking to close it up quick, via WSJ...

 The FCC's Media Bureau will circulate an order Wednesday that would close the so-called terrestrial loophole used by companies including Comcast Corp., Cox Communications Inc. and Cablevision Systems Corp. to withhold local sports channels from rivals, an FCC official said.

If approved, the proposal would mean consumers could soon have more choice in pay-TV services. Sports fans who want to watch local baseball, hockey and other games at home wouldn't be forced to subscribe to the largest local cable provider anymore.

In Philadelphia, for instance, fans of the Philadelphia Flyers, Phillies and Sixers can't get games broadcast on Comcast's SportsNet channel on DirecTV or Dish Network. In San Diego, subscribers to AT&T Inc.'s U-Verse television service can't get San Diego Padres games, which are carried on a channel owned by Cox Communications.

The FCC's move would be a victory for Dish Network Corp., DirecTV Group Inc., Verizon Communications Inc. and AT&T, all of whom have had difficulties at one point or another trying to get programming—mostly regional sports channels—from a local cable provider.

"Consumers shouldn't be forced to stick with their incumbent cable provider in order to have access to their local teams' games, or to watch those games in high definition," a Verizon spokesman said in a statement.

The National Cable & Telecommunications Association, the cable industry's lobbying group, argued that exclusive distribution of channels "can be a pro-competitive tool."

"Exclusivity allows competing providers to invest in new services that have dramatically changed the marketplace, as can be witnessed by DirecTV's overwhelming success with the NFL Sunday Ticket package," association spokesman Brian Dietz said.

The FCC requires cable operators to offer access to channels they partially or wholly own to rivals at reasonable rates, but some have used a loophole in a 1992 law to exclude local sports programming.

The loophole allows cable operators to withhold a channel from rivals if it is sent over a cable instead of beamed by satellite. Other pay-TV providers, including satellite TV and now phone companies, have complained to the FCC about the practice for years.

Last year, AT&T filed a complaint against Cox for denying it permission to air San Diego Padres games. Verizon filed a similar complaint against Cablevision for denying it access to a high-definition feed of games from Madison Square Garden.

IP-PRIME, the IPTV service scuttled by SES last year, had the same problem: they couldn't get carriage rights to MSG-HD

With FiOS-TV moving in on Philly in a big way, we'll finally get to see what competition will mean for us -- the customers.

Too bad the FCC can't do anything about the Rangers playing badly lately. Fire Sather?