PanAmSat began 6-month beta test of high-speed Net/36 network designed to deliver IP audio, video and data to ISPs with goal of starting commercial service by midyear. Beta test is using 1-2 transponders aboard PanAmSat Galaxy satellite, Qwest Communications DSL service in western U.S. and Excite@Home cable modem network on both coasts, CEO Douglas Kahn said Mon. at C.E. Unterberg, Towbin satellite conference in N.Y.C. Agreements with BellSouth and Hughes Network Systems’ DirecPC in addition to Qwest and Excite@Home give Net36 access to 3.5 million homes in U.S., although goal is to pass 16 million worldwide as service expands to 24 transponders by 2004, he said. PanAmSat will spend $250 million in developing service and draw heavily on fleet of 21 satellites to deliver it worldwide, Kahn said. Of 16 million homes, half will be in U.S., others in Europe and Asia, he said. Plan is to have Net/36 act as middleman in delivering programming content to edge of DSL and cable modem networks. PanAmSat has agreements with dozen programmers including ABC-TV, Walt Disney Co., Bloomberg TV and Hollywood.com, Kahn said. Despite start of beta test, PanAmSat still has several hurdles to clear, including digital rights management issues raised by content providers. “This concern has taken on a tremendous amount of significance for them and we'll have to address that,” Kahn said. Adoption of Net/36 platform among broadband service providers also has been slower than expected, he conceded. Number of homes that had access to Net/36 stood at “several hundred thousand” in late Nov. before additions were made in following month, he said. “We're going to invest a little bit less [in Net/36] this year because we expect the revenues are going to be a little bit slower,” Kahn said. Executive conceded that PanAmSat had been “frustrated” at pace of DSL deals, noting that even after reaching agreements, RBOCs “are not fast movers” in deploying technology. PanAmSat also is aggressively pursuing Ka-band spot beam satellite business and is likely to enter market with 2 birds, Kahn said. PanAmSat has received authorization for 7 Ka-band slots, with 5 others pending, he said. While PanAmSat had aimed to have some Ka-band agreements secured by late last year, Kahn said it was likely no deals would be signed by midyear. “Our objective is to be comfortable with what the spot beams are going to be used for,” he said. “It’s better to take a little bit more time to get it right.”
Aegis Publishing began online version of “Telecom & Networking Glossary” at www.aegisbooks.com. Print version of glossary, which defines 900 telecom and data networking terms, is in 2nd edition.
Level 3 Communications announced Tues. European Investor.com, Gilat Satellite Networks, iBeam and Verestar had signed contracts to use its CrossRoads Internet access service to deliver services to their satellite communications customers. CrossRoads is high- performance network service.
Teleport companies’ revenue increased in 1998 and 1999, World Teleport Assn. (WTA) said in Teleport Benchmarks 2000 Survey. WTA said operating companies’ revenue grew 36% with $129 million in sales, average of $14 million in annual revenue for each teleport they owned and $1.6 million per earth station. Teleport operating companies invest average of $3.2 million per year in each teleport they operate. Employment also rose 13%. Companies predicted top business opportunity in next 3 years would be satellite Internet transmission. Finding qualified staff was listed as major concern. WTA Exec. Dir. Robert Bell said “responses suggest that the teleport and satellite industries are coming to resemble more closely the terrestrial side” of communications business whose “evolution has been shaped for years by exploding Internet demand on one hand and the limits of human capital on the other.” Teleport Benchmarks 2000 is available free at WTA’s Web site -- www.worldteleport.org.
FCC issued notice of proposed rulemaking that begins re- examination of whether there is continued need for spectrum cap and cellular cross-interest rule for commercial mobile radio service providers. Agency said it seeks comments on whether “competitive or other developments” warrant elimination of or changes to one or both of these requirements.
Alcatel spokesman wouldn’t comment Tues. on published reports that Turkey has cancelled $259 million contract with company in protest against French Parliament resolution last week accusing Turks of genocide in World War I. Contract was for company to built military intelligence satellite. Officials at Turkish consulate in Washington declined comment.
Boeing said it combined its Delta II, III and IV rocket programs into single operation, led by Dan Collins, vp of Delta IV program.
Qualcomm subsidiary SnapTrack received wireless location and asset-tracking patent from U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. Patent covers methods for remotely locating wireless device via client- server systems that use computer network or Web to initiate request on position of device. Device’s position is made known through data or graphic display, SnapTrack said.
AT&T expanded its service offerings with custom broadband network called AT&T Ultravailable that provides private, high- speed fiber connections for clients that want uninterrupted access. First customer is Merrill Lynch, which will use it to link 11 buildings in N.Y.-N.J. area.
FCC reaffirmed its Aug. 1999 decisions on TV ownership and attribution rules in decisions late Fri. Among rules reaffirmed were local TV ownership limits, national TV ownership, mass media attribution.