Satellite Services

Telenor Satellite Services to be Acquired

On October 25, 2006, Telenor entered into a definitive agreement with Apax Partners France for the sale of Telenor Satellite Services (TSS) to funds managed by Apax Partners for $400 million. Since 2002, Telenor has defined Telenor Satellite Services as non-core business. Apax Partners intends to pursue the development of the company in Norway and abroad. Telenor Satellite Services offers communication solutions via satellite to land, air and sea. The transaction will not impact the services provided by TSS and business relations with customers will remain unchanged. "Apax Partners is a very capable owner, and the sale of Telenor Satellite Services is made in accordance with Telenor's strategy to divest business operations that fall outside the scope of our core activities. We are pleased that Telenor Satellite Services will now have an owner that is well-positioned to continue the development of the company," said Bjarne Aamodt, Chairman of Telenor Satellite Services and Senior Vice President in Telenor. "We are delighted to make a further investment in satellite communication services by acquiring TSS. TSS is not only a major provider of mobile satellite services, but also a leading competitor in the high growth VSAT business segment, providing mission critical satellite communication services to demanding clients worldwide

Telenor Selected as Premier Provider

Telenor Satellite Services was chosen as a premier service provider of the next generation of mobile satellite communications, Inmarsat's Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN). BGAN, currently planned for commercial launch in 2005, will offer high-speed circuit-switched and packet data services, plus voice telephony, via a portfolio of small, lightweight user terminals. The enhanced capabilities of the BGAN system are made possible through a new generation of satellites, known as Inmarsat 4

Telenor Acquires Norse Technology Sat Business

Telenor Satellite Services, a subsidiary of Telenor of Norway, has purchased the satellite communications activities of Norse Technology AS and additionally has acquired the majority of stock in Norwegian-based Norse Electronics AS. With this purchase, Telenor Satellite Services intends to re-establish Norse Electronics AS as the leading integrator of communications services for the Oil & Offshore industry. The acquisition of Norse Electronics also serves to enhance Telenor Satellite

MTN Commits to Intelsat Open Architecture Satellite Platform

Intelsat S.A., & MTN Satellite Communications (MTN) agree to provide satellite services to Caribbean cruise & yacht customers Under a long-term agreement, MTN will leverage the first Intelsat EpicNG satellite, Intelsat 29e, to provide more than 2 gigabits of capacity for MTN's cruise and yacht customers in the Caribbean. The Intelsat EpicNG platform is a complementary overlay to Intelsat's leading global satellite network

Telenor Launches BGAN Service

Telenor Satellite Services, a subsidiary of Telenor of Norway, announced that its Broadband Global Area Network Service (BGAN) is commercially available to customers in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Africa. BGAN is a global, mobile service designed to provide voice and broadband data simultaneously and is the latest addition to the Telenor Portfolio of Broadband, On Demand and Value Added Services. Telenor Satellite Services also offers Terralink

O'Gara Wins Navy Satellite Deal

SatCom Group Holdings PLC, a reseller of mobile satellite communications, said its subsidiary O'Gara Satellite Systems Inc has won a 5-year contract, worth 10m in the first year, from the US government to supply satellite airtime to the US Navy. O'Gara, which is one of the five companies in the world certified as a Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization (DITCO) awardee, won the contract following a tender

Iridium Announces Q4 Results

Iridium Satellite announces that it has 175,000 subscribers worldwide as of December 31, 2006. The new figure represents a 23.2 percent increase over last year’s subscriber total of 142,000. Revenue for the full year 2006 was $212.4 million and EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization) was $53.9m. Fourth quarter 2006 revenue was $53.2m and EBITDA was $14m. The company will announce plans for its new satellite constellation initiative, called Iridium NEXT

Telenor Signs with AUR

Telenor Satellite Services today announced the signing of a business agreement with Anders Utkilens Rederi (AUR) of Norway, one of northern Europe's largest maritime chemical transportation companies. The contract calls for Telenor to provide its Sealink maritime high-speed data communications solution aboard AUR's fleet of 16 chemical tanker vessels. Under the terms of this multi-year agreement, Telenor will provide Ku-Band service for AUR's entire fleet that operates primarily

MTN Will Provide For Heerema Marine Contractors

Maritime Telecommunications Network, Inc. (MTN), announced that it has entered into an agreement with Heerema Marine Contractors (HMC), making MTN the exclusive provider of global telecommunications services aboard Heerema's DCV Balder. MTN will supply Heerema Marine Contractors with 128 kbps of high-speed bandwidth to enable communications for the DCV Balder, which operates in the Gulf of Mexico. MTN's services will allow Heerema's personnel to interact via advanced satellite network

Hapag-Lloyd Cruises Employ OnAir Phone Services

Hapag-Lloyd Cruises passengers can now remain in touch in the most remote corners of the world. The luxury cruise operator is adding OnAir’s mobile phone services, already deployed on MS EUROPA, to its two Expedition ships, MS HANSEATIC and MS BREMEN. OnAir’s satellite service was designed to allow passengers to use their own mobile devices just as they do on dry land, for calls, text messages, email and mobile data