Prior to EchoStar, David’s track record in the satellite industry includes executive posts at Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems, where he was Vice President and Chief Engineer of commercial space programmes, overseeing the integration of Lockheed’s traditional manufacturing group with its new commercial telecommunications sector. He also held the position of Programme Manager and Chief Engineer on several commercial programmes at General Electric AstroSpace, and in various engineering and flight operations posts on the military/government side of General Electric’s Space Systems Division. He began his career in the United States Navy working on nuclear submarine operations.

Commenting on David’s arrival, Michel de Rosen, Eutelsat CEO said: “David’s long experience and considerable skill sets, notably in the satellite field will further reinforce the exceptional levels of competence already concentrated at Eutelsat. Technical excellence is core to the service we provide our clients and we are committed to paying it our highest attention as we pursue our objectives to expand resources and capabilities.”

A US national, David is a graduate in physics from the US Naval Academy and holds the equivalent of a graduate degree in Nuclear Propulsion Engineering through the US Navy.

To enter into service in early 2013, this powerful satellite will provide a significantly expanded mission and superior coverage across the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia to follow on from Eutelsat’s EUROBIRD^TM 2 satellite, which is currently operated at 25.5° East. In addition to securing Ku-band continuity for Eutelsat and additional Ku-band resources for ictQATAR, it will initiate a Ka-band capability to open business opportunities for both parties. The spacecraft’s multi-mission architecture will enable ictQATAR and Eutelsat to respond to demand for the fastest-growing applications in the Middle East and North Africa, including video broadcasting, enterprise communications and government services. The television market will in particular benefit from the installed base of more than 13 million satellite homes already equipped for Direct-to-Home reception from this neighbourhood.

Dr. Hessa Al Jaber, ictQATAR Secretary General said: “This is an important step forward as we work to meet the rapidly growing communications needs in the region. The collaboration between ictQATAR and Eutelsat on this strategic satellite is already proving advantageous as both teams were able to bring complementary insight and expertise to the decision-making process. In selecting Space Systems/Loral we followed a fair and transparent process.”

Michel de Rosen, Eutelsat CEO added: “Following on from the historic partnership signed with ictQATAR only two months ago, we are delighted to take a further step forward with the selection of prime contractor for our jointly-owned satellite. The close and positive collaboration with ictQATAR during this process adds even further weight to our conviction that we have begun a lasting relationship that will benefit both organisations. The powerful new spacecraft delivered by Space Systems/Loral will equip Eutelsat with the continuity we need at the 25.5° East position, which is already a pillar for video broadcasting in the Middle East and North Africa regions, and usher in new business opportunities for us in the Ka-band.”

John Celli, president of Space Systems/Loral said: “We look forward to working with Eutelsat and ictQATAR to help broaden the availability of communications technology in the region. Space Systems/Loral provides satellites to the world’s leading satellite operators and we are pleased to add Eutelsat and ictQATAR as new customers.”

CNN and the World Broadcasting Unions – International Satellite Operations Group (WBU-ISOG) will host the Forum as initiative supporters. The Forum will be organized jointly by GVF, the Global VSAT Forum and SUIRG, the Satellite Users Interference Reduction Group. The complimentary event will be held from 9:00 am – 5:00 pm at the CNN New York Bureau in the Time Warner Center and will provide an opportunity to learn about the latest of several industry solutions underway to improve quality of service and reduce operational costs. “WBU-ISOG and CNN are very pleased to host and encourage this important gathering to further efforts to diminish the problems associated with satellite interference, for both broadcasters and others who depend upon satellite communications. Meeting just in advance of SATCON is most timely as a way to attract industry experts to help advance this vital program”, said Dick Tauber, VP of Transmission Systems and New Technology for the CNN News Group and Chairman of WBU-ISOG.

“Signal theft and interference have been escalating globally, which is adversely impacting satellite broadcast and telecommunication services,” said the Forum organizers in a joint statement made by GVF, SUIRG and WBU-ISOG. “The problem is attributable to numerous sources of interference, each of which calls for a different solution. We are pleased to work together with all Satellite Operators and the End User community to identify effective measures to address the issue.”

The Forum will feature executives from major satellite operators, broadcasters, MSS and VSAT service providers, equipment manufacturers and other organizations with vested interests in helping combat the growing problem of satellite radio interference. Participants will delve into the latest developments of each facet of this crucial industry-changing initiative, evaluate their relative merits, and encourage broader industry dialogue and participation.

The Forum will feature topics such as:

• Characterizing the Interference Challenge

• Improving Deployments: VSAT and SNG Installation & Operations Training

• Tracking Remote Interference Sources

• Enabling Product Quality: Earth-Station Type Approvals

• Interference-Fighting Tools

• Addressing Terrestrial Wireless Interference

Reinforcing this hallmark industry collaboration, in the past year 18 leading satellite operators formed an alliance to launch a global initiative to mitigate interference through various means, including:

• Endorsement and support for expanded delivery of GVF’s VSAT Installation Certification Program,

• Advancement of the SUIRG effort to employ Carrier-ID solutions as a means of identifying sources and location of interference generated by satellite earth terminals, and

• Creation of a global data-sharing centre, registered on the Isle of Man.

“In parallel with this operator-backed initiative, the satellite industry has also implemented complementary solutions to address other interference sources,” said David Hartshorn, GVF Secretary General. “For example, to ensure production of high-performance satellite Earth stations, the industry has established an outsourced-type approvals mechanism called the Mutual Recognition Arrangement.” The industry has also mounted an international coordination effort to address mounting levels of interference generated by terrestrial wireless services. “These and other RFI-fighting remedies will be covered in detail at the October 12 Forum,” Hartshorn added.

The Administration of France, on behalf of the EUTELSAT satellite operator, notified the Radio Regulations Board (RRB) of the interference emanating from the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran. While also considering correspondence from the Administration of Iran, the RRB determined that EUTELSAT satellite networks, operating in the orbital positions at 9E, 13E, 21.5E and 25.5E are receiving harmful interference. The Board noted that “the interfering signals appear to be of a nature that is prohibited under Radio Regulations No. 15.1″.

The Radio Regulations Board concluded that the interference appeared to be emanating from the territory of Iran “based on measurements provided by the Administration of France, and having confidence in the measurement techniques and technologies used, because they are recognized in the ITU-R Handbook on Spectrum Monitoring”.

The interference is reported to have persisted for some time, adversely affecting the operation of several EUTELSAT satellite transponders and channels. The Radio Regulations Board urged the Administration of Iran to continue its effort in locating the source of interference and to eliminate it as a matter of the highest priority.

The Administration of France and the ITU Radiocommunication Bureau have been called upon to assist the Administration of Iran in identifying the source of the interference.

The Radio Regulations Board is a part-time body comprising 12 members representing the world’s five regions: the Americas, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Africa, Asia and Australasia. Among the Board’s responsibilities is to approve the technical criteria used by the ITU Radiocommunication Bureau in the application of Radio Regulations, to consider reports of harmful interference and to formulate recommendations for their resolution. If agreement cannot be reached between an administration and the Board on a Rule of Procedure, the matter is submitted to a World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC) for ruling. The next WRC will be held January-February 2012.

The current Chairman of the Board is Mr Mindaugas Zilinskas of Lithuania.

BBC Persian is also expected to be available on Nilesat soon.They will serve Farsi-speaking audiences across the Middle East, Europe and Asia. Since Friday 12 June the BBC Persian service, other BBC services, and the services of other broadcasters on Hotbird 6 have been subject to deliberate interference.BBC Arabic television and various language services have also been experiencing transmission problems including being off the air at various points. The satellite operator has traced the interference and has confirmed it is coming from within Iran. This interference is contrary to all international agreements for satellite usage to which Iran is a signatory.

BBC Persian television has extended its broadcast hours. There are an extra five hours of programming at Iranian breakfast and lunchtime, in addition to its usual evening broadcasts.Radio broadcasts have also been extended.BBC World Service Director Peter Horrocks said: “This is an important time for Iran and many Iranians are turning to the BBC for impartial and independent news and information during this crisis. “We hope that by adding more ways to access BBC Persian television, Farsi-speaking audiences can get the high-quality news, analysis and debate they clearly desire.

“We also hope this will lessen the impact on other broadcasters who have been affected by the interference.”Despite the interference, bbcpersian.com has experienced a huge growth in usage since the current protests began.Compared to traffic in May, the number of daily page impressions increased seven-fold to more than 3.6 million page impressions earlier this week. The number of visitors to the website has seen a four-fold increase.

Online users streaming BBC Persian television through bbcpersian.com have also increased. On Monday 15 June alone the stream was accessed nearly half a million times online – this is more video requests than the whole of last May.The BBC Persian YouTube channel showed an increase in usage until the Iranian authorities blocked the site to those within Iran last weekend.The huge growth in Iran’s usage of the BBC’s online services means Iran is now second only to the USA as the country which streams the most BBC World Service TV and radio services.BBC Persian has also been receiving user-generated content, such as videos and eye-witness accounts via email and phone, at a rate of up to eight per minute.

It has recently come to the attention of atrexx that some customers of satellite operators are dissatisfied with the fact that they are tied into long-term capacity leases, and there is no flexibility offered to them in terms of opting out of their contract or exchanging their bandwidth.

Markus Schäfer, Managing Director, Marketing and Sales at atrexx explained: “Reasons for customers’ dissatisfaction with their long term leases could be the economic situation taking its toll, or new capacity being introduced to the market that offers better coverage and higher power. Unfortunately, satellite operators will generally not bend on the terms of the contract leaving the customer with capacity that they cannot use. Other customers want to upgrade existing leases to respond to increased demand, and they cannot do so as all capacity has been sold.”

atrexx provides a valuable solution to these problems – the atrexx Trading Platform: Established in 2002, the Platform is a satellite marketplace, designed to bring buyers and sellers of satellite related resources and services together. The Platform offers free registration to both parties. Once registered, they are able to post their request or their available services onto the platform. All postings are publicly – yet anonymously – accessible worldwide, to everyone with access to the Internet. Updates are available by e-mail as well as through Twitter tweets and RSS feeds.

The Platform offers many advantages for both the buyer and the seller. The seller benefits by making a sale on capacity that would otherwise have not been used. From the buyer’s point of view, the atrexx Platform provides them with a great choice of suppliers and therefore enables them to find the best deal possible and to realize considerable savings. When satellite capacity is scarce, as is currently the case for Africa and the Middle East, the resale market is often the only source to satisfy specific requests, as satellite operators are often sold out.

Once the registrant has identified a post that attracts them, atrexx takes over. atrexx opens the bidding process with the supplier on the buyer’s behalf, pre-negotiating the contract terms and acting within a well-defined framework. All parties know exactly where they stand. atrexx has already helped many who have found that they no longer wish to hold on to their capacity.

Edwin Cras, Managing Director of Castor Broadcasting B.V., a leading provider of voice, video, data and multimedia solutions, based in the Netherlands, voiced his satisfaction: “Finding the right satellite capacity at the right price used to involve a lot of phone calls to hopefully the right people. Selling is even tougher; often you were looking for the needle in the haystack. With the atrexx Trading Platform finding capacity is much easier!” Mr. Cras continued: “Selling is even better; everybody looking for capacity can now find a seller with great ease. This helps to avoid empty capacity sitting on your books eating your profits away. We at Castor for sure have benefitted from the atrexx Trading Platform.”

The atrexx Trading Platform offers its users a simple and stress-free way of obtaining or dispensing with capacity. In an age where bandwidth is a precious commodity, atrexx is able to maximize usage of any capacity left idle and often to provide the resources that are urgently needed.