Sea Launch Embarks on the First Mission of 2004

Sea Launch is making final preparations for its fist mission of 2004: the launch of the Telstar 14/Estrela do Sul 1 communications satellite scheduled for 09-Jan-2004. The SS/L 1300 series spacecraft carries 41 Ku-band transponders with five unique and interconnecting coverage beams. Fifty percent of the satellite's power will be dedicated to Brazil, providing a dedicated Ku-band solution for the Brazilian marketplace. The satellite's other beams will cover the Americas and the North Atlantic Ocean, where Connexion by Boeing will use the satellite...

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Connexion by Boeing Seeks Momentum in 2004

"History will record 2004 as the year when air travelers for the first time could choose to be connected while in flight to family, colleagues and friends," said Scott Carson, president, Connexion by Boeing. Following successful trials of its service by Lufthansa and British Airways in 2003, Connexion by Boeing has obtained the first regulatory authorizations to operate wireless devices aboard commercial airliners in flight. Some other recent milestones for the service include in-flight VPNs, the first two-way video-teleconference between the...

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FCC Opens Proceeding on Smart Radios

The FCC opened proceedings seeking public comment on the use and applications for cognitive "smart" radio systems. Smart radios are defined as devices having the capability to adapt their use of spectrum in response to information external to the radio. For instance, a system could use geolocation information to determine whether certain transmissions are permissible. Alternatively, such radios could sense their RF environment and use this information to determine the optimal frequencies and transmit powers to use, while avoiding harmful interference....

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