Thursday, June 15, 2006

Mobile Satellite Ventures Appoints Cingular Exec as VP of RF Engineering

Mobile Satellite Ventures, which is planning a satellite-cellular wireless communications network for the U.S., announced the appointment of Mike Yglesias as Vice President of RF Engineering, where he will be responsible for the overall design segment of the MSV terrestrial Radio Frequency (RF) network. Yglesias joins MSV from Cingular Wireless, where he held the position of Director of RF Engineering.

http://www.msvlp.com
  • In January 2006, Mobile Satellite Ventures (MSV), a provider of hybrid satellite-cellular communications backed by Columbia Capital, Spectrum Equity Investors and others, selected Boeing for a new generation of mobile satellites serving North and South America beginning in 2000.


  • MSV has awarded a contract valued at $500 million to $1 billion to Boeing for the construction of three satellites and associated ground systems. Although financial details were not disclosed, Boeing said this is the largest commercial satellite order it has booked since 1997.


  • The network will based on MSV's patented Ancillary Terrestrial Component (ATC) technology, which will combine satellite and cellular technology to deliver reliable, advanced and widespread voice and data coverage. The service will use wireless devices that are "virtually identical to cell phone handsets in terms of aesthetics, cost, and functionality."


  • Boeing will also develop ground-based systems that will provide advanced beam forming flexibility and interference cancellation unprecedented in commercial satellite systems.


  • The satellites will be among the largest and most powerful ever built. Each spacecraft will supply 11,000 watts of power through 5-panel solar array wings using highly efficient triple-junction Gallium arsenide cells. The 22-meter L-band reflector for mobile terminal links will complement a 1.5 meter Ku-band antenna.


  • Ancillary Terrestrial Component (ATC) technology which allows existing satellite phone spectrum to also be used over dedicated terrestrial networks, with call capacity managed and reallocated, in real time, between satellite and terrestrial networks via a common control center. Calls can be made over either network using the same phone handset. ATC technology could be used to supplement satellite phone service with a ground-based network to provide a "back-up" signal.

Verizon Signs PBS for FiOS TV

Verizon announced a major agreement with the Association of Public Television Stations (APTS) and PBS (Public Broadcasting Service) to carry local public television stations' digital programming over its fiber-optic FiOS TV service.



Under the multiyear agreement, every Verizon FiOS TV system will carry the full digital signal of up to three public television stations within the system's service area, as well as any additional noncommercial station that does not duplicate programming of another station in the market. The agreement also includes PBS and local public television stations' HDTV programming and local stations' digital multicasts.



Verizon FiOS TV will carry all freely available digital data broadcast by participating public television stations, including public safety warning information and formal educational materials such as certain subscription- based educational data.

http://www.verizon.com

Aperto Networks Appoints VP of Engineering

Aperto Networks announced the appointment of Behrooz Parsay as vice president of engineering. Parsay began his career as an RF engineer and has held engineering management positions at L3 Communications, Ericsson, DIVA, Kestrel, and Lantern Communications. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Chico State University, and a Master of Science in Engineering Management from Santa Clara University.



Aperto Networks also announced that Dr. Subir Varma has been appointed vice president of technology.

http://www.apertonet.com

Aurora Ships New Optical Transmitter for its MSO Platform

Aurora Networks began shipping a new line of 1 GHz 1310 nm optical broadcast and narrowcast transmitters for cable operators. Four versions of the low-cost 1 GHz transmitters are available, offering:

  • One all-band RF input port


  • Dual RF input ports for broadcast and narrowcast inputs


  • Dual RF input ports with automatic gain control (AGC)


  • Fully-featured LCWDM versions


Aurora also began shipping three other transmitters for its optical transport platform:

  • 1550 nm broadcast transmitters optimized for NTSC 77-channel and PAL B/G 64-channel plans at transmission distances of 65 or 100 kilometers and with 9.5 dBm minimum optical output power


  • 1550 nm narrowcast transmitters with 42 different DWDM wavelength versions with 100 GHz channel spacing (channels 18 through 59 on the standard ITU-T G.694.1 grid and 10 dBm optical output power


  • 1310 nm Enhanced Performance Transmitters with 53 dB CNR (with full channel loading of 50-550 MHz analog and 550-1002 MHz, 256 QAM).
http://www.aurora.com