SpaceX successfully launches Arabsat 6A

SpaceX's Falcon-Heavy rocket successfully launched Arabsat 6A satellite, a high-capacity telecommunications satellite that will deliver television, radio, Internet, and mobile communications to customers in the Middle East, Africa, and Europe.

Arabsat 6A is the largest and most powerful commercial satellite Lockheed Martin has ever produced. Arabsat 6A provides advanced Ka-spot beam communications services and Ku and Ka-band coverages in addition to other frequency bands. It will be located at Arabsat exclusive orbital position 30.5, supporting Arabsat competitiveness, as the first satellite operator in the region, in respect to its capabilities and satellite broadcasting services.

 Arabsat-6A is part of the two-satellite Arabsat-6G program for Arabsat and is the second of Lockheed Martin's modernized LM 2100 series satellites to complete assembly. The other satellite in the Arabsat 6G program, Hellas Sat 4/SaudiGeoSat-1, recently completed assembly and was also shipped to Sunnyvale in November of 2017 for testing.

"Arabsat-6A and its companion satellite, Hellas Sat 4/SaudiGeoSat-1 are the most advanced commercial communications satellites we've ever built," said Lisa Callahan, vice president and general manager of Commercial Civil Space for Lockheed Martin. "The modernized LM 2100 that these satellites are built on is packed with new innovations, including solar arrays that are 30 percent lighter and 50 percent more powerful, upgraded flight software and more efficient propulsion capabilities resulting in longer maneuver life. Those improvements will deliver greater precision, performance and value in orbit."

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President Trump's comments on 5G

At a press event at the White House on Friday, President Trump made the following remarks regarding 5G:

THE PRESIDENT:  Well, thank you very much, everybody.  Big day.  Very important day.  We have a lot of important days at our White House.  And this is, to me, the future.

I want to thank you all for being here to discuss a critical issue for our country’s future: winning the race to be the world’s leading provider of 5G cellular communications networks.  It’s all about 5G now.  We were at 4G, and everybody was saying, “We have to get 4G.”  And then they said, before that, “We have to get 3G.”  And now we have to get 5G, and 5G is a big deal.  And that’s going to be there for a while.  And I guess, at some point, we’ll be talking to you about number 6.  What do you think?  (Laughter.)  Do you think that’s true, Ajit?

But, right now, we want to be the leader in this.  We’re the leader in almost everything else. (continues)

Ajit Pai, FCC Chairman, comments (in part): 

Today, 5G is a success story — an American success story.  Well, how are we getting the job done?  As the lead agency on 5G, the FCC is pursuing a three-part strategy called the 5G FAST Plan.  First, we’re freeing up spectrum, the invisible airwaves that carry wireless traffic.  We finished our first 5G spectrum auction in January, and we’re holding a second, right now, that has already generated almost $2 billion in bids.

Second, we’re making it easier to install wireless infrastructure.  5G will rely heavily on a web of small antennas.  But when I came into office, regulations designed for tall towers threatened to strangle our 5G future in red tape.  We have eliminated these rules, because infrastructure the size of a pizza box shouldn’t have to jump through the same regulatory hoops as a 200-foot cell tower.

And third, we’ve taken action to encourage the deployment of optical fiber.  That is because 5G isn’t just about wireless.  We’ll also need strong fiber networks to carry 5G traffic once it goes from the air to the ground.  And we’ve done a lot to make that happen, including ending heavy-handed regulations imposed by the prior administration.  (continues)

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-united-states-5g-deployment/

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CyrusOne raises $200M through sale of GDS shares

CyrusOne sold approximately 5.7 million American depository shares of GDS Holdings Limited for a total purchase price of approximately $200 million.

CyrusOne will continue to hold approximately 2.3 million ADSs, valued at approximately $90 million based on the GDS closing price on April 11, with the remaining shares being subject to a six-month lock up.

“GDS has created substantial value for its shareholders over the last 18 months, in turn allowing us to recycle capital and generate significant cash proceeds from the sale of shares, while maintaining a position that approximates our original investment,” said Wojtaszek. “This transaction replaces a meaningful portion of our equity capital requirements for the year, with the proceeds being deployed to fund attractive, profitable growth opportunities. William and his team have been fantastic partners, and the nearly 20 megawatts of leases we signed last year with Chinese hyperscale companies was a direct result of our relationship with GDS. As two of the fastest-growing data center companies, we look forward to continuing to work together to capitalize on the strong underlying secular demand trends and meet the needs of our customers in the two biggest economies in the world.”

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NTT Com opens first data center in the Netherlands

NTT Communications inaugurated its “Amsterdam 1 Data Center” (AMS1), its first in the Netherlands. The facility is managed trough e-shelter, a subsidiary of NTT Com and one of the leading data center providers in Europe.
Rupprecht Rittweger commented, “As a market leader in Europe we are continuously expanding our business with our market entry in Amsterdam and ongoing developments such as London and Madrid. Our customers are integral to our continued growth and we have successfully secured anchor customers for our AMS1 facility.”

AMS1 offers flexible and secure premium colocation services with scalable, carrier- neutral capacity of up to 16,000 sqm IT space and 40 MW IT load once fully developed.

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