The Arab Satellite Communications Corporation (Arabsat) announced, during its board of directors meeting, the selection of H.E Eng. Haitham Al-Ohali, vice minister at Ministry of Communications and Information Technology in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as the new chairman of Arabsat board of directors, accepting the resignation of CEO Eng. Khalid bin Ahmed Balkheyour and assigning Dr. Badr bin Nasser Al-Suwaidan, chief technical officer, to head the organization.

Read more: Arabsat announces appointment of new CEO and Chairman

Lockheed Martin has invented a new type of satellite dish technology with a wide range of use on satellites and ground terminals, including space-based 5G. The Wide Angle ESA Fed Reflector (WAEFR) antenna is a hybrid of a phased array Electronically Steerable Antenna (ESA) and a parabolic dish, and increases coverage area by 190% compared to traditional phased array antennas at a much lower cost.

Read more: Lockheed Martin invents new, multi-use satellite dish technology

The European Space Agency (ESA) launched the world's first sophisticated and fully reprogrammable satellite onboard an Arian 5 rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. This paves the way for more flexible communications necessary for the modern era.

Read more: World’s first commercial, flexible software-defined satellite launches

Currently, about 40 percent of the world’s population has poor or no access to high-speed Internet. Internet coverage from LEO satellites offers the potential to bring areas away from the major terrestrial data highways online. However, operators also need the right interconnection on the ground and that is why Internet Exchange (IX) operator with the largest neutral interconnection ecosystem, DE-CIX, shows how new interconnection solutions are building bridges for the Internet of tomorrow, connecting Earth and space.

Read more: New interconnection solutions via satellite for greater connectivity

To connect Africans living in underserved areas with reliable mobile connectivity, fixed satellite solution and professional service provider, iSAT Africa and SES, the leader in global content connectivity solutions have joined forces to provide new 4G connectivity first via SES’s O3b medium earth orbit (MEO) constellation to subsequently migrate and expanded to SES’s next-generation MEO system, O3b mPOWER, in 2022. The development is the result of a three-year partnership agreement signed by the two companies.

Read more: SES Networks and iSAT Africa agree to revolutionise 4G connectivity across Africa

The Digital Interface Standards Working Group (DIS), in support of Communications & Power Industries (CPI), DataPath, Datum Systems, Gilat Satellite Networks, SES, ST Engineering iDirect, and Wavestream, invites the satellite communications (SATCOM) community to collaborate on the development of an open interoperability standard for the SATCOM industry.

Read more: SATCOM industry’s open interoperability standard is in the works

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the African Telecommunications Union (ATU) brought together national broadcasters and regulators from across Africa and its neighbouring countries to coordinate their spectrum use and identify new frequencies to avoid harmful interference as services expand.  A series of key regional frequency planning and coordination meetings, aimed at helping African countries expand the reach of their FM (frequency modulation) radio broadcasting services.

Read more: New FM frequencies sought for smooth broadcasting in Africa

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