Indigo Telecom, the company set up earlier this year to focus on providing satellite communications services to rural Australia, has named SkyMesh has its wholesale partner, but is still to name its long-waited, supposedly ubiquitous, retailing partner.

On Thursday, January 7, 2010, the European Union's European Commission awarded over US$1.44 billion (1 billion euros) to European companies in order to assure the Galileo global satellite navigation system is up and running by 2014. The progress of Galileo has been sluggish over the years, which has prompted this action.

NBN Co executive chairman, Mike Quigley, has once again raised the possibility of new satellites being launched to deliver the NBN to the last few percent of Australians beyond the reach of either the FTTP or terrestrial wireless networks.

Greg Wyler, founder and CEO of future low earth orbit satellite operator, O3b Networks, will address the Senate Enquiry into the NBN to push his company's claims that the round trip delay inherent in geostationary satellite systems makes them unsuitable for providing broadband services to those Australians beyond the reach of the National Broadband Network's fibre.

The acquisition of global mobile communications satellite operator Iridium by GHL Acquisition, a company established for that purpose, is due to close on 29 September. It will see Iridium debt-free, listed on NASDAQ and well placed to develop its second generation of satellites.

Satellite services provider NewSat (ASX: NWT) has referred the dubious-looking takeover offer from EWC payments to the Takeovers Panel seeking a declaration of unacceptable circumstances on the grounds that the offer is a sham.

Iridium Satellite LLC - operator of a constellation of low earth orbit communications satellites - has formed the ProTECTS (Promotion of Two-way Emergency Communication and Tracking Systems) Alliance "to foster the rapid and orderly adoption of portable, two-way satellite-based location, tracking and messaging technologies."

NBN Co executive chairman Mike Quigley has spelt out an ambitious programme for the company's first six months that, if accomplished, would see many details of the NBN emerging. He has also canvassed the possibility of NBN Co building and launching its own satellite.

Satellite services provider NewSat (ASX: NWT) has been hit with a takeover offer from EWC Payments, a company founded and run by Matthew Starr, who was involved with NewSat in 2003 but split over disagreements with NewSat founder Adrian Ballintine over the direction the company should take.

The latest Optus satellite was put into orbit this weekend by an Ariane 5 ECA heavy-lift launcher.