Google acquires Skybox: Google is to acquire the satellite company Skybox Imaging for US$500 million cash. In a statement issued on 10 June 2014, Google said that the acquisition will help keep Google Maps accurate with up-to-date imagery. In the longer term, Google hopes that Skybox's team and technology will be able to help improve Internet access and disaster relief. The deal is subject to US regulatory approvals.

Joint Inmarsat and Hellas-Sat satellite: Thales Alenia Space is to construct a powerful telecommunications condo-sat for Inmarsat and Hellas-Sat. The satellite will be positioned at 39° East and will provide mobile satellite services across Europe, as well as fixed satellite services and broadcast satellite services over Europe, the Middle East and Southern Africa.

Thales acquires SEA: Thales Alenia Space has reinforced its UK presence by completing its acquisition of the space division of Systems Engineering and Assessment Limited (SEA), a subsidiary of Cohort plc. The space division of SEA provides research through to high-integrity space flight hardware for near Earth and deep space missions. The acquisition will provide Thales's newly formed UK subsidiary with expertise in electronics and space mission subsystems.

EU proposals on HRSD regulation: The European Commission is proposing to harmonise laws that regulate the production and dissemination of High Resolution Satellite Data (HRSD). Regulation is currently fragmented because different regimes apply in different EU Member States. This in turn is hindering the development of the market in HRSD and HRSD-based applications. The proposed Directive will establish (i) a common definition of HRSD, (ii) specify which satellite data is considered high resolution and needs regulation and which data is already "business-ready"; (iii) common standards for transparency, predictability, legal certainty and fair treatment and (iv) common standards for procedures used by Member States to regulate the dissemination of HRSD.

C-band sharing: The Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia continues to advocate against sharing the C-band with mobile broadband services. The Association has published the results of a study into the socio-economic benefits of satellite C-band services in the Asia-Pacific region that concludes that banking and finance, energy production, and government sectors in the region are particularly dependent on satellite networks using C-band spectrum. Mobile operators are pressing for some C-band spectrum to be allocated to mobile broadband services in order to meet consumer demand. Satellite stakeholders argue that sharing the spectrum for terrestrial uses could lead to excessive interference and that the spectrum is vital in tropical and sub-tropical regions where other frequencies are adversely affected by "rain fade". The potential re-allocation of some C-band spectrum will be discussed at the 2015 ITU WRC conference.

Galileo mandate: The debate around the mandating of Galileo continued at the European Space Solutions Conference in June. Both government and industry sources believe that the most likely outcome is that the use of satellite-based positioning, navigation and timing services will be mandated, but not specifically Galileo.

Yahsat announces 2016 launch: UAE-based satellite operator, Yahsat, announced on 25 June that it plans to launch its third satellite in 2016. Al Yah 3 will be an all Ka-band high throughput satellite. It will extend Yahsat's coverage over Africa and in addition will cover more than 95% of the population in Brazil, providing satellite broadband and internet connectivity to under-served areas.

Gogo looks to the rest of the world: Aviation communications service provider, Gogo, held its first Investor and Analysts Date on 18 June. Industry analysts expect that Gogo will be targeting international markets over the coming year and that the company's international revenue will eventually exceed its domestic revenue.

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