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Failed Boeing-Led Satellite Launch Augurs Ill for Commercial Ventures
With Sea Launch out of commission at least for many months, and foreign launch
capacity already constrained, it is likely to be "incredibly tough finding another
launch slot" for satellites weighing as much as 13,000 pounds, said Tim Farrar, a
satellite consultant in Menlo Park, Calif. (Wall Street Journal, Feb 1, 2007)
High-tech business strategy dies with Boeing's flying Web service
"I don't think there's anything else on the horizon that will provide global
broadband connectivity," said Tim Farrar, president of satellite-communications
consultancy Telecom, Media and Finance (TMF) Associates..."Inflight
connectivity businesses have always been overhyped, and the forecasts have
been enormous," Farrar said. "Projecting multibillion-dollar opportunities from
nothing is a risky business." (Seattle Times, Aug 18, 2006)
Satellite-TV Firms Bow Out of Airwaves Auction
Some analysts suggested DirecTV would consider a deal to acquire or partner
with Mobile Satellite Ventures, a small satellite company that owns the rights to
radio spectrum that can be used for mobile Internet services. Tim Farrar,
president of TMF Associates, a satellite-industry consulting firm, says MSV and
DirecTV have explored a deal in the past, but couldn't agree on price. The
satellite companies' withdrawal from the auction will immediately change the
dynamic, he says. "Clearly, the chances of a deal being done just went up
dramatically," Mr. Farrar said. (Wall Street Journal, Aug 17, 2006)
TV groups look for new partners
"The exit of WirelessDBS [the DirectTV/Echostar entity formed to bid for the
spectrum] from the auction means that DirecTV and Echostar will now have to
focus on alternative sources of spectrum," said Tim Farrar, president of
California- based Telecom, Media and Finance Associates, a specialist mobile
satellite services consulting firm (Financial Times, Aug 18, 2006)
Opinions Rise on XM-Sirius Plan
Tim Farrar...argued that consumers do have choices in their cars -- and regularly
exercise their options with their wallets...Farrar's group did not take a position for
or against the merger but said that consumers have choices, including not to
subscribe to satellite radio at all.
"There is a choice between paying or not paying," Farrar said. "Terrestrial radio is
an alternative. I may not feel it's worth paying $12.95 for satellite radio, because
terrestrial radio gives me what I want." (Washington Post, Apr 11, 2007)
Globalstar shares fall on satellite warnings
Tim Farrar of TMF Associates, a leading satellite expert, said Globalstar has
roughly an 80 per cent market share of the 150,000 MSS voice handsets in use
within North America and suggested that the satellite problems could cause major
upheaval in the MSS market. "Faced with the prospect that Globalstar's current
satellites may no longer be able to support voice services by sometime in 2008,
and that these services will remain largely unavailable until a new constellation is
launched in 2009-2010, users may need to look elsewhere for a reliable MSS
voice service," he said (Financial Times, Feb 7, 2007)
AT&T launching mobile TV service, but who will watch?
"Without a clear block of time like commuting on the subway it’s just not clear
there will be that many people willing to pay for the service," says Tim Farrar,
president of research firm Telecom, Media and Finance Associates."
(CNNMoney, Mar 28, 2008)
Lufthansa Plans Internet Access For Long Flights
Lufthansa's plans are being shaped partly by hard-to-predict social factors, such
as passenger reactions to anticipated noise and interruptions stemming from
airborne cellphones. On long-haul routes, the concept of voice services "really
seems to have slowed down recently," primarily due "to worries about how
premium passengers would react," said Tim Farrar, a satellite-industry consultant
in Menlo Park, Calif. (Wall Street Journal, Aug 1, 2007)
Cable Giants Talk WiMAX
"Short of buying a wireless carrier, this joint venture is the best wireless option
for the cable companies to date," said Tim Farrar, president of Telecom Media
and Finance Associates. "However I am not so sure that a quadruple play service
involving WiMAX solves the cable operators competitive problems with the
telcos." (Red Herring, Mar 26, 2008)
Inmarsat receives takeover signal
"Harbinger is definitely focusing on the value of Inmarsat's spectrum in a
potential ATC deployment, and is highly likely to combine Inmarsat with
SkyTerra," said Tim Farrar, a satellite industry expert with TMF Associates.
"It is less likely to result in a three-way merger with TerreStar because their
spectrum is in a different band." (Financial Times, Jul 8, 2008)