News Briefs – Friday, July 7, 2006
Intelsat completes merger with PanAmSat
Intelsat completed the acquisition of PanAmSat by buying out its shares for $3.2 billion. PanAmSat is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Intelsat.
Portugal awards Motorola a TETRA contract
The Portuguese government awarded the Motorola Consortium the Integrated System of Portugal’s Emergency and Security Networks project to implement a nationwide TETRA radio system. The project was established for seamless, interagency voice and data communications across 53,500 users in the police, fire, ambulance and other public-safety departments. The system will go live in 2007. Nationwide rollout is expected by 2010.
University provides RFID guidance to beef producers
A new publication from South Dakota State University offers guidance to beef producers interested in using radio frequency identification technology to monitor livestock. Producers can use hand-held readers and check the identification of cattle by scanning RFID ear tags that contain a 15-digit alphanumeric code coined the Animal Identification Number, which is the only information housed on the tag, according to the university.
Charity gets satellite communications donation
Stratos Global donated mobile communications products and services to Jane Tomlinson for “Jane’s Ride Across America,” a cross-country cycling fundraiser for cancer and children charities. The company has donated a broadband global area network (BGAN) system, which includes use of its satellites, three Iridium satellite phones and discounted airtime rates.