Bye-bye birdie: Telstar 401 loss leaves lasting impression. (AT&T satellite equipment failure)(Domestic Satellites)

Broadcasting & Cable, January, 1997 by Dickson, Glen

Telstar 401 loss leaves a lasting impression Two weeks after the failure of AT&T's Telstar 401 hybrid satellite (B&C, Jan. 20), the satellite industry is still grappling with the reality of having 24 fewer C-band transponders and 16 fewer Ku-band transponders floating above U.S. skies.

The capacity loss has tightened a recovering C-band market and dealt an immense blow to an already strained Ku-band supply. "Ad hoc users are seeing an extreme crunch on Ku-band," says Scott Lenehan, manager of North American broadcast services for capacity reseller Vyvx. "There was a shortage even prior to the 401 failure, and it just worsened an already tight situation." Since the next two birds with Ku-band capacity scheduled to launch, GE Americom's GE-2...

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