Spacenet
Encyclopedia
Spacenet, Inc. is a provider of VSAT satellite-based data network services as well as hybrid satellite/terrestrial networks and network management services. Spacenet is headquartered in the Tysons Corner CDP
of unincorporated
Fairfax County
, Virginia
, United States
.
The company was founded in 1981 as Southern Pacific Communications Corporation (SPCC), a sister company to Sprint, providing satellite links for voice connections. The company was acquired by GTE
in 1983 and grew into a worldwide satellite operator and services provider (including launching the first North American Ku band
satellite, Spacenet 1). It went through several acquisitions over the next 15 years, absorbing AT&T Tridom and Contel ASC. In 1994, the company was sold to General Electric
Capital Services.
In 1998, GE sold Spacenet's North American operations to VSAT terminal manufacturer Gilat Satellite Networks
, and spun the satellite assets off into GE Americom (which later became part of SES). In March 2005, Spacenet acquired its former sister company, StarBand
, the first two-way consumer satellite ISP in the United States.
Spacenet's primary business is providing VSAT and hybrid/terrestrial data network services to government and enterprise customers under the Connexstar brand. Spacenet's enterprise/government VSAT services are used for a wide range of applications such as primary broadband or narrowband networks, disaster recovery/backup networks and multicast file delivery. Beginning in 2006, it partnered with Cisco Systems
as the service provider for the Cisco IP VSAT Satellite Network WAN Module in the United States. It holds around 25% market share in the enterprise VSAT marketplace, according to the Comsys 2005 industry study. As of 2007, Spacenet equipment and services were in use at about 100,000 enterprise, government, residential and small office sites.
Tysons Corner, Virginia
Tysons Corner is an unincorporated census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. Part of the Washington Metropolitan Area located in Northern Virginia, Tysons Corner lies between the community of McLean and the town of Vienna along the Capital Beltway . The population was...
of unincorporated
Unincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
Fairfax County
Fairfax County, Virginia
Fairfax County is a county in Virginia, in the United States. Per the 2010 Census, the population of the county is 1,081,726, making it the most populous jurisdiction in the Commonwealth of Virginia, with 13.5% of Virginia's population...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
The company was founded in 1981 as Southern Pacific Communications Corporation (SPCC), a sister company to Sprint, providing satellite links for voice connections. The company was acquired by GTE
GTE
GTE Corporation, formerly General Telephone & Electronics Corporation was the largest independent telephone company in the United States during the days of the Bell System....
in 1983 and grew into a worldwide satellite operator and services provider (including launching the first North American Ku band
Ku band
The Kμ band is a portion of the electromagnetic spectrum in the microwave range of frequencies. This symbol refers to —in other words, the band directly below the K-band...
satellite, Spacenet 1). It went through several acquisitions over the next 15 years, absorbing AT&T Tridom and Contel ASC. In 1994, the company was sold to General Electric
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
Capital Services.
In 1998, GE sold Spacenet's North American operations to VSAT terminal manufacturer Gilat Satellite Networks
Gilat Satellite Networks
Gilat Satellite Networks is a public company headquartered in Israel that develops and sells VSAT satellite ground stations and related equipment...
, and spun the satellite assets off into GE Americom (which later became part of SES). In March 2005, Spacenet acquired its former sister company, StarBand
StarBand
StarBand is a two-way satellite broadband Internet service available in the U.S.. StarBand Communications Inc. was initially a joint venture between Gilat Satellite Networks, EchoStar and Microsoft, and the StarBand service was launched in 2000. StarBand Communications filed for Chapter 11...
, the first two-way consumer satellite ISP in the United States.
Spacenet's primary business is providing VSAT and hybrid/terrestrial data network services to government and enterprise customers under the Connexstar brand. Spacenet's enterprise/government VSAT services are used for a wide range of applications such as primary broadband or narrowband networks, disaster recovery/backup networks and multicast file delivery. Beginning in 2006, it partnered with Cisco Systems
Cisco Systems
Cisco Systems, Inc. is an American multinational corporation headquartered in San Jose, California, United States, that designs and sells consumer electronics, networking, voice, and communications technology and services. Cisco has more than 70,000 employees and annual revenue of US$...
as the service provider for the Cisco IP VSAT Satellite Network WAN Module in the United States. It holds around 25% market share in the enterprise VSAT marketplace, according to the Comsys 2005 industry study. As of 2007, Spacenet equipment and services were in use at about 100,000 enterprise, government, residential and small office sites.