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Acquired by SageNet in 2014, Spacenet, Inc. was a provider of VSAT satellite-based data network services as well as hybrid satellite/terrestrial networks and network management services. Spacenet was headquartered in Tysons Corner, Virginia in the United States.

Spacenet's primary business was 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 held 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.

History

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 K_u band satellite, Spacenet 1). It went through several acquisitions over the next 15 years, absorbing AT&T Tridom and Contel ASC.

GTE Spacenet was sold to General Electric American Communications in 1994. AT&T sold the Tridom Corporation to Spacenet in 1997.

In 1998, GE Americom sold Spacenet's North American operations to VSAT terminal manufacturer Gilat Satellite Networks for $227.5 million in stock and spun the satellite assets off into GE Americom (which later became part of SES).

In March 2005, Gilat wholly acquired StarBand, the first two-way consumer satellite ISP in the United States, and merged StarBand's operations into Spacenet.

Andreas Georghiou became CEO of Spacenet the following year, in 2006. Under Georghiou, Spacenet acquired Chantilly, Virginia-based managed network services provider CICAT Networks in 2011.

In 2012, president and chief operating officer Glenn Katz became CEO of Spacenet, replacing Andreas Georghiou.

Following a loss of $2 million on $77 million in revenues in 2012 and faced with uncertainty about future spending by the U.S. Department of Defense, Gilat Satellite Networks sold Spacenet Inc. to Tulsa, Oklahoma-based managed network solutions provider SageNet for $16 million in 2013.

SageNet CEO Daryl Woodard replaced Glenn Katz as CEO of the new combined company in 2014, with Brad Wise becoming president. Spacenet was wholly absorbed into SageNet by the end of 2014 and became solely a brand name for SageNet's satellite services.

Satellite fleet

References

1. "Tysons Corner CDP, Virginia Archived 2011-11-10 at the Wayback Machine." United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on May 7, 2009.
2. "Contact Us Archived 2009-05-27 at the Wayback Machine." Spacenet. Retrieved on May 12, 2009.
3. Macrae, Duncan; Bulloch, Chris (January 1995). "GE absorbs GTE". Interavia Business & Technology. 50 (586): 43. Retrieved 5 September 2015 – via EBSCOhost.
4. "GE Spacenet completes purchase of AT&T unit". The Wall Street Journal. 2 July 1997. p. A7.
5. "Company News; Gilat Satellite to Buy GE Spacenet Unit for $227 Million". The New York Times. 29 September 1998. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
6. "Gilat Announces Acquisition of Remaining Shares of StarBand Communications Inc., Plans to Merge the Operations of StarBand into Gilat's Spacenet Subsidiary" (Press release). 7 March 2005. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
7. Adler, Neil (25 July 2006). "Spacenet names new CEO". The Washington Business Journal. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
8. "Spacenet Acquires CICAT Networks" (Press release). McLean, Virginia. 18 April 2011. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
9. Echols, Tucker (28 November 2011). "Spacenet names Glenn Katz CEO". Washington Business Journal. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
10. de Selding, Peter B. (21 August 2013). "After Disappointing Quarter, Gilat Sells Spacenet Business". SpaceNews. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
11. "SageNet Expands with Acquisition of Washington D.C. area-based Spacenet®" (Press release). Tulsa, Oklahoma. 20 August 2013. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
12. "SageNet Completes Acquisition of Washington D.C. area-based Spacenet" (Press release). Tulsa, Oklahoma. 3 December 2013. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
13. ^ Barney, Doug (7 January 2014). "Comings and Goings: SageNet Reshuffles after Spacenet Buy". MSP Today. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
14. "SageNet and Spacenet Announce Executive Management Changes" (Press release). Tulsa, Oklahoma. 6 January 2014. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
15. "SageNet/Spacenet Unveils New Brand Identity". BusinessWire. Tulsa, Oklahoma. 12 November 2014. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
16. ^ "Spacenet 1, 2, 3, 3R / ZX 5, 5R (ChinaSat 5, 5R)". space.skyrocket.de. Retrieved 2020-01-19.
17. "ASC 1, 2 / Spacenet 4". space.skyrocket.de. Retrieved 2020-01-19.

External links

• Spacenet website
• Spacenet history
• Spacenet 1-3 satellites
• GTE Spacenet satellites

• Telecommunications companies of the United States
• Companies based in McLean, Virginia
• Telecommunications companies established in 1981
• 1981 establishments in Virginia
• 2014 mergers and acquisitions