Norsat

Last updated
Norsat International Inc.
Type Subsidiary
Industry Communications  · Defense
Founded1977;46 years ago (1977)
FounderRod Wheeler
Headquarters,
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Amiee Chan, President & CEO
Productssatellite terminals, VSAT, microwave components
Number of employees
175
Parent Hytera
Subsidiaries Sinclair Technologies
Website www.norsat.com OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

Norsat International Inc. is a satellite communications company based in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada. The company, founded in 1977, develops and produces communications technology for the transmission of data, audio and video. The company is owned by Hytera, a Chinese company partly owned by Shenzhen Investment Holdings of Shenzhen's municipal government. [1] Norsat's primary customers are from the military, broadcast and maritime industries.

Contents

History

The company was founded by Rod Wheeler in 1977 in Whitehorse, Yukon under the name Northern Satellite Systems. Wheeler founded the company after attempting to build the first affordable consumer satellite dish with chicken wire and foil. This satellite dish eventually became the company's first prototype. After the company's IPO, it was renamed Norsat and Rod Wheeler became its first CEO. Norsat produces satellite communication products and is managed by President and CEO, Amiee Chan. [2]

In 2011, Norsat acquired Sinclair Technologies, [3] a Canadian company providing antenna and RF conditioning products.

In 2017, Norsat was sold to Hytera, a Chinese telecom company with the long-standing ties to the country's Ministry of Public Security, for CAD $85 million. [4] [5] The sale was flagged by the United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission as raising "significant national-security concerns for the United States" and its allies. [6] [7] [8] In 2019, Hytera was effectively banned from doing business with U.S. government agencies due to national security concerns. [9]

In 2022, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police terminated a communications equipment contract with Norstat's subsidiary, Sinclair Technologies, over national security concerns. [1]

In April 2023, a ThrustMe NPT30-I2 iodine electric propulsion system was launched on the NorSat-TD satellite. The NPT30-I2 was launched in collaboration with the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket which took off from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toronto-Dominion Bank</span> Canadian bank and financial services corporation

Toronto-Dominion Bank, doing business as TD Bank Group, is a Canadian multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. The bank was created on February 1, 1955, through the merger of the Bank of Toronto and The Dominion Bank, which were founded in 1855 and 1869; respectively. It is one of two Big Five banks of Canada founded in Toronto, the other being the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. The TD Bank SWIFT code is TDOMCATTTOR and the TD institution number is 004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BCE Inc.</span> Canadian telecommunications and media company

BCE Inc., an abbreviation of its full name Bell Canada Enterprises Inc., is a publicly traded Canadian holding company for Bell Canada, which includes telecommunications providers and various mass media assets under its subsidiary Bell Media Inc. Founded through a corporate reorganization in 1983, when Bell Canada, Northern Telecom, and other related companies all became subsidiaries of Bell Canada Enterprises Inc., it is one of Canada's largest corporations. The company is headquartered at 1 Carrefour Alexander-Graham-Bell in the Verdun borough of Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Loral Space & Communications Inc. is a Delaware-domiciled satellite communications company headed by Michael B. Targoff. The company was formed in 1996 from the remnants of Loral Corporation when Loral divested its defense electronics and system integration businesses to Lockheed Martin for $9.1 billion. In 2006, Bernard L. Schwartz retired after leading the company for 34 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eldorado Gold</span>

Eldorado Gold Corporation is a Canadian company that owns and operates gold mines in Turkey, Greece and Canada. Since its merger with European Goldfields in 2011 the company has been pursuing the development of the Skouries mine, Olympias mine and Stratoni mine in Greece. The company previously developed and operated gold mines in China, Brazil and Mexico. Headquartered in Vancouver and listed on the Toronto and New York Stock Exchanges, Eldorado Gold has developed and operated assets from several merged companies HRC Developments Corporation, Afcan Mining Corporation, Sino Gold Mining, Brazauro Resources, Integra Gold, as well as European Goldfields.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shaw Communications</span> Former Canadian communications company

Shaw Communications Inc., stylized as Shaw), was a Canadian telecommunications company which provided telephone, Internet, television, and mobile services. The company was founded in 1966 as Capital Cable Television Company, Ltd. by JR Shaw in Edmonton. The company was acquired by and amalgamated into Rogers Communications in 2023; most operations were rebranded to the Rogers brand beginning in July of that year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Telesat</span> Canadian satellite communications company

Telesat, formerly Telesat Canada, is a Canadian satellite communications company founded on May 2, 1969. The company is headquartered in Ottawa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anik (satellite)</span> Series of Canadian satellites

The Anik satellites are a series of geostationary communications satellites launched for Telesat Canada for television, voice and data in Canada and other parts of the world, from 1972 through 2013. Some of the later satellites in the series remain operational in orbit, while others have been retired to a graveyard orbit. The naming of the satellite was determined by a national contest, and was won by Julie-Frances Czapla of Saint-Léonard, Québec. In Inuktitut, Anik means "little brother".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Motorola Solutions</span> American data communications and telecommunications equipment provider

Motorola Solutions, Inc. is an American video equipment, telecommunications equipment, software, systems and services provider that succeeded Motorola, Inc., following the spinoff of the mobile phone division into Motorola Mobility in 2011. The company is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Space Research and Development Agency</span> Independent space agency of the Nigerian federal government

The National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) is the national space agency of Nigeria. It is a parastatal under Federal Ministry of Science and Technology. The agency is based in the Nigerian capital city of Abuja in the Lugbe district and has a ground receiving station, among various other sites. It has had cooperation in space technology with the United Kingdom, China, Ukraine and Russia. The agency has struggled with meeting its financial plans and some of its facilities are rundown. Despite this, the space agency is one of the most advanced space agencies in Africa, boasting of four satellites and very grand ambitions. Nigeria's satellites have been praised for their high-resolution images. NASRDA is host to one of UN-SPIDER's Regional Support Offices (RSO) in Africa.

MDA Ltd. is a Canadian space technology company headquartered in Brampton, Ontario, Canada, that provides geointelligence, robotics and space operations, and satellite systems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UNISOC</span> Chinese semiconductor company based at Shanghai

UNISOC, formerly Spreadtrum Communications, Inc., is a Chinese fabless semiconductor company headquartered in Shanghai which produces chipsets for mobile phones. UNISOC develops its business in two major fields - consumer electronics and industrial electronics, including smartphones, feature phones, smart audio systems, smart wear and other application fields; Industrial electronics cover the fields such as LAN IoT, WAN IoT and smart display.

Globalive is a Canadian telecommunications and investment company founded in 1998. It is based in Toronto, Ontario. Globalive is best known for its telecommunication businesses like WIND Mobile, Yak Communications, and OneConnect.

Sino Satellite Communications Co., Ltd. known also as SinoSat is a Chinese company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Busek</span> American spacecraft propulsion company

Busek Co. Inc. is an American spacecraft propulsion company that builds thrusters, electronics, and various systems for spacecraft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hytera</span> Chinese radio manufacturer

Hytera is a Chinese publicly traded and partly state-owned manufacturer of radio transceivers and radio systems founded in Shenzhen, Guangdong in 1993. Hytera is listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange and is partly owned by Shenzhen Investment Holdings of Shenzhen's municipal government. Hytera is major contributor to the PDT Standard, which is designed for public safety organizations in China. The company is a major supplier to China's Ministry of Public Security.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Xplore Inc.</span> Canadian internet provider

Xplore Inc. is a Woodstock, New Brunswick-based rural internet service provider. It is the largest rural focused broadband service provider in Canada.

Kuang-Chi Group is a Chinese company that develops and invests in metamaterial, telecommunication, aerospace, smart-city, AI and digital health technologies.

Maxar Technologies Inc. is a space technology company headquartered in Westminster, Colorado, United States, specializing in manufacturing communication, Earth observation, radar, and on-orbit servicing satellites, satellite products, and related services. DigitalGlobe and MDA Holdings Company merged to become Maxar Technologies on October 5, 2017.

ArmCosmos, commonly known as the Armenian Space Agency, is an Armenian private agency responsible for the development of Armenia's commercial space industry, coordinating domestic activities, identifying opportunities and facilitating international space engagement, on behalf of the Government of Armenia. Its headquarters are located in Yerevan, Armenia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ThrustMe</span>

ThrustMe is a deep tech company that designs miniaturized aerospace thrusters for small satellites, increasing the life of satellites and making them more affordable.

References

  1. 1 2 "Canada police suspends contract with China-linked company". Reuters . 2022-12-08. Retrieved 2022-12-09.
  2. "The 2015 PROFIT 500: Vancouver's Fastest-Growing Companies". Canadian Business. September 17, 2015. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  3. "Sinclair Technologies". Archived from the original on 2012-06-14. Retrieved 2012-07-16.
  4. "Norsat sale to Hytera closes for CAD $85 million, despite controversies and contention | China-Canada Investment Tracker". www.chinainstitute.ualberta.ca. Archived from the original on 2019-12-05. Retrieved 2017-10-29.
  5. Fife, Robert; Chase, Steven (July 21, 2017). "Chinese firm expelled from trade association days before takeover of Canadian high-tech company". The Globe and Mail . Archived from the original on August 21, 2017. Retrieved 2019-08-17.
  6. "U.S. rebukes Canada over Chinese takeover of Norsat". The Globe and Mail. 2017-06-12. Archived from the original on 2017-08-07. Retrieved 2017-10-29.
  7. John Manthorpe (5 January 2019). Claws of the Panda: Beijing's Campaign of Influence and Intimidation in Canada. Cormorant Books. p. 217. ISBN   978-1-77086-539-6.
  8. Chase, Steve; Fife, Robert (June 8, 2017). "Liberals waive security review for Chinese takeover of high-tech firm". The Globe and Mail . Archived from the original on August 14, 2019. Retrieved 2019-08-17.
  9. "U.S. formalizes ban on government contracts to Huawei, ZTE, other Chinese entities". The Japan Times . 2019-08-08. ISSN   0447-5763. Archived from the original on 2019-08-17. Retrieved 2019-08-17.
  10. "The ThrustMe NPT30-I2 iodine electric propulsion system launched on board the NorSat-TD satellite – SatNews". news.satnews.com. Retrieved 2023-09-29.