Via Satellite - June 2011

June 2011
The Leader in Global Communications Coverage
UNIVERSAL SERVICE FUNDS LOOK FOR RIGHT TECHNOLOGY MIX SATELLITE FINDS NEW ROLE IN IP WORLD
Maritime
Becoming Prime Time for Satellite Companies
VIEW FROM THE TOP:
Khalid Balkheyour, Arabsat
BROADCASTERS CORNER:
Olivier Laouchez, Trace TV
www.viasatellite.com
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
June/11 Vol. XXVI Number 06
Online
Webinars On Demand
22
Satellite Broadband on Airplanes: A New Era Set To Begin After the World Cup: Early Lessons in Sports 3-D TV Remote Asset Management: Identifying End User Needs in the Expanding Enterprise Market The U.S. Air Force: The $41 Billion Question For more information on upcoming and on-demand webinars, visit www.SatelliteTODAY.com/webinars
18
Features
COVER STORY
26
E-Letters
Satellite TODAY Daily News Feed Register at www.SatelliteTODAY. com/mailinglist/ To view our recent e-letters, visit www.satellitetoday.com.
18 | Maritime Becoming Prime Time

For Satellite Companies M A R K H O L M E S
With demands for bandwidth set to increase, satellite players are vying to supply the crowded maritime sector with more effective communications solutions, as shipping operators look to satellite to boost their performance.
Online Resources
Career Center: Find a job / Look for talent at jobs.SatelliteTODAY.com SatelliteTODAY.tv: view exclusive interviews and industry events coverage at www.SatelliteTODAY.tv
22 | Universal Service Funds

Look For Right Technology Mix G I O V A N N I V E R L I N I
Market forces alone might not be enough to attain universal service in the broadband era. The satellite sector should endeavor to find its place in the array of technologies supported by mechanisms like the U.S. Universal Service Fund.
Follow us on Twitter:
26 | Satellite Finds New Role

The implementation of IP strategies is not new, but aside from a common transmission protocol, what impact will the buildup of IP networks have on the satellite sector?
In IP World G R E G B E R L O C H E R
Get up-to-the satellite communications news and analysis delivered to your Twitter account on your mobile device or computer by following us on Twitter.com/Via_Satellite and Twitter.com/SatelliteTODAY.
2011. Via Satellite (ISSN 1041-0643) is published monthly by Access Intelligence, LLC, 4 Choke Cherr y Rd., 2nd Floor, Rockville, MD 20850. Subscriptions: Free to qualified individuals directly involved in the satellite industry. All other subscriptions, U.S.: one year $99; two years $188. Canada: one year $129; two years $228. Foreign: one year $149; two years $278. Contents June not be reproduced without permission. Periodicals postage paid at Rockville, MD, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER send address changes to Via Satellite, P.O. Box 3098, Northbrook, IL 60065-3098. Change of address: two to eight weeks notice requested. Send both new and old address, plus mailing label (if possible) to: Via Satellite Magazine, P.O. Box 3098, Northbrook, IL 60065-3098, or call 847/559-7314. Internet: VS@omeda.com. Canada Post PM40063731. Return undeliverable Canadian Addresses to: Station A, PO Box 54, Windsor, ON N9A 6J5.
JUNE 2011
V I A S AT E L L I T E M AG A Z I N E
W W W. S AT E L L I T E T O DAY. C O M
Cover: This month, Via Satellite examines the potential for satellite companies in the maritime sector. Design: Vince Lim.
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Editorial 301/354-2000
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Columns
14 | Global Regulations
U.K. Space Strategy Consultation
GERRY OBERST
JASON BATES, Editor MARK HOLMES, Associate Editor JULIE BLONDEAU SAMUEL, Director, Satellite & Cable Online, ext. 1770 DEBRA RICHARDS, Managing Editor, ext. 1877 JEFFREY HILL, News Editor, ext. 1805 JENNIFER NEWMAN, Copyeditor Contributing Writers OWEN KURTIN GERALD E. OBERST, JR. RAUL MAGALLANES MAX ENGEL
Advertising
JOE G. MILROY, Associate Publisher 215/489-0585
The U.K. government is conducting a consultation on what its civil space strategy should be for the period 2011-2015. This consultation is important, and there remains time to submit comments.
Design/Production
VINCE LIM, Senior Graphic Designer SOPHIE CHAN-WOOD, Production Manager 301/354-1671
16 | Satellite Policies
C-Band Small Aperture Terminals (CSAT)
RAUL MAGALLANES
Conference Services
JENN HEINOLD, Show Director, ext. 1813 MICHAEL CASSINELLI, Exhibit Sales Manager, ext. 1691 LINDSEY FULLER, Marketing Manager, ext. 1778
VSAT licenses in Ku-band have been used for a long time and provide what is popularly called blanket license authority. Interestingly, there is an equivalent concept in C-band, the C-band Small Aperture Terminal.
Audience Development
GEORGE SEVERINE, Fulfillment Director
17 | Satellite Gets Personal

The Great (Broadband) Leap Forward
MAX ENGEL
Client Services
REPRINTS: Wright Media 1-877-652-5295 sales@wrightmedia.com LIST SALES: JEN FELLING, Statlistics j.felling@statlistics.com 203/778-8700 CUSTOMER SERVICE: 847/559-7314 JANIS DAVIS, Advertising Support 301/354-1768
The world of satellite broadband is about to see the results of a revolution in satellite capacity. In Europe, Ka-Sat is getting ready to enter service. In North America, ViaSat-1 is expected to be launched before the end of 2011, and the Hughes Network Systems Jupiter satellite is planned for launch early in 2012.
38 | Dollars and Sense

Goodbye to the Space Shuttle
OWEN KURTIN
The U.S. Space Shuttle program will come to a close this year, a little more than 30 years after its inaugural flight, with the last flight scheduled for late June. Always a technological marvel and never an economic one, the shuttle reminds us of an-
Marketing
JILL BRAUN, Senior Marketing Manager, Via Satellite
other beautiful white bird now seen only in museums, the Concorde.
Access Intelligence, LLC

DON PAZOUR, Chief Executive Officer ED PINEDO, Exec. Vice President & Chief Financial Officer HEATHER FARLEY, Divisional President, Business Information Group MACY L. FECTO, Exec. Vice President, Human Resources & Administration JOE ROSONE, Vice President, Group Publisher SYLVIA SIERRA, Senior Vice President, Corporate Audience Development MICHAEL KRAUS, Vice President of Production and Manufacturing ROBERT PACIOREK, Senior Vice President & Chief Information Officer STEVE BARBER, Vice President Financial Planning and Internal Audit
Subscribe to Via Satellite digitally at www.viasatellite.com
Departments
Editors Insight View From The Top
Khalid Balkheyour, Arabsat 8 10
Industry Events Broadcasters Corner

Olivier Laouchez, Trace TV
12 31
Industry At Large Web Directory The Marketplace Advertiser Index

6
JUNE 2011
32 36 35 37
WHO READS
Steven Corda, Vice President of Market Development for SES takes a moment to read Via Satellite at NAB.
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EDITORS NOTE
Hosted Payload Discussion Moving into Mainstream
The concept has been around for a while under the names secondary payloads or piggybacking, but the first mention of the phrase hosted payload in our publications occurred in April 2007 in reference to a planned test of providing IP services from orbit. Intelsat 14 was placed in orbit in November 2009 carrying the Internet Router in Space (IRIS) payload developed by Cisco Systems. The payload was developed as part of the U.S. Department of Defenses Joint Capability Technology Demonstration. The Pentagon completed its testing of the payload in April 2010, and IRIS now is under control of Cisco, which is looking to monetize the service. This certainly was not the first hosted payload. Among the examples listed by the Office of Space Commercialization, part of the U.S. Department of Commerce, are the U.S. Federal Aviation Administrations Wide Area Augmentation System, which involves transponders aboard commercial communications satellites, and the U.S. Coast Guards Nationwide Automatic Identification System, which involves a demonstration payload on an Orbcomm satellite. The SES-2 satellite, being developed to provide commercial broadcasting services over the United States and the Caribbean, also will carry the Commercially Hosted Infrared Payload (CHIRP) sensor for the U.S. Air Force. The U.S. governments interest in hosted payloads is growing due to a mix of budget cuts and growth in hosting options. The history of the platform, however, is filled more by missed opportunities than with successes. At SATELLITE 2010, a U.S. government official cited 18 commercial satellites under production that could have carried government payloads, but because the government had no official policy on hosted payloads, only one opportunity was being used. That number of missed opportunities is expected to increase in the coming years as satellite constellations such as Iridium Next join commercial geostationary spacecraft as options for those seeking to place a hosted payload into space. In March, seven of the satellite sectors biggest companies formed the Hosted Payload Alliance. The group, which includes Intelsat and SES along with Iridium, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Orbital Sciences and Space Systems/Loral, will promote the potential benefits of hosted government payloads on commercial satellites. Meanwhile, the interest on the government side was reinvigorated by a call in the 2010 U.S. National Space Policy for public-private partnerships to fill government satellite gaps. In April, NASA issued a solicitation for studies outlining commercial solutions to distribute data for future NASA payloads on commercial communications satellites. In the solicitation, the agency says, The process of developing and operating the payload within the constraints of the hosted payload process is a new development method for NASA. The distribution of the payload data in real-time, or near real-time, over commercial networks is also a new operational concept for NASA. And in an April speech on space programs in Washington, D.C., Ashton Carter, the Pentagons undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, told the audience that cost projections for these are just not affordable, and cited hosted payloads as an option for the future. Interest in hosted payloads is growing, and government and commercial interests look to be lining up for a jump in this market in the coming years.
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VIEW FROM THE TOP

Executive Q&A
Khalid Balkheyour
CEO, Arabsat
Arabsat, one of the main players on the satellite landscape in the Middle East and Africa, is looking into hosted payloads while also continuing rollouts of new capacity. Arabsat CEO Khalid Balkheyour outlines the operators plans for hosted payloads as well as the possibilities in residential broadband markets throughout the Middle East and Africa. two different organizations in the Middle East, so we are looking for a deal where Arabsat would use some of the payload and another organization would use the rest. There is no stipulation in terms of the division of the payload right now.
VIA SATELLITE: What is the state of your
capacity expansion plans? BALKHEYOUR: We launched two satellites in June last year Arabsat 5A and BADR 5 and both of those satellites are almost fully utilized. We are happy with those successful launches. This year, we are launching the Arabsat 5C satellite in the August/ September timeframe. That satellite will be launched at the 20 degrees East orbital location. It will have a Ka-band payload covering the Arab Peninsula, Iraq, Levant and Afghanistan. It will be the first of its kind in the region to be commercially available. We are introducing this technology in the region, and there is a challenge in terms of getting licenses and partners to utilize that payload. It is going to be a busy year for us trying to sell that capacity in addition to a significant C-band payload that is covering the Middle East, Europe, Africa and West Asia regions.
VIA SATELLITE: When will you announce
any hosted payload deals? BALKHEYOUR: We think hosted payloads will be a viable way to grow in the next period for Arabsat. At the same time, we are not only looking for partnerships, but we are looking for new orbital locations and new cooperation opportunities neighboring to our region. We are looking for partnerships with government entities. Initially, we were hoping to sign a hosted payload deal at the end of last year. However, with government organizations, it takes more time than expected, so, hopefully, we will reach this type of deal in 2011.
BALKHEYOUR: We have seen that there are a number of entities interested in this payload, so we requested from the interested companies to submit their proposals based on their business plan and their proposed form of utilizing this capacity with or without Arabsat involvement or partnership with Arabsat to deliver services based on Ka-band. We have received all the offers, and are now evaluating the different partners, but we aim to close this later this month. We expect to announce a major partnership in the next month with a major telco/ ISP here. VIA SATELLITE: Are the dynamics favorable for residential satellite broadband in the Middle East? BALKHEYOUR: Yes, because the terrestrial infrastructures are not mature enough as they are in Europe and the rest of the world. Additionally, you have to consider licensing difficulties in the region and getting the approvals needed to offer these types of services in the region. It is not one country like the United States or Canada. It is not like the European Union. Here, each country has its own regulations. It may
VIA SATELLITE: Will your company pursue other hosted payload opportunities this year? BALKHEYOUR: If things go as we
plan, we hope to announce another one next year. This would be the first for the Middle East. We havent seen a hosted payload program involving
VIA SATELLITE: Last year, you said that you hoped to sign a signature Ka-band satellite contract with a telecoms operator in late 2010. Are you close to this deal?
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delay the introduction of these services in the region. I would expect satellite broadband could have an impact in the Gulf region. It could have an impact in somewhere like Libya if things calm down. You have countries like Algeria and Egypt where there could be a demand for these services. after this period. So far, there is no direct impact, but changes are going on. I hope it would have a positive impact. The new thinking is calling for more modernization, more information and free societies, so I think there will be more demand in terms of reaching out to the world.
JUNE
21-24 CommunicAsia 2011 Singapore (Conference information: www.communicasia.com) 21-26 International Paris
VIA SATELLITE: Would you consider
VIA SATELLITE: How is the defense mar-
Air Show
Paris, France (Conference information: http://www.paris-air-show. com/en)
SpaceX as a launch vehicle option? BALKHEYOUR: We usually like to see

technology in this area matured before we go with it. We are pretty cautious here. We are risk averse. If it is proven technology, we will, of course, consider it, but we will not be at the frontend until we see it arrive. We would not look to someone like SpaceX for a good two to three years, because we have few satellites and cannot afford to take the risk.
ket looking for Arabsat? BALKHEYOUR: Some of our customers are military and defense organizations utilizing the standard bands either C or Ku, but I do expect a lot of growth in that area hopefully with the Ka-band payload operational in orbit, as they will be able to utilize bigger and easier capacity to access. This could lead to more appetite in that technology. Some of our hosted payloads could be also carrying other frequency bands that are of interest in such an important sector, but it may take two to three years before we see a big jump in demand.
AUGUST
23-25 LandWarNet
Conference 2011
Tampa, Florida (Conference information: http://www.afcea.org/ events/landwarnet)
VIA SATELLITE: Did you see strong revenue and profit growth in 2010? BALKHEYOUR: We did see an improvement in our overall figures in 2010 but perhaps not as much as we had hoped at the start of the year. We had late launches of our satellites. One satellite was delayed four months and the other one was delayed one-and-a-half months. We did not get the numbers we would have liked, but we did get well above the average market growth, creating a solid base for bigger growth in 2011
SEPTEMBER
8-13
IBC 2011
Amsterdam, Netherlands (Conference information: www.ibc.org)
VIA SATELLITE: Will you be targeting
any new markets? BALKHEYOUR: We have promised to

launch one satellite a year since 2008. We are doing that. We are covering the whole of Africa right now as well as most of Western Europe. The natural expansion for us is to go East, and we are targeting countries like Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kazakhstan and even Turkey. This is a natural expansion for us in terms of geography.
12-16 World Satellite
Business Week
Paris, France (Conference information: http://www.satellite-busi ness.com) 27-29 APSCC 2011 Bali, Indonesia (Conference information: http://www.apscc.or.kr)
VIA SATELLITE: What factors are affecting capacity demand in the Middle East? BALKHEYOUR: There are a number
of satellites set to be launched in the region, however, this is a particularly interesting question right now because of the turmoil going on in the Arab world, which might have an effect on the business growth. It could be positive; it could be negative. We will have to wait and see. It depends on the new regimes in each country and how they liberalize and control their space segment reach. We are entering into an interesting period, so we will see if things calm down
VIA SATELLITE: What is the potential of in-orbit satellite servicing? BALKHEYOUR: Arabsat actually had
discussions with MDA. It sounds like a great technology achievement, but I dont know if it will be practical for us to implement in the near future. All of our satellites are new. We only have one satellite, which is reaching its end of life this year. By the time this technology is realized in the frame of the coming three years, our satellite will be out of service.
OCTOBER
6-9
CeBIT Broadcast, Cable & Satellite eurasia

Istanbul, Turkey (Conference information: www.cebit-bcs.com)
12-13 SatCon 2011 New York, New York (Conference information: www.satconexpo.com)
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GLOBAL REGULATIONS
By Gerr y Oberst
U.K. Space Strategy Consultation

The U.K. government is conducting a consultation
on what its civil space strategy should be for the period 2011-2015. Given the strong position of U.K. companies in the space arena and explicit recognition of satellite contributions to the national economy, this consultation is important, and there remains time to submit comments, as the deadline is not until July 8. The U.K. Space Agency issued the consultation as one of its first official acts as an executive agency of the governments Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS). The agency itself was launched in March 2010 as a replacement for the British National Space Centre and formally placed under the BIS on April 1. The U.K. Space Agency says this new draft strategy is markedly different in tone and style than previous versions. The key difference in the brief strategy is said to be that it draws upon the Space Innovation and Growth Strategy (IGS) and takes growth as the main theme. The IGS was an industry, academia and government strategy issued early last year. (We wrote about the IGS in April 2010.) The proposed strategy is built upon six focus areas, all centered around the growth theme: growth from new opportunities, growth from export, innovation supporting growth, science enabling growth, education for growth and growth through smarter government. The consultation document contains a nice, yet restrained, focus on the importance of satellite communications for driving the entire sector forward. For instance, it says that continuing economic growth will depend on a strong [U.K.] presence in markets of the future for example: satellite broadband, Earth observation and applications that integrate space and terrestrial data for new-high value uses. More should be said in the strategy about the role of satellite communications, in particular the fact that without communications satellites to create innovation and economies of scale for launch and delivery, the overall space market would be a small percentage of what it is today. The U.K. Space Agency could turn to a recent communication from the Gerry Oberst is European Commission on Europea partner in the an Union space strategy, issued on Hogan & Hartson April 4 from Brussels. That paper Hogan Lovells Brussels office. identifies satellite communications as a key space sector, generating the largest revenues in the space industry, in both Europe and the rest of the world. It acknowledges that satellite communications have a clear role to play with respect to meeting European broadband objectives. Translated into policy terms, this recognition should foster government support for the communications satellite industry. The United Kingdom is a center for some of the biggest satellite players. The proposed strategy should direct more attention to the contributions they make to overall space goals. This support could be demonstrated in the last of the six focus areas on smarter government. The strategy consultation says that under this item it will encourage work with [the national regulator] Ofcom and international bodies to ensure [that] appropriate radio frequencies and orbit slots are available for future space services and new ways of accessing space. At the latest count, the United Kingdom has submitted due diligence information on the launch and operation of 90 satellite networks listed in the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) space network list. This total is surpassed only by filings of the United States, Russia, China, France and Japan. The United Kingdom, thus, has a compelling interest in preserving the integrity of the ITU satellite registration system. Recent disputes before the ITUs Radio Regulations Board demonstrate that the stakes are high and countries will go to great lengths to preserve rights to orbital slots and access to space. It is critical to ensure that the system works and is not distorted by unverified or simply fictitious ploys by other countries. The proposed strategy refers both to orbital slots and appropriate radio frequencies. Radio spectrum is the lifeblood of the satellite sector. Decisions to allocate spectrum in one country can affect the ability of the satellite industry to use that resource across the entire footprint of a satellite. Thus, actions by Ofcom on spectrum can affect much more than the U.K.-based revenues of a satellite, but also can affect revenues from a far-wider service area. In sum, we would like to see even more reference to the communications satellite sector in the U.K. Space Agency emphasis on growth. The agency consultation is available on the BIS website: http://www.bis.gov.uk. Comment early and often.
14
JUNE 2011
SATELLITE POLICIES
B y R a u l M a ga l l a n e s
C-Band Small Aperture Terminals (CSAT)

We all are familiar with the VSAT (Very Small
Aperture Terminal) network, which encompasses a hub and multiple, identical remote stations. VSAT licenses in Ku-band have been used for a long time and provide what is popularly called blanket license authority. Interestingly, there is an equivalent concept in C-band, the C-band Small Aperture Terminal (CSAT). This article appears on the 10th anniversary of the implementation of CSAT regulations in the United States and examines the advantages and disadvantages of CSAT licenses. Comparable to VSAT licenses, CSAT licenses provide a so-called blanket authority to operate multiple, identical remotes controlled by one or more master stations. Yet, this is where the similarities end. Despite the decadelong existence of the CSAT concept, CSAT licenses still lack the popularity that VSAT licenses have enjoyed for so long. Here is why: Location Restrictions and Frequency Coordination VSAT terminals may be moved at will without the need to report geographical location or modify the license. This is possible because conventional Ku-band is allocated exclusively to fixed satellite services. In contrast, conventional C-band is shared on a primary basis between satellite and fixed microwave services. Therefore, every CSAT remote terminal must undergo frequency coordination for a given set of geographic coordinates. Any change in location requires a new frequency coordination as well as a modification of the CSAT license. Spectrum Allocation and Number of Satellites CSAT networks are limited to 20 MHz of spectrum for the uplink and 20 MHz for the downlink Raul Magallanes per satellite. There can be up to runs a Houston- three satellites per license, and the based law firm frequencies can be different for each focusing on tele- satellite. This totals a maximum of communications 120 MHz of combined spectrum for law. He may be a CSAT license. In other words, a reached at +1 (281) CSAT license is limited to 12 percent 317-1397 or by of the 1,000 MHz of spectrum email at raul@ available in conventional C-band. rmtelecomlaw.com. Compare this with Ku-band VSAT licenses and regular C-band licenses that have access to the entire Ku-band spectrum and full satellite arc. Put in this light, this spectrum ceiling places CSAT networks at a significant disadvantage with regard to the ability to expand the number of remotes. Terminal Reporting Licensees of CSAT networks have an obligation to file an annual report with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) detailing all operational Earth stations in the system. This report also must contain a list of all stations deactivated during the year. The FCC then issues a public notice reporting the stations that were deactivated that year. Advantages On the other hand, CSAT networks do have some advantages. For instance, they can operate conditionally once the application is placed on public notice by the FCC. In other words, there is no need to wait until the license has been granted to start operations. However, the FCC can revoke the conditional authorization if a negative comment is filed during the public notice period. This conditional operation is important, as this provision does not exist for regular VSAT networks or regular C-band authority. Another advantage is that of regulatory costs. CSAT applications pay a single filing fee for the entire network. For a large network, there would be significant savings when compared with obtaining a separate C-band license for each remote. Conclusion CSAT networks have not been deployed as much as was expected 10 years ago when the regulations were written. But every application is different, and generalization never leads to any intelligent solutions. When making a decision as to which regulatory solution to choose, it is important to understand the network at present and plan for the future. The cost and operational advantages of the CSAT solution can be attractive if there is no significant network growth expected. Otherwise, a rapidly expanding network can quickly reach the bandwidth ceiling imposed by the CSAT license.
16
JUNE 2011
SATELLITE GETS PERSONAL

B y M a x E n ge l
The Great (Broadband) Leap Forward

The world of satellite broadband is about to see the results of a revolution in satellite capacity. In Europe, Ka-Sat is getting ready to enter service. In North America, ViaSat-1 is expected to be launched before the end of 2011, and the similar Hughes Network Systems Jupiter satellite is planned for launch early in 2012. These satellites are immensely capable, with throughputs in the 70 Gbps for Ka-Sat and 100 Gbps-plus of bandwidth for ViaSat-1 and Jupiter. In North America, this is an important development, as it will improve on the speeds and capabilities offered by ViaSats WildBlue-1 and Hughes Spaceway 3 satellites that already have been operational for years over North America providing a considerable amount of Ka-band capacity for the satellite broadband offerings. The advent of Ka-Sat service is even more important for Europe. Up until now, European Ka-band capacity for satellite broadband was limited to a few transponders on Eutelsats Hotbird 6, with Avanti Communications Hylas 1 Ka-band satellite going into service around when you see this column. With the addition of Ka-Sat to these offerings, Ka-band service, which has revolutionized the North American satellite broadband market, should do the same for Europe. Meteorological conditions allowing, Ka-band seems to be a necessary technology to truly enable satellite broadband. For Europe, however, there will be two revolutions in quick succession. The first is the availability of any large amount of Ka-band capacity. With luck this should accelerate the growth of Eutelsats Tooway service to a more robust and successful business venture as has already occurred in North America with WildBlue and with HughesNet. Beyond basic service, however, these high throughput satellite offer the possibility of actually competing with slower terrestrial broadband offerings. Max Engel is an Hughes has been mentioning this posexperienced satel- sibility for a couple of years when it lite industry and discussed the Jupiter satellite. Euteltelecom industry sats Tooway is more directly trumpetanalyst and found- ing download speeds of up to 10 Mbps er of The North and upload speeds of up to 4 Mbps, Star Consultancy. calling their upcoming service DSLHe can be reached comparable broadband service. at maxnorthstar@ On its face, these numbers are betgmail.com. ter than much available DSL service,
but there is a catch bandwidth caps. Terrestrial broadband providers have been unsuccessful, thus far, in linking price and usage. Time Warner, for example, made an attempt with a test in Port Arthur, Texas, but backed down in the face of strong customer resistance. Satellite broadband, however, is built around such limitations, though they are not absolute. Hughes, for instance, has a late night Download Period between about 2 a.m. and 7 a.m. Eastern in which these caps are relaxed, but satellite usage is never unmonitored. This distinction in pricing strategies speaks to the difference between industries where capacity is relatively cheap and easy to add (DSL, cable) and the satellite world, where one simply cannot lay another fiber-optic cable to add capacity. Satellite companies are not rapacious bandits, but they do have to make a profitable business on the basis of a smaller bandwidth pool. As a result, satellite broadband has the usage caps that terrestrial broadband providers seek. This makes it difficult to predict how the competition between slow DSL and fast satellite will develop. This is where the new generation of high throughput satellites really matter. With the growing importance of the Internet as a source of software downloads and video programming, for satellite broadband to maintain its appeal, the download caps will have to be structured in such a way as to allow for relatively large downloads relatively often, or satellite broadband will become satellite dial-up. High throughput satellites could allow this sort of usage. It is no longer a technological question but a market question. With a race on just to maintain the current position, ViaSat already has announced plans to build a ViaSat-2 satellite as soon as the company studies the demand for ViaSat-1. Eutelsat says it can get a Ka-Sat 2 satellite from manufacturer EADS Astrium two years after the order is placed. The success of satellite broadband as a DSL replacement rather than an option of absolute last resort will depend on decisions made in board rooms, not developments in labs. With high throughput satellites, broadband technology has come of age. What remains unclear is how the balance between better service and more subscribers will be set. No service ever gives capacity away for free, but for the broadband satellite industry to grow beyond being the service of last resort it will have to walk a delicate line between capacity and pricing.
V I A S AT E L L I T E M AG A Z I N E JUNE 2011
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COVER STORY
Becoming P
With demands for bandwidth set to increase, satellite players are vying to supply the crowded maritime sector with more effective communications solutions, as shipping operators look to satellite to boost their performance.
BY MARK HOLMES
Maritime is one of the most exciting sectors for satellite companies, as shipping companies look to beef up their communications and entertainment capabilities. Improved connectivity is becoming a vital tool for improving overall efficiency and reducing costs as well as retaining an experienced crew, important considerations for shipping operators during tough economic times. It is clear the operators want more bandwidth, says Christian Bergan, director, verticals marketing maritime, for iDirect. From a trending perspective, we see owners deploying new applications, and bandwidth consumption is sharply on the rise. In fact, several of the operators are reporting bandwidth consumption of more than 40 Gb per month. That is quite significant compared to what it was a few years ago, when it was only 10 to 20 Gb per month, so there have
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Prime Time For Satellite Companies

been major changes in bandwidth consumption. When we look at the maritime market three to four years ago, VSAT played a major role in specific segments such as cruise line or the oil and gas tanker market. There was a lot of early interest from these segments because they had the bandwidth requirements necessary for broadband connectivity. In recent years we have seen VSAT services gaining popularity in areas like the shipping industry, because the increase in applications being used on board has increased their requirements and they cant cost-effectively meet those needs through traditional satellite services. There is a lot of new interest from areas where VSAT has not been traditionally installed, and we expect that trend to continue in the short- to mid-term. James Collett, director of maritime services at Inmarsat says his company is seeing an increasing demand for greater data volumes, which calls for more bandwidth and higher throughput to and from ships. The desire to have a ship as a node on the network of a shipping company is absolutely key. This demand for more data applications will lead to more growth. What is clear is that many of these shipping companies have strong business cases which center around spending more on communications and connectivity in order to bring a return in other areas. For example, fuel efficiency, routing and general ship operations are all areas where users can bring improvements to their bottom line through increase use of satcoms, so everyone in the data market will want to participate fully in that growth. In terms of some of the technology trends, Chris Baugh, CEO of NSR, says, Smaller dishes with higher throughput (is one trend). The hot dish now appears to be 30 centimeters, half of last years hot dish of 60 centimeters. In the maritime market in general, everything is going IP ... engine monitoring, internal navigation systems etc. On-board computer networks are expanding to include Wi-Fi access points for personal laptops on some of the higher-end customers. Smaller dishes, fixed prices and regulatory changes mean smaller vessel operators now are looking for satellite services, he says. interest from ship owners in services that help them improve their operational costs, says Tore Morten Olsen, CEO of Marlink. That is things like remote diagnostics on engines, administrative voice applications, etc. There are several applications both developed and under development which can help them drive the operational costs down. As well as providing better services for crew, this new bandwidth can bring about other changes. Erik Ceuppens, CEO, Vizada EMEA & Asia, says the move towards IP services is a major trend among shipping operators. You are seeing this trend towards converging maritime broadband, but certainly, if not more important than broadband, is this trend towards always-on IP services. It is this always-on functionality that will drive IP services and applications. If you look at the levels of the IP sophistication onboard vessels, it is still pretty low today. The connectivity services have not been there, so the move towards always-on IP service will encourage more advanced applications on board vessels. Broadband usage is still relatively low today in the maritime industry. Clearly, there is much potential here for broadband, which will be adopted further thanks to lower equipment prices and low airtime costs, he says. Julian Crudge, head of datacomms at Telenor Satellite Broadcasting (TSB), says that with the existing restrictions of capacity, there is pent-up demand for more connectivity. When we do get more capacity, such as Ka-band, this will be taken up. Services have been changing from old SCPC services over to shared access platforms, which gives slightly more competitive pricing to ship owners, he says. Nick Dukakis, vice president of maritime and offshore, SpeedCast, says the oil and gas sector also remains a strong market for VSATs. We have seen strong growth across all maritime segments, particularly ones related to offshore oil and gas. Offshore support vessels; floating production, storage and offloading vessels; platforms and rigs are all strong users of VSAT. In addition oil, chemical and [liquefied natural gas] tankers are also a strong segment. We see the trend of very strong growth for VSAT over the next five years across all verticals, including commercial shipping and using a combination of technologies based on Ku-, C- and L-bands. There will be more bandwidth hungry applications being used onboard and more integration between vessels and land-based offices. In addition to crew welfare, we see additional drivV I A S AT E L L I T E M AG A Z I N E JUNE 2011
New Applications
As more bandwidth becomes available, the more shipping companies can be creative in how they use this bandwidth. What you have seen over the last couple of years, particularly with the financial crisis, is that there is a much higher
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BLOGSPECIAL
To comment on this article, visit Mark Holmes blog at www.SatelliteToday.com/blog/?p=90
ers in the market such as administrative, operational and regulatory ones pushing the need for more bandwidth and real-time fixed fee operations, he says. think the next paradigm shift, will be when large amounts of Ka-band become available. I think Ka-band will bring some shifts in the maritime VSAT industry. When you transition to Ka-band, you wont have the situation you have in the Ku-band market today where just anyone can put together a hub, as long as you have the room or the permit to transmit from a 2.4-meter or slightly larger antenna. In the future, given the nature of Ka-band satellites, there will be a smaller number of teleports per satellite, as all the traffic needs to come down a tier one gateway. That means the satellite owner and operator will take a larger part of the value chain than they do today, where the FSS operators are just selling wholesale capacity to their customers. Ceuppens says there will be a great flexibility in the market as well, with other technologies helping to expand service offerings in the maritime market. Technologies such as Ku-band will continue to progress. Over the next few years, we will see different broadband technologies competing in the market, which will bring equipment and airtime prices further down, he says. Iridiums Next constellation is scheduled to operational by 2017, and will allow the operator to expand its maritime offerings, Mercer says. Our new service on Iridium Next on L-band will be up to 1.5 Mbps. When you compare that to today, that is the top end of the VSAT services and some of the Ka-band services that are being talked about. For us, that encompasses a huge amount of the requirements of the maritime sector. Our customer base does not want to necessarily replace equipment. What you are going to see from our perspective is a migration of new customers who want high-speed data services as well as all the existing customers who want to stay as they are, he says. Dukakis believes the market will see a space for different solutions working in different bandwidth. I think solutions on Ka-, Ku-, C- and L-band will co-exist. Ka-band is obviously the next big question mark. How will it be priced commercially, for which subsegments will it be interesting to, and how will it perform technically? These are all important questions for the industry and ones we would also like to have answers to.
Crew Welfare
Crew welfare has become a huge issue for shipping operators, as crew members continue to demand the same level of communications they have access to on land. Crews are also getting younger and more IT and broadband hungry. As the global economy improves and competition intensifies, crew recruitment and retention are becoming more critical to companies operations and profits, Dukakis says. Iridium has seen some interesting trends in terms of consumer behavior, says Dan Mercer, general manager and vice president for Europe, Middle East, Africa and Russia for Iridium. We did an experiment with a very large, well-known fleet to see if there was a better way in providing the service to the crew. It is about crew retention as well as the welfare of the crew on board. What we have found is that people dont jump on the Internet and look at 25 different websites. Typically, they are only looking at three or four websites Facebook, e-banking, sports or a news page. That was quite a trend that allowed us to help focus our partners on optimizing the user experience over 128 Kbps or 64 Kbps at a fair price. That is the type of service we are seeing being rolled out, he says. We are see great demand for crew e-mail, crew Internet and instant messaging. Then it is a question of how you deliver the services. The shipping companies want to retain these guys, but they dont wont the administrative overhead to find out who has paid for what.
Ka-Band and Other Next-Generation Platforms

The development of Ka-band services is generating excitement throughout the sector. There is an increasing proportion of the market which is looking for a genuine broadband experience, Collett says. We have seen that through the momentum that maritime VSAT services have gained. We are very keen to be part of that growth. We see a significant number of our current customers who, by the time we bring Global Xpress to market, will be very attracted to the maritime broadband offerings that we will then have in the market. We also see opportunities with customers that have been using maritime VSATs now being open to us. With Ka-band coming, this may improve the value proposition to ship owners, Olsen says. They can have smaller antennas on board. It potentially provides higher data throughput opportunities which could then be utilized for services such as VoD and other higher bandwidth consuming applications which are not present or economically feasible in the market today. Jan Hetland, director, datacomms systems, TSB, says, I
Shipping Operator Perspective

Maersk Line, one of the leading shipping companies around the globe, has an initiative, Project Gangway, that involves the deployment of Inmarsats FleetBroadband service to 220 container vessels. Project Gangway is part of our divisions business strategy and a clever way of investing to gain cost and business advantages, for example, in fuel consumption, says Soren Andersen, head of vessel management, A.P. Moller-Maersk, container division. One of the objectives behind putting into place many of the recommendations of the companys seafarers was to improve communication which would, in turn, result in more efficient fuel and energy consumption and, therefore, tangible business efficiencies. Quicker communication to the captain to adjust and reduce speed when coming into a specific port because the berth is
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not ready will naturally provide fuel savings. Equally, if we need to improve delivery times, we can communicate the need to increase speed. The company should be able to realize significant costs savings as a result. The cost effective and reliable communications provided by Marlink, Vizada and Inmarsat will enable Maersk Line to deliver significant operational efficiencies, resulting in fuel savings and emission reductions that will help Maersk Line reach our ambitious environmental targets. Further, it has been of utmost importance to Maersk Line that the solution has focus on crew welfare by offering facilities for our crews to stay in touch with family and friends 24/7, says Niels Bruus, director, energy efficiency, Maersk Line.
Impact of Economic Slowdown

While most acknowledge the recession slowed down the pace of expected growth in the maritime market, it seems business is moving forward. The market is picking up again now. I think the downturn has passed. I think we are seeing new demand from new ships and new shipping lines as well as increased connectivity. Even though there has been a slower market over the last couple of years, it has still been growing year on year, says Crudge. Dukakis says only some sectors of the market really suffered due to the economy. I think for some segments, such as commercial shipping, container vessels and bulkers, there were delays in making decisions for VSAT. This is not surprising during the economic downturn, when many of these vessels were laid up. The positive news is that the container vessel sector is coming back, and they are beginning to put VSATs on board and do various trials. We have a number of very large container companies that are doing VSAT trials, he says. I think over the last three years certain verticals, such as the oil and gas and the tanker side, are going full steam ahead on the VSAT side. On the commercial side, we are seeing more operators put VSATs on board. I think it has been a gradual education and awareness. Ceuppens says, I dont think the economic crisis has fundamentally changed the usage of maritime broadband, but it has probably slowed them down in two aspects. Firstly, it has delayed a bit the uptake of more expensive capital intensive systems. At the same time, we have nevertheless seen a dramatic uptake of broadband. Ship owners and administrators have clearly adopted broadband technology. Some of these companies
have chosen it to reduce costs, but they have not yet really fully adapted or changed their usage patterns. This means they are not taking full advantage of service levels available with broadband technology. There has been a slower take-up of the more expensive systems because of the climate, and probably the crisis has slowed down the usage patterns of customers. Baugh says shipping companies reassessed their communications needs due to the recession. I think the downturn has forced the maritime sector to re-analyze all of their cost-benefit analyses. The big guys have expanded their deployments because they realize the value proposition of integrating satellite services into their day-to-day operations. They also streamlined regulatory filings, reduced in-port maintenance times, lower crew churn, etc. For the smaller operators, already marginally profitable, most have frozen their acquisitions, but 2011 looks to have some buying activity resume as economic conditions improve. Changes in regulation will also mean that some fleets will need to purchase satellite-based offerings simply to continue operating ... HistoMark Holmes is ry shows that they Via Satellites Associate Editor. will likely expanded their satellite usage down the road, he says.
JUNE 2011
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Universal Service Funds

Look For Right Technology Mix
Market forces alone might not be enough to attain universal service in the broadband era. The satellite sector should endeavor to find its place in the array of technologies supported by mechanisms like the U.S. Universal Service Fund.
BY GIOVANNI VERLINI
T
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The average reader surely has heard it and read it several times before, but the refrain on satellite broadband is worth eating: satellites are ideally suited to bring 21st century repeating: s munica communication services to the millions of people around the globe living in remote and rural areas. Indeed, few experts would disagree with the statement that satellite broadband is the fastest, most efficient and most cost-effective means of increasing broadband adoption in rural areas in developing as ll de well as in developed markets. Satellite broadband technology provides an end-to-end solution that covers every segment of the communication network, the first mile, the middle mile and the last mile, says Dean Manson, senior vice president, general counsel and secretary at Hughes Communications.
V I A S AT E L L I T E M AG A Z I N E W W W. S AT E L L I T E T O DAY. C O M
Yet, in reality satellite broadband is not the unmitigated Universal Service: U.S. Case success story that many were expecting it to be. Despite some Not to be confused with universal access to a publicly remarkable exceptions, the landscape for broadband via satel- available telecommunication center, universal service today lite remains patchy at best, with operators playing a marginal can be defined as availability and widespread affordability role in the effort to bridge the digital gap between town and of information and communications technologies (ICT). country. In North America, HughesNet service had more than This has long been on the agenda of national as well as 558,000 consumer subscribers at the end of the 2010 third international telecom authorities such as the International quarter, while ViaSats WildBlue reported about 423,000 total Telecommunication Union (ITU). subscribers. In Asia, IPStar reports nearly a quarter of a million The issue, of course, is not new. In the age of mobile telexicom.xtlin.ad_xicom.ad.xtlin.halfpg.islnd.Vsat 2 4/27/11 4:41 PM Page 1 user terminals sold, 100,000 of which are in two markets: Australia and New Zealand. Meanwhile in Europe, Astra2Connect, the broadband arm of satellite giant SES Astra, reported more than 75,000 end users as of March. As described in so many studies and articles, to a certain extent, this is an issue of technology, which has, so far, prevented satellite operators from delivering services comparable to terrestrial technologies when it comes to pricing. This is set to change with the advent of so-called high-throughput satellite (HTS) platforms such as ViaSat-1 and Eutelsats Ka-Sat, which are expected to take the issue of broadband affordability to a different level. Yet, the number of broadband-deprived people in the world remains in the hundreds of milXicoms new highly-efficient lions, and the goal of universal service 400W Ku-Band HPA SATCOM HPAs and BUCs still remains a distant dream in most can help you go green. countries. This suggests that technology and market forces alone might not Xicom Technology is introducing NEW be enough to attain universal service; high power amplifiers and BUCs with radically direct support from the state might be improved efficiency that will help you acheive needed to achieve this goal. your green goals.
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phony, it is easy to forget that there was a time when access to basic telecommunications services was a major problem even in developed markets like the United States. This was solved largely through a mechanism involving state incentives and assistance. To solve todays ICT universal service gaps, which are essentially broadband gaps, the same mechanism might be needed. Past experiences in this country have confirmed the relative difficulties of achieving affordable universal service by reliance on market forces alone, says Maury Mechanick, counsel, White & Case. The costs of bringing connectivity to remote and unserved regions, whether in prior days denominated as access to public switched telephony network (PSTN) services or as today possibly denominated as broadband access, is simply prohibitively expensive for customers residing in such areas without some form of subsidy being provided. When AT&T was the de facto monopoly provider serving almost all of the United States, this subsidy was embedded in the overall AT&T tariff structure and, therefore, was relatively invisible, says Mechanick. However, following the breakup of the Bell System in the early 1980s, the need for an explicit subsidy arose, which is what has led to the development and current status of todays Universal Service Fund (USF). A similar mechanism might be needed to spur on the deployment of broadband connectivity across the United States. The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is looking to have the USF concept evolve from a mechanism for assuring PSTN connectivity to one focusing on broadband connectivity instead. In February, the FCC released a public statement in which it outlined its intention to modernize and streamline its universal service and inter-carrier compensation policies to bring affordable wired and wireless broadband and the jobs and investment they spur to all Americans while combating waste and inefficiency. The issue is of paramount importance. The FCCs USF, which helped connect rural America to telephone service, fails to effectively and efficiently target support for broadband in rural areas. Locked in outdated distinctions between local and long-distance telephone service and inefficient per-minute charges, the USF is intertwined with the complex system of payments between carriers and suffers from loopholes that distort markets and derail investment in IP networks. The proposal is to use market-based policies to support providers in a technology-neutral manner, targeting areas where broadband funding will have the biggest impact. Last year, the FCC released Americas first National Broadband Plan. FCC chairman Julius Genachowski in a February speech, said. The plan identified broadband (highspeed Internet) as a vital infrastructure for our economic future and global competitiveness an essential platform for innovation and job creation, crucial to the success of our businesses, large and small, and for building stronger, more-connected communities. Properly structured, a revised and revitalized USF could represent a significant opportunity for the American public and the satellite industry. Yet, in a nine-page speech on USF
reform, the word satellite is mentioned just once. Unfortunately, while the FCC seems to have finally, albeit perhaps begrudgingly, recognized the potential value of satellite broadband delivery in terms of promoting greater broadband availability, it is still approaching the issue as if satellite were the unattractive stepchild of broadband technology, says Mechanick. For example, in its recently released notice of proposed rulemaking dealing with overhaul of the current USF system, satellite operators would be ineligible to participate in a contemplated reverse auction process that would make available up to $1 billion in the form of a one-time cash infusion to support the build-out and operation of broadband networks in unserved areas across the country, he says. Such funding would be made available only to eligible recipients consisting of fixed (wireline or wireless) or mobile wireless providers that then would have the choice (or not) of subcontract service delivery to broadband satellite operators. Moreover, the FCC is considering imposing restrictions on the number of households in particularly defined service areas that would be able to be served by satellite in the belief that such restrictions would be necessary to better ration the so-called scarcity of available satellite capacity. This mentality and these types of restrictions do nothing more than further impede the ability of satellite broadband providers to play a meaningful role in the achievement of the objectives for national broadband availability that the FCC has otherwise set, says Mechanick.
Some Optimism
Others take a more positive view on these developments. The FCC has, for the first time, opened the door to satellite broadbands participation in the program, says Lisa Scalpone, vice president and general counsel at WildBlue Communications. This is a terrific opportunity for our industry, and we appreciate that the FCC has taken the time to understand and incorporate satellite into what was already a very complex program. On the whole, it is clear that this reform is expected to have a positive effect on broadband deployment. Ultimately, the FCC is expected to streamline and consolidate the five separate USF programs that support rural phone networks into a single Connect America Fund. This fund will be switched over to broadband support, and rural America is the target of the program, says Scalpone. It also is important to note that some federal aid has reached the satellite sector. U.S. government programs, such as the broadband stimulus program currently underway at the U.S. Department of Agricultures Rural Utilities Service (RUS), can make broadband significantly more affordable to the consumer, says Manson. Through that RUS program, for example, Hughes delivers qualified customers free equipment, free installation and a reduced-price service. In addition, the Americas Recovery and Re-Investment Act (ARRA) broadband stimulus program is benefiting services such as HughesNet. It subsidizes qualified customers
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with about $500 for the upfront equipment and installation cost together with a year of service for satellite broadband. Hughes was fortunate to win a $58.7 million award for subsidizing our HughesNet service, the largest of the $100 million allocated for satellite Internet providers, says Arunas Slekys, vice president of Hughes corporate marketing and general manager for the Russia/CIS Region. Similarly, WildBlue Communications was awarded an estimated $19.5 million in grant funding by the Department of Agricultures RUS under the 2009 ARRA to connect unserved residents to affordable broadband services. The funding is in response to WildBlues Western Regional Proposal to the RUS, which focused on providing services to less densely populated areas in 20 western and midwestern states, including many areas which are economically disadvantaged and have no access to terrestrial broadband services.
Efforts Around the Globe

The issue of broadband universal service is not limited to the United States, and a number of countries are considering programs either similar to USF or that involve government sponsorship of broadband deployments. We have watched the developments in Australia very closely, where the government has issued a request for proposal for a satellite broadband program, says Scalpone. After a lot of careful study, the government decided that satellite was the best option to serve large geographic areas of the country. In this instance, the program is designed especially for satellite, which may be different from the FCC Connect America Fund a program designed to be technology neutral. In Europe, the plans to bring broadband universal service seem even more ambitious. In October, the European Commissions Directorate-General for Regional Policy issued a communication, Regional Policy contributing to smart growth in Europe 2020, in which it was calling upon member states to consider how to better use the European Fund for Regional Development to accelerate achievement of the European Union (EU) 2020 objectives for broadband access, including total coverage, making use of the different technologies (fiber, adsl, wireless, satellite) available to suit the diverse geographical needs and challenges of different regions across the EU. The response from Europes satellite operators has been positive. I commend Commissioner [for Regional Policy Johannes] Hahn for recognizing
that EU funds can and should be used to connect the 80 percent of Europes rural population that are today still not connected to broadband networks, says Christodoulos Protopapas, chairman of the European Satellite Operator Association (ESOA). His call to member states to make best use of [European Fund for Regional Development] along with his recognition of the different needs of different regions in Europe marks a breakthrough in how the commission has so far tackled the question of the digital divide. The plan is ambitious, especially at a time when national budgets are under pressure. The Directorate General for Regional Policy has done well to recognize the need to greater leverage private investment given present day restraints on public expenditure, says Aarti Holla, ESOAs secretary general. This is not only a reality for many member states but it also speaks to satellite operators that have made long-term upfront investments in new satellites, including those for broadband. The hope is that in Europe, like in Giovanni Verlini is the United States a communication and the rest of the executive and world, these investfreelance journalist ments will bear the based in Europe. fruits that we all Email: giovanniverlini@ hotmail.com hope for.
JUNE 2011
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Satellite
Finds New Role In IP World
Internet Protocol (IP) is far from perfect, but it has become the central rallying point for global entities, setting in motion the early homogenization of the electronics, telecommunication, electric utility and entertainment industries. The implementation of IP strategies is not new, but aside from a common transmission protocol, what impact will the buildup of IP networks have on the satellite sector?
BY GREG BERLOCHER
What makes IP such a game changer is that it has been universally embraced by every facet of industry and provides a congruent pathway to the interconnection of a massive number of disparate devices. The ramifications are significant when you consider the sheer numbers of electric meters, television sets and electric appliances that could conceptually become consumers of telecommunication services. A common network interface and a common transport protocol not only simplifies the collection and dissemination of data, the idea of universal connectivity is changing the way companies do business.
John Ball, vice president of satellite distribution and technology for Turner Broadcasting, highlights an example of the positive effects that IP has had on the distribution of video content. We recently completed a video distribution ring around our playout center in the United Kingdom. The ring is based on 2.5 gigabit switched Ethernet, and it is a much more robust network design than a hub and spoke architecture. We can now handoff content to six different transport providers. The IP architecture allows us to grow up to 10 gigabits per second should we need additional bandwidth, says Ball. The shift to IP has also improved our network management
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visibility. We can now actually look into the network beyond our interface, giving us viewing privileges so we can now assess the integrity of the network. The network also has provided some interesting technologies available for contribution links, says Ball. Fiber is still very expensive in many countries and has a lot of maturing to do in certain geographic regions. One interesting technology we discovered is the use of secure Internet delivery (IP SEC) to provide backup paths over the Internet for contribution links. There are risks involved, but these links are only used as backups to primary links, he says. Ron Mankarious, vice president of sales and marketing for PolarSat, a Montreal-based manufacturer of hub-less, mesh VSAT modems, says. IP provides a common switching fabric. In the past, satellite equipment manufacturers would have to build one type of interface for voice cards that went into their modems and a different type of interface that went into the data cards. Now everything is Ethernet and all of the applications communicate through a common interface. From an equipment manufacturers perspective, this makes everything much simpler and allows us to reduce pricing to our customers, he says. Mankarious cites the wireless industry as an example of how IP can transform entire industries. The mobile environment was built around dedicated circuits with point-to-point connectivity between the Base Transceiver Station (BTS) and Base Station Controller (BSC). Putting in an IP switching fabric allows wireless operators to handle multiple types of traffic, which allows them to drive additional services over the same network and create new revenue streams. An IP-based backhaul solution allows wireless carriers to push intelligence to the edges of the network rather than consolidating in a central site. By doing so, calls can now be routed from cell tower to cell tower via a single hop instead of going back to the central switching site. Not only do you eliminate double hops, creating a better user experience for cell phone users, we can cut the bandwidth a wireless carrier needs by half, he says. The advent of IP-capable systems has helped satellite technology become more of a mainstream networking technology, Mankarious says. It has allowed the satellite equipment to be incorporated as part of the end users network since it is the same basic technology that is running in the IT closet. PolarSat supports two groups of customers: satellite service providers which use their equipment to provide services and end users who integrate PolarSats hub-less VSAT system into their existing IP network. We are finding more customers who are willing to do the integration themselves. The adoption of IP and the ease of use of the equipment are driving this commonality, he says. Mankarious feels that satellite technology is becoming accepted by IT organizations for several reasons. Satellite isnt seen as exotic now days. IT departments dont need wires anymore to connect devices and it is only reasonable to ask Why shouldnt my long haul connection be wireless as well, he says.
Service Providers Doing More

Several satellite sector executives note the increasing hybridization of terrestrial and satellite networks and the desire to centrally manage the different elements. We are increasingly being asked to manage the complete network infrastructure from our Compass Network Management System, says Wally Martland, president of Newpoint Technologies, a wholly owned subsidiary of Integral Systems. In the past, we were primarily responsible for management of the satellite hubs and remote site radio frequency equipment. Today, customers are looking for 100 percent network visibility and complete situational awareness. We have enhanced our GUI to accommodate new equipment types such as the microwave and fiber backbones as well as the facility infrastructure such as HVAC, UPS, generators and fuel systems, remote site security systems and more. As more of the industry move to IP connectivity to meet their needs, Newpoint is being asked to manage additional network components, such as hubs, switches and firewalls as well as computer servers located at remote sites, he says. There is no question that networks of all sorts are becoming hybrid, says Carlos Placido, senior consultant for NSR. Examples abound, from telcos launching satellite TV platforms and buying wireless last mile providers to cellular networks making use of backhaul and backbone solutions of all sorts to reach end users. Sometimes, a single cell phone call travels over a satellite backhaul link, a terrestrial microwave link and a fiber backbone to reach the other end. Indeed hybrid satellite-wireless optimization may become an interesting development niche. However, satellites tend not to be in the drivers seat of this move towards hybrids. When it comes to unicast applications, satellites are still perceived as the technology of last resort to reach end users, he says. But as more customers embrace hybrid networks, they will seek a single solution they can put in place to manage the entire infrastructure, says Martland. Network management providers must be able to quickly and easily interface with the SNMP equipment that makes up todays IP networks. The move to IP-centric networks, along with customers requirement to have all their network assets managed by a single solution, makes it imperative that you have a solid and robust SNMP management capability. One thing often overlooked is that scalability now will become a major issue because in the past, for a traditional monitor and control system, you were interfacing into modems and RF equipment that had anywhere from 30 to 500 points associated with the device itself. The number of changes and the size of the database even on large systems was relatively small. When you look at the standard IP equipment, often times you are interfacing with 1,000-plus points for equipment such as hub and routers, and this means your network management system has to be able to scale up to tens of thousands of points and still maintain performance, he says. We see a continued hybridization of terrestrial and satellite networks in the future. This is driving the move to have a single [network management system] capable of managing
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JUNE 2011
both and providing a single system for operators to manage across the whole network and not use one system for terrestrial and one for satellite networks, Martland says. This has also driven demand for operators to be able to have service level views that enable them to track their traffic across both the satellite and terrestrial networks so when there are problems in the network, they can determine which services have been affected and prioritize recovery of these services. Trying to do this bouncing between three or four or more network management systems makes the task difficult, and it delays recovery, which directly affects the quality of service they are able to provide, he says.
Changing Contribution Links

John Glass, executive vice president of marketing at Nevion points to the benefits that IP networks have brought to contribution links. Nevion provides video solutions to broadcasters and telecommunication carriers. Although we support any video format over any video network, the basis of our future business is IP-based. It is significant to our future growth, he says. IP allows you the flexibility to provide fully managed video delivery services with all of the critical facets, including: service provisioning, scheduling, connection management, analytics and network monitoring. The major telcos and carriers in the United States have been offering switched video delivery services for over 10 years, but those services have just started hitting their growth curve over the last two to three years. Placido says IP delivery is becoming the de facto transport protocol. For the satellite sector in particular, near-term implications are the increasing use of IP across many satellite applications. Examples include the complementary use of satellite TV and IP video converging at the DVR, use of IP transport in optimized cellular backhaul links, the strong erosion of IDR fixed telephony in favor of satellite (and terrestrial) VoIP, use of IP in statistically multiplexed video systems, and enterprise networks continuing shift from transparent serial-based networks towards multi-point IP systems, he says. The next step for IP transport will be the transition from bent-pipe satellite links. We see a clear shift with the emergence and globalization of highthroughput satellites (HTS), a sector that was born to address the endless appetite for broadband bandwidth. Most HTS initiatives use bent-pipe architectures but are designed with IP in mind from day one. One recent
implication of HTS has been a redefinition of roles of the satellite operator and satellite service provider, Placido says. Unlike traditional FSS operators, HTS players do not just provide capacity but IP services. Indeed, HTS players tend to define technology for their ground infrastructure and deploy terrestrial gateways, functions that used to be part of satellite service providers, he says. At the same time, service providers are increasingly agnostic in terms of what technology they use to reach end users, so the long-term picture of the impact of IP on the satellite sector is that services and architectures may be increasingly defined at the satellite core rather than at the edge, Placido says. Service providers will tend to rely on wholesale IP services and rebrand/bundle these under a virtual operator model to reach their users. The shift towards IP will possibly encourage evolution of the occasional-use model for video contribution and terrestrial restoration. Also, spot beams small coverage characteristics limit demand liquidity, so operators will need to find ways to make the most out of existing capacity; perhaps by even exploring auction-based offering of vacant capacity at certain times of the day.
Impact on Business
The advent of IP has virtualized network management, says Placido, allowing operators to run a teleport business virtually without owning one by relying on teleport facilities and housing
JUNE 2011
29
services offered by major operators. Additionally, as satellite network management and traffic optimization become more complex, some advanced network management functions may eventually move to the cloud. This could help both service providers and vendors to focus on their core competencies. There is not yet much experience of could computing and the software as a service (SaaS) model in the satellite sector, but there have already been some interesting developments around SaaS replacing software licensing in areas as diverse as satellite bandwidth optimization and digital signage, he says. IP also fosters structural changes towards a more efficient supply chain, a situation that can lead to winner-take-all outcomes in detriment of small players, Placido says. IP has been the key driver for the emergence of HTS and structural changes to the satellite business in some parts of the world. But it is worth keeping in mind the creative destruction nature of the IP openness, which can destroy traditional thinking and give birth to new business models and companies very quickly. Indeed, I think that the biggest implication that the migration to IP has not just on the satellite sector but on all telecom sectors is that IP networks encourage service disintermediation via all sorts of network effects and virtual services that take control off pipe providers.
Future Issues, Benefits

The reality is that satellite networks no longer can enjoy
security through obscurity. Now that satellite hardware uses the same interfaces and management tools as those found in everyones IT closet, that hardware now is more prone to attack. Only the naive believes they are immune. IP has evolved over the years, but the most current protocol release still includes several assumptions, which have been carried forth since the inception of the protocol: devices are attached to wires with unlimited bandwidth, there is low latency, and the transmission of data is error free. While satellite networks handle point number three with ease, points one and two are troublesome, and the sector is not the only one, which has trouble with the first two points. The cellular industry also must deal with finite amounts of bandwidth and latency. Requests for comments to the Internet Engineering Task Force regarding changing the protocol based on link characteristics have failed to gain any traction, at least for the time being. Perhaps, in the future, the satellite and wireless communities will be able to jointly Greg Berlocher has succeed in getting been active in the hooks added to satellite industry for IP protocol for twenty five years and non-fiber media is the President of and it will truly Transcendent Global become a universal Networks LLC. protocol.
GE Satellite
pacific star
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imagination at work
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JUNE 2011
BROADCASTERS CORNER
Executive Q&A
Olivier Laouchez, CEO, Trace TV

Trace TV, an urban and tropical music channel provider, is distributed to more than 17 million households in 130 countries around the globe. Trace TV CEO Olivier Laouchez discusses the broadcasters plans. is still our biggest market, but we are experiencing more and more growth in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
VIA SATELLITE: What is the next phase of your strategy? LAOUCHEZ: The road map is clear make Trace a global brand and a market leader in its three segments: urban music and culture, tropical music and sports celebrities. The Trace team has more energy and resources than ever to build the company to the next level. All profits made during the last four years are invested for the future. Our HD strategy and the launch of Trace Sports require several million euros of investment, and we are confident that these new products will be the key drivers for growing Trace moving forward. VIA SATELLITE: Are you seeking more capacity in 2011? LAOUCHEZ: We have had a great relationship with Eutelsat since the very beginnings of Trace in 2003. Eutelsats understanding of Traces growth strategy was a key element to build Traces presence in 150 countries. Trace channels are now available on 27 satellites worldwide, including seven from Eutelsat, and we are now discussing with Eutelsat to add our three HD channels on their EuroBird HD constellation. For us, Eutelsat is more than a satellite capacity provider but a global transmission partner that can provide a wide range of services and expertise to bring our TV feeds to our distribution partners anywhere in the world. Satellite is our biggest expense, and it is important to notice that there is always ground to find smart business solutions with Eutelsat teams in France and Germany to build business for the interest of the two parties. VIA SATELLITE: What impact did the economy have on your growth plans? LAOUCHEZ: 2010 was our best year ever with more than
30 percent growth and more than 12 million euros ($17.4 million) in revenues. Our three revenue engines affiliate sales, advertising and licenses were not really impacted by the global recession because of our niche positioning and our strong position in fast growing emerging markets. 65 percent of our revenues come from outside of France, which
VIA SATELLITE: What impact is new broadcasting technology having on your business? LAOUCHEZ: 2011 is our HD year. There are not many
examples of niche channels moving to HD so fast. By the end of March, all of our existing SD music channels were available in HD with more than 60 percent native HD content. Trace Sports, to be launched in May, will be 80 percent HD native. This HD migration is obviously a great development to improve the Trace experience from a viewer point of view. Nevertheless, it is impossible to recoup this investment in the short-term. Versus SD, HD requires important additional expenses in content, graphics, playout, transmission and satellite. Most of the time, end users, who have already acquired full HDTV sets, think this investment includes the HD channels cost, and TV distributors are reluctant to increase their fees because of the intense competition in the pay-TV market. The good news is the migration to MPEG-4. More and more distributors are now adopting this compression format and have more capacity to adopt new channels, especially in HD.
VIA SATELLITE: Are you looking to be present on platforms such as the iPad and other mobile devices? LAOUCHEZ: These are universes we cannot ignore. We will
be launching applications for both the iPad and the iPhone in a few weeks thanks to a partnership with Mobclip. These applications will offer our three linear channels and VOD content. Our priority target group teenagers and young adults is permanently using mobile devices.
VIA SATELLITE: How do you see the broadcast landscape changing globally in the next 12 months? LAOUCHEZ: The broadcast market is constantly changing.
One thing permanent is that content and brand will remain key drivers. Players that can develop great and innovative content (and know how to monetize it on all devices) and have clear brand recognition will win.
W W W. S AT E L L I T E T O DAY. C O M V I A S AT E L L I T E M AG A Z I N E JUNE 2011
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INDUSTRY AT LARGE
TECHNOLOGY
Thrane & Thrane Comtech Xicom
INTRODUCES XTLN KA-BAND BUC PRODUCT LINE
Comtech Xicom Technology introduced a family of Ka-band block up converters (BUCs) designed for high data-rate Ka-band satellite communications uplinks. The BUCs feature higher linear power in a compact package, which aims to enable system integrators to offer higher data-rate uplinks with rugged, lightweight, transportable satcom terminals. They are available in three linear power level configurations: Model XTLN-25Ka-B1 in 25 watts; Model XTLN-50Ka-B1 in 50 watts; and Model XTLN-75Ka-B1 in 75 watts. All three will be marketed as upgrades for existing systems that need an additional 3 decibels to 6 decibels of linear power.
Technology Services Contracts Executive Moves
32 xx 32 xx 33 xx 34 xx
UPGRADE ADDS BGAN X-STREAM TO 727 TERMINAL

Thrane & Thrane has upgraded the software of its flagship Explorer 727 vehicular Inmarsat BGAN terminal to allow the unit to function as a two-in-one terminal. The software-only upgrade transforms the Explorer 727 from an Inmarsat Class 10 terminal into a Class 1 terminal, giving it the ability to use Inmarsats BGAN X-Stream IP streaming service when stationary. With the upgrade, the Explorer 727 is capable of streaming live coverage at data rates of at least 384 kbps from anywhere in the world.
SERVICES
Arqiva
TO LAUNCH SHARED MULTIPLEX SERVICE ON AMC-10
Ericsson
RELEASES MPEG-4 VOYAGER 2 SNG SOLUTION
Ericsson unveiled its Voyager 2 scalable satellite newsgathering product to meet demand for HD news services. Voyager 2, Ericssons fifth-generation digital SNG product, is built upon a hot-swappable 1RU chassis with color input confidence monitoring and features MPEG-4 AVC 4:2:2 encoding with 10-bit precision at up to 1080p50/60 resolutions. The product aims to allow users to scale their event coverage from SD to HD and even multichannel and 3-D, delivered across a multitude of satellite and terrestrial networks.
Arqiva will launch a DVB-S2, MPEG-4 shared multiplex satellite platform from its Los Angeles teleport, enabling broadcasters and cable programmers access to 100 percent of U.S. cable headends. The platform will be available via the SES World Skies AMC10 satellite located at 135 degrees West and will be powered by Ciscos latest-generation MPEG-4 encoding technology.
Marlink
UNVEILS VALUE-ADDED SERVICE FOR MARITIME VSAT
Maritime satellite communications provider Marlink is launching its Local Numbers service from Norway, which will be available to all customers of Marlinks Sealink and WaveCall VSAT systems. The Local Numbers offering combines direct inward dialing with the local telephone number of the vessel operators office location. The service aims to provide cost-effective calling on multi-regional and global Ku-band and C-band maritime VSAT systems, as well as on-demand services such as Inmarsat FleetBroadband, Iridium and Thuraya.
Haivision
DEBUTS LOW-LATENCY IP VIDEO TRANSCODER
Video network developer Haivision unveiled its Kraken Enterprise and Kraken ISR low-latency IP transcoding solutions. The products were designed to optimize video networks for high-efficiency, low-latency performance. The company said the solutions are ideal for demanding video delivery applications within the education, enterprise and military markets.
MeshTV
UNVEILS MOBILE BACKPACK VIDEO SYSTEM
MeshTV introduced its MeshTV HD series Intelligent Bonding compact backpack video system for live stream TV and Web reporting. The unit, intended to provide HD broadcasting capability from any location, is targeted for news gatherers and live stream producers to provide a robust dynamic delivery method, access to todays multi-screens and a method to monetize content.
RRsat
LAUNCHES PLATFORM ON HISPASAT 1E
RRsat Global Communications Network has implemented its new multi-carrier per-channel platform on Hispasats 1E satellite at 30 degrees West. The platform will cater to Latin America, using the downlink, uplink, space segment and playout services from RRsats playout center in Hawley, Pa. RRsat will broadcast content in SD, HD and 3-D formats to viewers in Latin America capable of receiving digital television through DTH broadcasting and to digital terrestrial television operators, DBS operators and cable headends.
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JUNE 2011
MORENEWS?
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Industry At Large
cations as well as its Wavestorm GS-GBS Ka-band receive antenna aperture designed to enable full data rates from the WGS constellation and support airborne or ground-based comms-on-the-move applications across all of the major X-band constellations.
CONTRACTS
Advantech Wireless
SELECTED BY HOJE TELECOM FOR VSAT UPGRADE
Advantech Wireless signed a contract with Hoje Telecom of Brazil to provide a VSAT upgrade hub, RF equipment and more than 1,000 remote terminals. By 2014, Internet penetration in Brazil is expected to increase by 79 percent from 2009, and Hoje Telecom expects to leverage this growth and provide thousands of previously unconnected users with Internet access.
GlobeCast
SIGNS FIVE-YEAR DISTRIBUTION DEAL WITH EUTELSAT
GlobeCast concluded a five-year contract with Eutelsat Communications for a third transponder on the Eurobird 9A satellite, which was selected for its potential to reach more than 5 million DTH and cable homes. GlobeCasts service includes content management, playout and origination and encoding. Uplink to Eurobird 9A is possible from Paris, which has connectivity to more than 30 points-ofpresence via GlobeCasts fiber network.
EMS
WINS WGS-7 HARDWARE CONTRACT FROM BOEING
EMS Defense & Space received a follow-on contract from Boeing to design and integrate a power divider and a splitter combiner assembly for the seventh flight set of the Wideband Global Satcom (WGS) satellite architecture. WGS-7 will support additional X- and Ka-band communications requirements for U.S. military warfighters. EMS Defense & Space will provide space, airborne and ground-based appli-
Intelsat
CAPTURES EUROPEAN CAPACITY DEALS
MTV Networks signed a multi-year contract for Intelsat managed video services that includes Intelsat capacity at 1 degree West, terrestrial connectivity via the IntelsatOne network and uplink service via Intelsats Fuchsstadt teleport. MTV Networks will use the managed services to consolidate channel programming into one platform over Central and Eastern Europe.
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JUNE 2011
33
Industry At Large
Eastern Space Systems Romania also expanded its portfolio at 1 degree West by signing two multi-year contracts for Intelsat capacity that will enable video distribution to cable headends and DTH platforms in Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova, Hungary, Macedonia and other Central and Eastern European countries.
SES World Skies

PROVIDES ENTERPRISE BROADBAND CAPACITY
SES World Skies signed a deal with Axesat for two transponders on SES AMC-4 satellite at 67 degrees West to provide business voice, data and Internet services to companies in Colombia, Peru,
Venezuela, Ecuador, Central America and the Caribbean. SES deployed AMC-4 in September 2010 as part of an agreement with the Andean Community of Nations (CAN) to deliver high-power Ku-band capacity to the Andean region. This capacity is enabling the expansion of many voice, data, Internet and video networks in the Andean countries, Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean.
EXECUTIVE MOVES
Nevion
dvanced
RESTRUCTURES BUSINESS UNITS

Nevion split its sales department into two separate divisions as it looks to enhance its global presence. The Media Networks division will cater to service providers and government entities, providing carrier-class video transport and management through its Ventura platform. A separate Broadcast Technology unit will deliver integrated, broad-based video transport, routing and processing solutions to broadcasters.
A
isionary
1994 Original Roto-Lok Cable Drive
v
2001 First Mobile VSAT
Newsat
APPOINTS DAVID BALL CTO
NewSat named David Ball CTO, as Newsat is increasing the size of its team to capitalize on global expansion and because of the launch of the Jabiru Satellite Program. Ball recently served as managing director of Intelsat Broadband Pty. Ltd., a subsidiary of Intelsat Corp.
eading the way
L
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JUNE 2011 V I A S AT E L L I T E M AG A Z I N E
2005 First Carry-On Suitcase
WTA
NAMES OFFICERS, DIRECTORS
The World Teleport Association (WTA) appointed Arqiva strategy & business development director Brett Belinsky as chairman, and named Teleport Internacional Buenos Aires CEO Norberto Alvarez Vitale secretary general and chief administrative officer. Belinsky replaces Chris Russell, cofounder of Teleport London International, who is stepping down at the end of his second and final term on the WTA board.
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WEB DIRECTORY
Company
AAE Systems Inc. Acorde S.A. Advanced Switch Technology Advantech AMT Alcatel Allen Communications Alga Microwave Inc. AMDOCS American Antenna Americom Government Services Amplus Anacom Inc. Analytical Graphics Inc. Andersen Manufacturing Inc. Andrew Corp. Antek Systems LLC Arianespace Artel Inc. ASC Signal Corp. Ascent Media Asset Recovery Center Astrotel International LLC ATCi (Antenna Technology Communications Inc.) Atlantic Satellite Corp. AvcomRamsey AvL Technologies Azure Shine International Inc. Boeing CapRock Communications C-Com Satellite Systems Inc. Centrex Communications Cerona Networks Chelton Inc. Cisco Systems Clear Channel Satellite Codem Systems Inc Communications & Energy Corp. Computer Modules Inc. Comtech Antenna Systems Comtech EF Data Comtech Mobile Datacom Constellation Networks Corp. Conus Communications Convergent Media Systems Corporativo Dotcomexico S.A. de C.V. CPI Canada Inc. CPI Satcom Division CPI MPP Crawford Communications Cross Technologies Inc. Crown Media Inernational dBm Desert Sky Digital Satellite Inc. DEV Systemtechnik GmbH & Co.KG DH Satellite Digicast Networks Inc. Digital Voice Systems Inc.
As a result of the overwhelming popularity of Via Satellites Web Directory, our current advertisers appear in this space. A full version of satellite companies can be found on our Website at www.viasatellite.com.
Website
aaesys.com acorde.com astswitch.com advantechamt.com alcatel.com/space alncom.com alga.ca amdocs.com americanantenna.com americom-gs.com amplus.biz anacominc.com stk.com anderseninc.com andrew.com antek.com arianespace.com artelinc.com ascsignal.com ascentmedia.com assetrecovery.com astroteleurope.com astrointernational.com atci.com atlanticsat.com avcomramsey.com avltech.com azureshine.com.tw boeing.com caprock.com c-comsat.com centrexcom.com cerona.com chelton.com cisco.com clearchannelsatellite.com codem.com cefilter.com computermodules.com comtechantenna.com comtechefdata.com comtechmobile.com constellationnetcorp.com conus.com convergent.com dotcommexico.com cpii.com/cmp cpii.com/satcom cpii.com/mpp crawford.com crosstechnologies.com crownmedia.net dbmcorp.com sattruck.com dev-systemtechnik.de dhsatellite.com digicastnet.com dvsinc.com
Company
Disitron Industries Inc. Diversified Communications Inc. Ducommun e2v EADS Space EASi (Efficient Antenna Systems Inc.) Easy Trading Communications Inc. Echostar Efficient Channel Coding Embedded Consultants LLC Emerging Markets Communications Emcore Corp. Eutelsat Evertz Microsystems Ltd. Flextronics Software Systems Force Inc. Foxcom Inc. General Dynamics Information Systems General Dynamics IT & Space Solutions Geosync Microwave Gilat GL Communications Inc. Global Communications Solutions Inc. Global Digital Media Xchange Inc. Globecomm Systems Glowlink Gulf Communications International HDTV Uplink Helius Inc. Hispasat Honeywell ERI Hughes IDB Systems iDirect Technologies ILC Integral Systems Inc. Intelsat General International Launch Services Intorel Irdeto Access ITS Electronics, Inc. ITT Industries Ironlink Communications J A Taylor & Associates Jersey Microwave JSAT International Inc. Juch-Tech Inc. Kayou Communications Kencast Inc. L-3 Satellite Networks Linearizer Technology Linksat, Inc. Locus Microwave Logus Microwave Longbottom Communications LLC Loral Space & Communications M2 Global Inc. M&C Systems Inc. ManSat MCL Inc. MicroSpace Communications Corp. Microwave Radio Communications Mitec Telecom
Website
disitron.com dciteleport.com ductech.com e2v.com space.eads.net easisat.com etcny.net echostarfixedsatellite.com eccincorp.com embeddedconsult.com emc-corp.net emcore.com eutelsat.com evertz.com flextronicssoftware.com forceinc.com foxcom.com gd-is.com gd-ns.com/space geosyncmicrowave.com gilat.com gl.com globalcoms.com gdmxchange.com globecommsystems.com glowlink.com gcigulf.com hdtvuplink.com helius.com hispasat.com honeywell.com/satcomprotection hughes.com idbsystems.com idirect.net ilc.com integ.com integ-europe.com intelsatgeneral.com ilslaunch.com intorel.com irdetoaccess.com itselectronics.com ittsystems.com ironlinkus.com broadcastassociates.com jerseymicrowave.com jsati.com juch-tech.com kayoucommunications.com kencast.com l-3com.com lintech.com linksat.com locusmicrowave.com logusmicrowave.com longbottomcommunications.com loral.com m2global.com mcsys.com spaceisle.com mcl.com microspace.com mrcbroadcast.com mitectelecom.com
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JUNE 2011
Company MITEQ
Nabtesco Motion Control Inc Narda Satellite Networks ND Satcom New and Used Inc. NewSat/Multiemedia Newpoint Technologies Inc. Newtec NJRC (New Japan Radio Corp.) Northrop Grumman NorthStar Studios NPR Satellite Services NTT Electronics On Call Communications Optimal Satcom Orbit Ortel PALS Electronic Co. Ltd. Paradise Datacom Patriot Antenna Systems Petrocom PolarSat PSSI-USA Pulse Power & Measurement Ltd. (PPM) Quintech Radyne Rainbow Network Communications Research Concepts Inc. Rockwell Collins Russian Satellite Communications Co. (RSCC) SAT Corp. SATELLITE 2011 Satellite Today Satellite Engineering Group Satellite Systems Corp. Sat-Lite Technologies Satmex SatService GmbH Sea-Cell Inc. Sea Launch Seatel Sector Microwave Sivers Lab AB SES Americom SES Global
miteq.com nabtescomotioncontrol.com lnr.com ndsatcom.com newandusedinc.com newsat.com.au newpointtech.com newtec.be njr.co.jp/index_e.htm northropgrumman.com northstarstudios.tv nprss.org nel-world.com occsat.com optimalsatcom.com orbit-techgroup.com ortel.com pals.com.tr paradisedata.com sepatriot.com petrocom.com polarsat.com pssi-usa.com vialite.net quintechelectronics.com radn.com rncnetwork.com researchconcepts.com rockwellcollins.com rscc.ru sat.com SATELLITE2011.com satellitetoday.com sateng.com satsyscorp.com sat-litetech.com satmex.com satservicegmbh.de seacellsatellite.com sea-launch.com seatel.com sectormicrowave.com siverslab.se ses-americom.com ses.com
Website
Company
Shiron Satellite Communications SingTel Optus Pty Ltd SKY Perfect JSAT Corp. SkyWeb Inc. Sojitz Corporation of America Sophia Wireless Inc. Spacecom Spacenet Space Star Technology (Group) Corp. Space Systems/Loral SPC Electronics America Inc. ST Electronics Pte Ltd. Starling Advanced Communications STM Group Superior Satellite Engineers SWE-DISH Satellite Systems Systems Technology Tampa Microwave Lab Inc. TeleCommunication Systems TeleSpectra Telinc Corp. Terrasat Communications Inc. Thales Thrane & Thrane The SpaceConnection Ultra Electronics-DNE Technologies Unlimi-Tech Software Inc. Uplit Verso Technologies Viasat Via Satellite magazine Vislink Group Vizada Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Wavestream W.B. Walton Enterprises Inc. W.C. & A.N. Miller Wegener Work GmbH Satcom Worldsat International Inc. Xicom Technology XipLink
shiron.com optus.com.au/satellite sptvjsat.com/en skydigital.com myvsat.com sophiawireless.com amos-spacecom.com spacenet.com space-star.com ssloral.com spcamerica.com stee.stengg.com/satcoms starling-com.com stmi.com superiorsatelliteusa.com swe-dish.com stainc.com tmli.com telecomsys.com telespectra.com telinc.com terrasatinc.com thales-bm.com us.thrane.com thespaceconnection.com ultra-dne.com utechsoft.com exceedthefeed.com verso.com viasat.com viasatellite.com vislink.co.uk vizada.com warnerbros.com wavestream.com de-ice.com wcanmiller.com wegener.com work-gmbh.de worldsat.com xicomtech.com xiplink .com
Website
ADVERTISER INDEX
Advertiser
AvL Technologies Azure Shine International CASBAA Comtech EF Data Comtech Xicom Technology CPI Satcom dbm GE Satellite Hughes
Page
34 25 C3 27 23 C4 29 30 5
Advertiser
iDirect Integral Systems Intelsat ManSat, LLC MITEQ/MCL Rockwell Collins Sea Tel Walton Enterprises Wavestream
Page
11 9 13 15 3 33 2 21 7
JUNE 2011
37
DOLLARS AND SENSE

B y O we n D. K u r t i n
Goodbye to the Space Shuttle

The U.S. Space Shuttle program will come to a close this year, a little more than 30 years after its inaugural flight, with the last flight scheduled for late June. Always a technological marvel and never an economic one, the shuttle reminds us of another beautiful white bird now seen only in museums, the Concorde. Some analysts ask why the United States never developed a successor reusable space plane, just as some ask why, the Concorde excepted, commercial aviation has remained stuck at the roughly 500- to 600-knot cruising airspeed (1,000 kilometers per hour), 35,000-foot (21,000-meter) altitude performance parameters in the 50-odd years since the Boeing 707 entered service. The two cases, while superficially similar, could not be more different. Civil airliners are a mature technology that has become incredibly reliable. Airliners are like elevators, which haul millions of people hundreds of feet up in the air and down again with virtually no fatalities. The space shuttle, despite its prosaic official STS (Space Transportation System) title and promise of economic efficiency, reusability and rapid turnaround, remained an experimental spacecraft. The orbiters were finicky to refurbish between flights, particularly the notorious heat-ablating tiles on the lower fuselage, wings and nose; uneconomic, and always potentially deadly, with one take-off and one re-entry accident destroying two of the five operational shuttles and costing the lives of their crew in just over 130 flights. None of that denigrates the science and space operational knowledge and heritage gained during the shuttle years, highlighted by missions such as the repair of the Hubble telescope and the building of the International Space Station. But the fact remains that the program never delivered on the basis it was sold to its invesOwen D. Kurtin is a tors the U.S. taxpayers. practicing attorney in New York City Civil aviation has not advanced and a founder and because the public accepts its operprincipal of private ating parameters (New York to Loninvestment firm The don or Paris takes six hours) and Vinland Group LLC. might not accept a new generation He may be reached at okurtin@ of aircraft that pushed the perforkurtinlaw.com. mance envelope but which might
38
JUNE 2011 V I A S AT E L L I T E M AG A Z I N E
have a far higher rate of accidents and loss of life. Reusable space plane technology has not advanced because, in terms of what was promised, we did not really get it right the first time, and there is no certainty that the enormous investment required for a second-generation space shuttle would produce a better result. If economics and efficiencies had improved during the 30 years of operations, the argument for a second generation would be more easily made. But that is not the case. The tacit admission of that is why NASAs cancelled or partially cancelled Constellation crew transport system visibly even to a laymans eyes looked back to the Apollo program. Apparently, this is not a time for grand gestures. The U.S. is spending $2 billion a week in Afghanistan, while always having enough cash on hand to bail out financial institutions and automakers at public expense, lest their bondholders actually find out that investments can be risky. At the same time, NASA has been forced to cut its flagship interplanetary space probe program for want of approximately $24 billion; its April announcement of the second round of the Commercial Crew Development (CCDev2) awards to four companies totaled less than $270 million, and those craft that are actually built will not be operational before mid-decade (some of the CCDev2 winners and runners-ups proposals also visibly hark back to the Apollo legacy). It is a dispiriting state of affairs, especially for anyone who believes that moral hazard and creative destruction are twin pillars of a healthy capitalist economic system. When the Apollo program and its Apollo-Soyuz and Skylab follow-ons ended, the United States was without means of human access to space for a few years. But the space shuttle was in development, and at the time, it held the promise of a new generation of exploration and colonization of space. It did not work out completely as promised, but it was a heroic project, peopled by heroic flight crews and ground crews. So goodbye to the Space Shuttle. It belonged to the tail-end of a more heroic age, and it is perhaps fitting that in this newer age, NASA has nothing to replace it, much less succeed it.
CASBAA Singapore Satellite Industry Forum 2011

Taking Care of Business
Top slots at the 11th Singapore Satellite Industry Forum Headliners: Dave McGlade, CEO, Intelsat Romain Bausch, President & CEO, SES Bill Wade, President & CEO, AsiaSat Speakers: Simon Cathcart, CEO, Fetch TV Andrew Jordan, President & CEO, GE Satellite Paul Brown-Kenyon, COO, MEASAT Inoue Osamu, Senior EVP, SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation Tom Choi, CEO, ABS Cheng Guanreng, CEO, APT Satellite Mohamed Youssif, CEO, YahLive Eddie Kato, CEO, Thales Alenia Space North America Fu Zhiheng, VP & GM, Launch Services, CGWIC David Ball, CTO, NewSat Robert Feierbach, SVP, Sales & Marketing, Hughes Network Systems Andrew Taylor, CEO, Pactel International Ian Ford, VP & GM, SE Asia, Harris CapRock Communications Andrew Wallace, Chief Commercial Officer, Eutelsat Huang Bao Zhong, VP, APT Satellite Elias Zaccack, VP Sales, AP, SES World Skies Jay Yass, VP, Global Accounts, Intelsat Chris Bauer, VP Commercial Sales, SpaceX Gary Hale, Space Initiative Manager, GGSG, Cisco Brett Belinsky, Strategy Director, Broadcast & Media, Arqiva Gregg Daffner, Senior Advisor - Asia, Echostar International
STAY CONNECTED, STAY INFORMED!

Date: Monday, 20 June Venue: Shangri-La Singapore
For registration: Agnes Chan E: agnes@casbaa.com For sponsorship: Maggie Leung E: maggie@casbaa.com
Organised by
Sponsors
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