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February 2006 SATMAGAZINE.COM

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Vol. 3 No. 10, February 2006

TABLE OF CONTENTSClick on the title to go

directly to the story

COVER STORY

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REGULAR DEPREGULAR DEPREGULAR DEPREGULAR DEPREGULAR DEPARTMENTARTMENTARTMENTARTMENTARTMENTSSSSS

By Jose del Rosario By Chris Forrester

36 / Space Tourism:A New Reality?

2006 may be the yearSatellite Radio finallytakes off in Europe.

by Bernardo Schneiderman

3 / Note from theEditor

4 / Calendar of Events

5 / Featured Event:ISCe 2006

10 / Industry News

14 / Executive Moves

18 / New Products andServices

41 / Vital Statistics

42 / Market Intelligence

44 / Advertisers’ Index/Stock Quotes

by Peter I. Galace

FEATURES

30 / China’s SpaceIndustry is Aliveand Zooming

26 / 2006: The Yearfor EuropeanSat-radio?

22 / Is the MSSIndustry

Beleaguered After All?

EXECUTIVE SPOTLIGHT

38 / Interview withInmarsat Directorof North AmericaFrank August

Government/Military Mobile Satellite ServiWholesale & Retail Revenues

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WholesaleRetail

The mobile satellite services(MSS) industry has regainedattention in many parts ofthe globe, as next-generationimplementations of new andforward-looking programsthat inherently pose renewedrisks are once again enteringthe marketplace.

China is celebrating the50th anniversary of itsspace industry bymarking majormilestones.

Space Tourism moves closerto reality as Virgin Galacticbuilds a $200 millionspaceport in New Mexico,USA.

SatMagazine managing Editor VirgilLabrador spoke to Inmarsat’s FrankAugust on their recent launchBroadband Global Area Network (BGAN),the world’s first mobile communicationsservice to provide both voice andbroadband data simultaneously through aportable device on a global basis.

SATMAGAZINE.COM

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February 2006

Satnews Publishers is the leadingprovider of information on theworldwide satellite industry. Foremore information, go towww.satnews.com

Cover Design by: Simon Payne

Published monthly bySatnews Publishers800 Siesta Way,Sonoma, CA 95476 USAPhone (707) 939-9306Fax (707) 939-9235E-mail: [email protected]: www.satmagazine.com

Baden WoodfordContributing Writer, Africa

Jill Durfee([email protected])Advertising Sales

Joyce Schneider([email protected])Advertising Sales

Copyright © 2006Satnews PublishersAll rights reserved.

EDITORIALSilvano PaynePublisher

Virgil LabradorManaging Editorand Editor, North America

Chris ForresterEditor, Europe, Middle Eastand Africa

Bernardo SchneidermanEditor, Latin America

Peter GalaceEditor, Asia-Pacific

John Puetz, Bruce ElbertDan Freyer, Howard GreenfieldContributing Writers,The Americas

David Hartshorn, Martin JarroldContributing Writers, Europe

NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

2006 Could be the Year of MobileSatellite Services

According to the Chinese Lunar New Year, 2006 is the year of the Dog. However, for the satellite industry,

it could be the year when mobile satellite services (MSS)might finally take off. It was only a few years ago, whenthe spectacular failure resulting in bankruptcy of globalsatellite operators Iridium and Globalstar as well as otherplanned satellite broadband systems such as Astrolinksparked the downturn in the satellite industry from which

it has only recently recovered. Last year Inmarsat launched two high-powered satellites of its Inmarsat 4 series and launched a more user-friendly and compact Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN) service.BGAN, when its second satellite becomes operational in the secondquarter of this year, will cover most of the earth and 98 percent of it’spopulation, enabling IP broadband connections and telephony with useof a laptop size unit (for more info on this service, see my interview withInmarsat’s Frank August on page 38).

Meanwhile, Iridium has long since emerged from bankruptcy and is nowcash-flow positive according to its CEO Carmen Lloyd. Its 66 constella-tion of satellites cover the world and with a little help from a $72 millioncontract with the US Department of Defense, business is looking good.Northern Sky Research’s Jose del Rosario in our cover story on page 22,takes great pains to illustrate the fact that the MSS market is alive andwell. and will continue to be so till the end of the decade NSR isestimating that revenues in the MSS industry can reach almost $ 9Billion by 2010, with government and military use one the main segmentsdriving demand.

One factor that could drive more demand for MSS is lower costs per calland per megabyte. Current prices average 75 cents per call on a satellitephone and between $8-$12 per megabyte of IP access. For a smallbusiness this could easily pile up to thousands of dollars a month. Atcurrent prices, only those who really need to be connected such as themilitary or business in remote locations such as the oil and gas industrycan afford to use theses services.

Given the large investment required by MSS operators, it’s understand-able that costs have to be passed on to users. However, for the MSSindustry to be competitive and reach the growth potential that they needto make the business model viable in the long-term, prices should comedown at some point.

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FEBRFEBRFEBRFEBRFEBRUUUUUARARARARARYYYYYFebruary 6-9, Washington, D.C.Satellite 2006Rick FelperinTel: +1-301-354-1691Email: [email protected]: www.satellite2006.com

February 14-17, Mexico City, MexicoExpo Comm Mexico 2006Beth HarringtonTel: 301-493-5500 ext. 3312Email: [email protected]: http://expocomm.com/mexico

February 16, London, England3rd European HDTV SummitJulian CloverTel: +44 1223 464359 / Fax: +44 20 7691 9779Website: www.tvconferences.com/

February 20-24, Johannesburg, South AfricaSatcom Africa 2006Candice ZietsmanTel: +27 11 516 4066 / Fax: +27 11 707 8342

Email: [email protected]: www.satcomafrica.com

March 7-9, Dubai, United Arab EmiratesCABSAT 2006David LimTel: +971 4 308 6012 / +971 4 332 1000Fax: +971 4 332 2866 / 331 8034Email:[email protected]: www.cabsat.com

March 7-10, São Paulo - BrazilTELEXPO 2006Morgan MooreTel: 310-313-1808 / Fax:815.361.1808Email:[email protected]: www.telexpo.com.br/2006

March 21-23, New Delhi, IndiaConvergence India 2006Tel.: 91 - 11 - 5279 5000 / Fax.: 91 - 11- 5279 5098/99E-mail: [email protected]: www.convergenceindia.org

April 9-11, Atlanta, GANCTA The National ShowTel: 202-775-3669 / Fax: 202-775-3692Email: [email protected]: www.thenationalshow.com

April 11 - 14, Istanbul, Turkey5th International Caspian Telecoms ConferenceMaggie CheungTel : + 44 20 7596 5221 / 5000Fax : + 44 20 7596 5208 / 5117Email : [email protected]: www.caspiantelecoms.com/en/2006

April 18 - 20, Washington, DCMilitary Satellites 2006Tel: 800 882 8684 or +973 256 0211Fax: + 973 256 0205 / Email: [email protected]: www.idga.org/na-2298-02

April 22-27, Las Vegas, NevadaNAB 2006Tel: +45 3815 3332 / 202-429-5300Fax: 202-429-4199 / Email: [email protected]: http://www.nabshow.com/

May 4-5, Copenhagen Business School, Copenhagen,DenmarkEuropean Satellite Cultures ConferenceJulie UldamTel: +45 3815 3332 / Email: [email protected]: www.cbs.dk/esc

June 13-15, San Diego Hilton Resort at Mission Bay,San Diego, CA, USAISCe Conference and ExpoHannover Fairs USAPhone: +1 310 410 9191Fax: +1 310 410 9396Email: [email protected] / Website: www.isce.com

June 19-23, SingaporeBroadcastAsia 2006Tel: +65 6738 6776 / Fax: +65 6732 6776Email: [email protected]: www.broadcast-asia.com/index2.htm

MARCHMARCHMARCHMARCHMARCH

APRILAPRILAPRILAPRILAPRIL

MAMAMAMAMAYYYYY

JUNEJUNEJUNEJUNEJUNE

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February 2006

FEATURED EVENT

ISCe 2006 will be focusing on Satellite and Hybrid Solutions for the enterprise, entertainment and media, and government/

military markets. The conference will emphasize the value andcost-effective solutions that satellite and hybrid networks (cable,telcos and utilities) provide to the end users. “Whether acompany does business in the wireless, terrestrial fiber optic orsatellite markets, ISCe 2006 will be the West Coast gatheringplace of record,” said David Bross, ISCe 2006 chairman.

Now in its fifthyear, ISCe, will bejointly holding the5th Annual ISCeConference andExpo with the 23rd

American Instituteof Aeronautics andAstronautics(AIAA)International

Communications Satellite Systems Conference (ICSSC) from June13-15 at the San Diego Hilton Resort in San Diego, California.

The theme of this year’s show is“Satellite andHybrid Network Solutions for theEntertainment, Enterprise & Military/Government Markets.” “All of our sessiontracks are designed with this theme as ourtouchstone and will feature speakers not onlyfrom companies that provide hybrid telecomservices but also speakers from companiesrepresenting users of satellite services,” saidBross.

The partnership with AIAA will bring together two majorinternational satellite conferences in one venue. The jointconference bring many synergies between the two programs interms of content, speakers and a larger pool of attendees from allsectors of the industry. The partnership with AIAA is the latestaddition to ISCe’s growing program lineup that includes jointprograms with the Carmel Group’s Cable, Satellite and TelcoEntertainment Forum, the World Teleport Association (WTA)’sTranslating the Trends Workshop, and the Global VSATForum’s Wireless Workshop. ISCe is also supported by the

Washington D.C.-based Satellite IndustryAssociation (SIA), whose Executive Director,David Cavossa will be presenting its annual“State of the Industry” report at ISCe.

Those attendees with full conferenceregistrations to the ISCe conference will bepermitted to attend the Monday sessions of theICSSC conference at no charge. Additionally,ICSSC attendees who have purchased afull conference registration to the AIAA showwill be permitted free access to the Wednesdaysessions (June 14) at the ISCe conference.

As in its previous successful conferences, ISCe2006 will feature leading industry speakers in acomprehensive conference program thatincludes the following key components:

• GVF Wireless Workshop

• Space & Security Forum

• WTA Translating the TrendsWorkshop

• Carmel Group’s Cable, Satellite & TelcoEntertainment Forum

• Digital Content & Mobile Forum

• Military & Government Requirements Forum

• Retail Enterprise & Business Forum

• Global Business & Financial Outlook Forum

This year, ISCe is hosting a brand new exhibitor pavilion whichwill host a number of special networking events, live productdemonstrations, conference breaks, workshops and receptions.Several outdoor exhibit slots are still available as are only ahandful of 10 x 10 booths in the exhibition. Also, back bypopular demand is the ISCe Product Demonstration Program“Live” product demonstrations that provide an excellentopportunity to showcase a company’s new or unique product orservice to ISCe/ICSSC attendees, media and industry analysts.

ISCe 2006 to Focus on Key Customersand End Users

ISCe Conference and Expo 2006

June 13-15, 2006, San Diego Hilton Resort at Misson Bay, California

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February 2006

In addition to the exhibitor pavilion and sessions addressing thebusiness concerns of executives, ISCe is offering a number ofspecial networking events including an SSPI Beach Blast &Welcome Reception. Attendees are invited to attend thiswonderful evening of food, drinks and entertainment. TheSociety of Satellite Professionals International (SSPI) will holdthis social event with ISCe on Tuesday, June 13 on the beach

FEATURED EVENT

located behind the San Diego Hilton Resort. “The casual affair(think Aloha attire) promises to be a great time and will definitelyevolve into an annual event,” according to Bross.

For more information on ISCe 2006 got to www.isce.com or call+1-310-410-9191 or e-mail: [email protected] SM

ISCe 2006 Supporting OrganizationsThe Asia-Pacific SatelliteCommunications Council (APSCC)

As a non-profit,international regionalassociation representingall sectors of satellite andspace-related industries,APSCC aims to promote

satellite communications andbroadcasting for the betterment of theAsia-Pacific region. To achieve thisobjective, APSCC provides forums toexchange views and ideas on policies,technologies, systems, services andouter-space activities that have thepotential to benefit the region, toaccelerate the introduction of servicesvia satellite, and to develop andbroaden the national and regionalsatellite communication andbroadcasting services of the Asia-Pacific countries. www.apscc.or.kr

California Space AuthorityGoverned by a statewideboard of directors, TheCalifornia Space Authority(CSA) is a nonprofitcorporation representingthe interests of California’s

diverse enterprise community in allthree domains: commercial, civil andnational security. Designated as theofficial Spaceport Authority for theState of California, (CSA) is a member-based “enterprise” association.Working closely with industry,government, workforce entities andacademia, CSA strives to retain growand create CSA statewide space

enterprise. Through advocacy,infrastructure and technologydevelopment, space education/workforcesupport and other programs, CSAprovides voice, visibility and competitiveedge to California’s statewide spaceenterprise community.www.californiaspaceauthority.org

The Carmel GroupThe Carmel Group is a world-renowned consulting andmarket research firm, offeringclients around the world thebest intelligence andstrategic guidance, allowing

each to enhance its position andprofitability within its industry segment(or within new industry segments). TheCarmel Group’s expertise includes cable,satellite, telephony, broadcasting, set-topboxes, programming, digital videorecorders, video-on-demand, broadband,video games and other advanced media,telecommunications and computerservices. Located in Carmel-by-the-Sea,California, The Carmel Group alsoorganizes and hosts premiere annualtelecommunications events and publishesin-depth data books, white papers andother customized studies.www.carmelgroup.com

EuroconsultEstablished in 1973 as aresearch group, Euroconsultbecame an employee-ownedcompany in 1983. Since itscreation, the company hasbecome a worldwide

reference for research and advice at each

step of the value chain in the satelliteindustry including satellitemanufacturers, satellite operators,satellite service providers, launch andservices equipment, space agencies, TVplatforms & channels as well asbankers, investors and insurers. Withover 500 clients in 48 countries,Euroconsult is a world leader with anexpertise in digital broadcasting andsatellite applications for innovative &high-technology companies.www.euroconsult-ec.com

Global VSAT Forum (GVF)The Global VSAT Forumis an association of keycompanies involved inthe business of delivering

advanced digital fixed satellite systemsand services to consumers, andcommercial and government enterprisesworldwide. www.gvf.org

National Rural TelecommunicationsCooperative (NRTC)

The National RuralTelecommunicationsCooperative (NRTC)represents the advancedtelecommunications and

information technology interests ofmore than 1,200 rural utilities andaffiliates in 47 states. We help ruralelectric and telephone utilitiesstrengthen their businesses withsolutions uniquely suited to the needsof rural consumers. www.nrtc.coop/us/main/index

FEATURED EVENTBack to Contents 7

GVF Wireless WTA "Translating the

Workshop Trends" WorkshopSpace & Security

ForumCable, Satellite & Telco Entertainment Forum

Digital Content & Mobile ForumMilitary & Government Requirements Forum

Retail & Business Enterprise ForumGlobal Business, Policy & Financial Outlook Forum

7:00am

8:00am

9:00am

10:00am

11:00am

12:00pm

1:00pm

2:00pm

3:00pm

4:00pm

5:00pm

6:00pm

7:00pm

8:00pm

9:00pm

Digital Content for Hollywood! (Mod: R. Bell)

Distributed Connectivity to the Warfighter (Mod: L. Bien)

AIAA Awards/ISCe Welcome Luncheon Invited Keynote Speaker: Dr. Charles Elachi, Director NASA JPL

(12:00 pm - 1:30 pm)

Global Satellite Finance: A Forecast (Mod: R. Villain)

IPTV Strategies for Success!

(Mod: J. Schaeffler)

Hybrid Wireless: Convergence Cash

Cow?

Transforming Space & Integrating the

Battlefield (Mod: G. Tattini)

Optimizing Retailer's Connectivity and Increasing Efficiencies

(Mod: Chain Store Age)

Trends in the European, Latin American and Asia-Pacific Markets

(Mod: R. Villain)

Satellite Networks for Retailers: Improving the Value Proposition

(Mod: B. Elbert)

Coffee Break in Exhibit Hall (10:15 - 10:45am)

DC Beat: A Legislative, Regulatory & Policy Update

(Mod: J. Ordway)

Cellular, WiFi, WiMAX, or Whatever

Satellite-Based WiFI: Killer App?

Satellite Mobile Entertainment and Data (Mod: M. Dankberg)

Leadership Luncheon (12:00 pm - 1:30 pm)

Content for the Mobile Platform (Mod: G. Hatch)

Future MILSATCOM Systems: A Progress Report (Mod: R. Scurry)

Refreshment Break in Exhibit Hall (2:45 - 3:15 pm)

ISCe Product Demo Program

Tuesday, June 13, 2006 Wednesday, June 14, 2006 Thursday, June 15, 2006

SIA "State of the Industry" Report (8:30 - 8:45 am)

DoD Network-centric Operations & Integration (Mod: D. Karp)

Mobile Applications for the Commercial and Government Sectors (S. Chase)

Coffee Break in Exhibit Hall (10:30 am - 11:00 am)

End-to-End Network Solutions for the Retail Enterprise Market

(Mod: Chain Store Age)

Luncheon in Exhibitor Pavilion (12:30 pm - 1:30 pm)

Coffee Break in Exhibit Hall (10:00 - 10:30am)

VIP Breakfast (by Invitation Only) (7:30 am - 8:30 am) VIP Breakfast (by Invitation Only)

(8:00 am - 9:00 am)

CTO/CIO Plenary Session (9:00 am - 10:30 am)

(Mod: D. Bross)

Joint Plenary Session - with AIAA (8:45 am - 10:15 am)

(Mod: L. Rains)

Content Innovation: Looking Beyond


Welcome: SPAWAR Commander Keynote: Maj. Gen. James Armor, Director - NSSO

WTA: Technologies That Grow the Market

CEOs: Breaking the Rules & Making it Happen (Mod: J. Schaeffler)

IP and the "New" Bottom Line

Space Systems and Hybrid Networks for

First Responders (Mod: D. Sachdev)

The Next Horizon: New and Evolving Comm'l

Space Markets (Mod: M. Farrell)

Refreshment Break in Exhibit Hall (3:30 - 4:00 pm)

WTA: The Top 10 Trends You Need to

Watch

WTA: Responding to Changing Markets

Broadband: Top 10 Drivers for 2007


Advanced Services: Shaking Out the Hype


Exhibitor Pavilion Open (10:30 am - 2:00 pm)

Exhibitor Pavilion Open 10:00 am - 5:30 pm

ISCe Reception and Awards Dinner (6:00 pm - 10:00 pm at Sea World)

Exhibitor Pavilion Open (10:00 am - 5:30 pm)

SSPI Beach Blast & Welcome Reception (5:30 pm - 7:00 pm)

ISCE Conference Program At-a-Glance

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February 2006

ISCe 2006 INDUSTRY SPONSORS(as of January 30, 2006)

The largest supplier ofsatellite services in the U.S.,SES AMERICOM, Inc. isrecognized as a pioneer of

global satellite communications services. Established in 1973

ISCe 2006 Supporting Organizations

Northern Sky Research (NSR)

Northern Sky Research isan international marketresearch and consulting

firm specializing in telecommunicationstechnology and applications. NorthernSky Research primary areas of expertiseinclude satellite networks, cable andwireless technology, and content/newmedia markets.www.northernskyresearch.com

Pacific Telecommunications Council

PacificTelecommunicationsCouncil (PTC)and its

international community of memberspromote the development and use oftelecommunications and ICT to enhancecommunications in the PacificHemisphere. PTC’s programs and tradeexhibitions provide real and virtualgathering points for communicationsprofessionals to provide and seeksolutions; to do business together; andto share the latest knowledge aboutcommunications technology, systems,

and best practices. PTC’s annualconference and exhibition in Honolulu,Hawaii every January is the pre-eminentmid-Pacific meeting place for ICTprofessionals, governmentrepresentatives, educators, regulators,and researchers. www.ptc.org

Satellite Industry Association (SIA)

The Satellite IndustryAssociation (SIA) is a U.S.-based trade associationproviding worldwiderepresentation of the leadingoperators, service providers,

manufacturers, launch service providers,remote sensing operators, and groundequipment suppliers. The SIA representsthe unified voice for the commercialsatellite industry on policy issues ofcommon concern. SIA actively identifies,analyzes, and monitors critical policyissues affecting the satellite industry.The association represents the commoninterests of its members to domestic andinternational government officials, thepress, the public, and to otherindustries..www.sia.org

Society of Satellite ProfessionalsInternational (SSPI)

The Society of SatelliteProfessionals International isa nonprofit member-benefitsociety that serves satelliteprofessionals throughout

their careers. www.sspi.org

World Teleport Association (WTA)

World Teleport Association(WTA) is a nonprofit tradeassociation of teleports,satellite and terrestrialcarriers, technology

providers, investment houses andconsultants in 20 nations around theworld. For teleports, WTA is the globalbody dedicated to building theirbusinesses by educating them on issues,researching their markets, and connectingthem to sales opportunities and strategicallies. For any organization that deliversbroadband via satellite — or provides thetechnologies that make it possible —WTA is their gateway to internationalopportunity. www.worldteleport.org

Boeing Space and IntelligenceSystems (S&IS), headquarteredin Seal Beach, Calif., deliversspace and intelligence systemsand innovative system

solutions for national security and space applications. Withmore than 9,000 employees in eight major locations across thecountry, S&IS is a market leader in large-scale systemsintegration, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissancesystems, communications systems, network systems, andprotection and security systems for the U.S. military andnumerous government agencies.

with its first satellite circuit for the U.S. Department of Defense,the company currently operates a fleet of 18 spacecraft in orbitalpositions predominantly providing service throughout theAmericas. As a member of the SES GLOBAL family, SESAMERICOM is able to provide end-to-end telecommunicationssolutions to any region in the world. In 2001, the companyestablished AMERICOM GOVERNMENT SERVICES, a whollyowned subsidiary dedicated to providing satellite-basedcommunications solutions to both civilian and defense agenciesof the U.S. government. With its combined operations, SESAMERICOM serves broadcasters, cable programmers,aeronautical and maritime communications integrators, Internetservice providers, mobile communications networks, governmentagencies, educational institutions, carriers and secure globaldata networks with efficient communication and contentdistribution solutions.

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ISCe 2006 INDUSTRY SPONSORSFutron is a technology management, consulting firmenhancing our clients’ abilities to make complexdecisions. Using our proprietary analytic methods,models, and in-depth data repositories, Futrontransforms data and information into valuable

intelligence. In a world of risk and uncertainty, our results helpclients make higher quality business and technical decisions. Ouraerospace consulting services include market and industryanalyses, safety and risk management, and communications andinformation management.

G2 Satellite Solutions, a subsidiary ofPanAmSat, is a leading provider of globalsatellite and related telecommunicationsservices for U.S. federal, state and localgovernment agencies, the U.S. Department of

Defense, foreign military organizations, system integrators andend users. We utilize proven, cost-effective commercial resourcesin space and on the ground to create comprehensive, customer-focused solutions that are tailored to meet specific requirements.

Inmarsat is the pioneer of global mobile satellitecommunications. Today, it stands at the forefront of3G wireless telephony, capitalizing on almost aquarter of a century’s experience to deliver

broadband communications solutions to enterprise, maritime andaeronautical users around the globe. Inmarsat’s next-generationmobile satellite service – BGAN (Broadband Global Area Network)– will combine broadband data (up to half a megabit per second)and voice telephony with seamless coverage, coast to coast,across all the world’s major landmasses.

The IOT Systems, LLC approach isbased on our heritage from COMSATover 40 years of experience with In-Orbit Test systems and service and30 years of automated in-orbit system

design. These methods have been used to deliver systems toEUTELSAT, Hughes, INTELSAT, GTE, SBS and NASA amongothers. These systems have been recently used to test allDirecTVTM, Ku-Galaxy, SBS, Sirius Satellite Radioo, HotBird,EUTELSAT II satellites, AMSC and AceS mobile satellites.

Lockheed Martin CommercialSpace Systems (LMCSS) is anoperating unit of LockheedMartin Space SystemsCompany, one of the core

business areas of the Lockheed Martin Corporation. LockheedMartin has a 45-year heritage of building reliable spacecraft,having launched more than 875 spacecraft and clocking over 1,600years of on-orbit performance experience.Headquartered inBethesda, MD., Lockheed Martin employs about 130,000 people

worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design,development, manufacture, and integration of advancedtechnology systems, products and services.

Mobile Satellite Ventures is NorthAmerica’s premier provider of mobilesatellite communications. Delivering

service since 1996, MSV offers customers a wide choice ofwireless data, voice, fax and dispatch radio services via its twoMSAT satellites. MSV provides superior capacity and reliabilityfor customers across North and Central America, northern SouthAmerica, the Caribbean, Hawaii and in coastal waters.

Space Systems/Loral (SS/L) is apremier designer, manufacturer, andintegrator of powerful satellites andsatellite systems. SS/L also provides

a range of related services that include mission controloperations and procurement of launch services. Based in PaloAlto, CA, the company has an international base of commercialand governmental customers whose applications includebroadband digital communications, direct-to-home broadcast,mobile satellite services, defense communications, environmentalmonitoring, and air traffic control.

WiNetworks solutions allow one-waybroadcast operators to extend theirexisting infrastructures and offer acomplete bundle of attractive “Triple

Play” services including Internet access, telephony, Video onDemand, interactive TV services and future mobile support.WiNetworks solutions allow broadcast operators to dramaticallyincrease their customer base and reduce customer churn rates,while instantly increasing Average Revenue per Unit (ARPU)figures. WiNetworks solutions bring unique and cost-effectiveapplications for WiMAX networks, while adding a new revenuesources for broadband Operators. WiNetworks has filed multiplepatents on its unique technology and is a member of theWiMAX forum promoting the compatibility and inter-operabilityof broadband wireless access. The WiNetworks solutions havebeen employed successfully with leading operators in Europeand the USA. The Company is supporting worldwide projectsthrough regional offices in United States, Europe and Asia.

For additional information regarding speaking,exhibiting or sponsorship opportunities at ISCe 2006,please contact the Conference Chairman, David Brossat +1-301-916-2236 or e-mail at: [email protected] information on the event, visit: www.isce.com.

Sponsorship Opportunities

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INDUSTRY NEWS

Lockheed Wins $491.2-M Contract forThird AEHF Satellite

SUNNYVALE, Calif. — TheU.S. Department of Defensehas awarded LockheedMartin Corp. Space SystemsCo. a $491.2 million contractfor the third satellite in theAdvanced Extremely HighFrequency (AEHF) program.

DoD said the contract awardis a modification of theoriginal contract to addsatellite vehicle number 3(SV3) as envisioned andpermitted by a clause in theAEHF contract. The contactalso includes the procure-ment of SV3 and introducesthe option for Launch andOperations support.

The Launch and OperationsSupport option is planned tobe exercised beginning in2009 to support a 2010

launch. The DoD said the acquisition of SV3 will complete theAEHF program.

The AEHF Satellite Communications System provides secure,survivable communications to U.S. warfighters in its globalfight against terrorism. The AEHF program is expected to becompleted in May 2011. DoD said some $438,783,920 hasalready been obligated for the program.

In addition, Lockheed was also awarded a separate $48,700,000contract modification for the Spacecraft Integration and Test(SIT) contract for Defense Meteorological Satellite Program(DMSP) F17, F18, F19, and F20 launches.

MSV Awards Boeing Contractfor Three L-band Satellites

RESTON, Va. — Mobile Satellite Ventures (MSV) has con-tracted Boeing for the construction and delivery of three nextgeneration L-band satellites to be launched beginning 2009.

The Advanced ExtremelyHigh Frequency (AEHF)satellite communicationssystem is designed toprovide secure, survivablecommunications to U.S.warfighters during all levelsof conflict.

MSV said the network will bebased on the company’spatented Ancillary TerrestrialComponent (ATC) technol-ogy, which combines the bestof satellite and cellulartechnology. It will deliverreliable, advanced andubiquitous voice and datacoverage throughout Northand South America.

“The agreement with Boeingsolidifies our commitment tobuilding a ubiquitous networkthat provides seamlesscoverage to our end users inNorth and South America. Weare excited at the prospect ofcompleting this paradigm-shifting project ahead ofschedule and to provideimproved service in both rural and urban areas, eliminating thetelecommunications divide,” said Alexander H. Good, vicechairman and CEO of MSV.

Howard Chambers, vice president of Boeing Space & Intelli-gence Systems, said in addition to providing mobile service tousers in the most remote regions, Boeing technology deployedby MSV will keep lines of communication open for first re-sponders in times of natural disasters. “Our focus on buildingpowerful and highly complex satellites will deliver instanta-neous access and mobility anywhere on the continent,” he said.According to Boeing, the satellites will be among the largestand most powerful commercial satellites ever built. Eachsatellite’s primary antenna will be almost 75 feet across, abouttwice as large as any previous commercial satellite. In additionto covering the Americas with hundreds of spot beams, thesatellites will use MSV’s patented ATC technology to deliverservice to wireless devices that are virtually identical to cellphone handsets in terms of aesthetics, cost and functionality.MSV said the satellites will work in tandem with terrestrial basedstations that provide coverage and capacity in urban areaswhere satellite signals are frequently blocked.

Galileo Takes Off with Signature ofTest Phase Contract

BERLIN— European Union’s independent satellite navigation

Boeing will build threehigh-powered Geo-Mobilesatellites for MobileSatellite Ventures that willcreate the world’s firstcommercial wirelesscommunications serviceusing both space andterrestrial elements.(Boeing photo)

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INDUSTRY NEWS

system became more and more a reality with the signing on Jan.19 of the Galileo system’s contract for the in-orbit validationphase paving the way for the deployment of four of theconstellation’s satellites by 2008.

The contract was signed at Germany’s Ministry of Transport byGiuseppe Viriglio, director of EU and industrial programs atEuropean Space Agency (ESA) and Gunter Stamerjohanns, CEOof Galileo Industries, in the presence of Wolfgang Tiefensee,German minister of transport; Serge Tchuruk, chairman and CEOof Alcatel, and the leaders of the other Galileo Industriesshareholders as well as representatives of the European andnational space agencies.

Galileo Industries is a joint company of Alcatel Alenia Space,EADS Astrium GmbH and EADS Astrium Ltd, Thales andGalileo Sistemas y Servicios (GSS), a consortium of sevenSpanish companies.

The $1.148 billion (• 950 million) contract will be paid in equalshares by the European Space Agency and the EuropeanCommission.

The contract signing followed the successful launch of theGIOVE-A satellite on December 28, 2005 and the reception of thefirst “Galileo” signal on January 12, 2006. The contract marksthe development and in-orbit validation of the constellation’sfirst four satellites, which are due to be in orbit by 2008.

Digital Radio Unit Shipments to Top22-M by 2009 Reports In-Stat

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Worldwide, the combined market ofboth digital satellite and terrestrial radio will grow from approxi-mately 5 million unit shipments in 2004 to 22 million unitshipments in 2009, predicts In-Stat.

The primary drivers for this growth will be new and compellingcontent, data services, price erosion for digital radio receivers,and digital radio provider partnerships with new car manufactur-ers, the high-tech market research firm said.

“In the U.S., satellite radio is driving the digital radio market,”said Stephanie Guza, In-Stat analyst. “In other markets, mostnotably in the U.K., terrestrial digital audio broadcasting isdriving it. The launch of Digital Multimedia Broadcast (DMB)services in Japan and Korea, along with increased promotionalactivity in Singapore, Australia and Taiwan over the next year,will drive digital radio shipments in Asia.”

According to a recent report, In-Stat also found the following:• Roughly 600 U.S. AM and FM stations will broadcast in HD

Radio technology by the end of 2005.

• The two U.S. satellite radio providers have reported signifi-cant subscriber numbers; XM is on track to report over 6million subscribers by the end of 2005, while Sirius will reachover 3 million subscribers.

• Commercial-free radio ranks as the top reason for purchasinga satellite radio, with 54 percent of surveyed satellite radioowners citing it.

EADS Astrium Selects Arianespace toLaunch Skynet 5C

LONDON — EADS Astriumhas selected Arianespace’sAriane 5 for the launch of thethird of the UK Ministry ofDefence’s (MoD) next-genera-tion secure military telecommu-nications satellite, Skynet 5C.

EADS Astrium said its in-orbitdelivery contract followsParadigm Secure Communica-tions’ recent amendment to theexisting Skynet 5 PrivateFinance Initiative (PFI) contractwith the UK MoD.

Arianespace was previouslyselected in 2004 for the launchof the first two Skynet 5satellites - Skynet 5A andSkynet 5B. The launch ofSkynet 5A is scheduled for thesecond half of 2006 with 5B in

2007 and 5C in 2008. The launch contract was signed at the endof December 2005.

Skynet 5A and 5B will replace the existing Skynet 4 satellites,also built by EADS Astrium, which are already owned andoperated by Paradigm Secure Communications.

Last month, Paradigm signed an amendment to the Skynet 5contract to provide increased value for money to the UK MoD.A key feature of the amendment was to mitigate the effect of

Another Ariane 5 ECAbegins its assemblyprocess at theArianespace’s Spaceportin Kourou, FrenchGuiana. (Arianespace/ESA/CNES photo)

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changes in the insurance market through the order and launchof a third satellite, Skynet 5C, and associated increased conces-sion period until 2020. Paradigm Secure Communications, part ofEADS Space Services, signed a $4.38 billion (£2.5 billion) PFIcontract with the MoD UK in October 2003 for the provision ofmilitary satellite communications services.

Globalstar Acquires Satellite GatewayOperator in Central America

MILPITAS, Calif. — Globalstar announced on Jan. 5 it hassigned a definitive agreement to acquire 100 percent of thestock of Globalstar Americas Telecommunications, Ltd.,Globalstar Americas Holdings Ltd., and Astral TechnologiesInvestments, Ltd.

Globalstar said the three companies are currently privately held

and are authorized by Globalstar to provide Globalstar servicethroughout Central America, including Belize, El Salvador,Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, and Costa Rica. Theyalso own and operate the Globalstar satellite gateway groundstation located near Managua, Nicaragua. The gateway pro-vides Globalstar satellite customers with access to the localpublic telephone system throughout the region.

The transaction is expected to close in mid-January 2006 andupon closing will be effective for financial purposes at the closeof business on December 31, 2005.

“This is part of our ongoing commitment to improve Globalstarservice for both our international customers working in theregion, as well as domestic users throughout much of CentralAmerica,” said Steven Bell, senior vice president of Interna-tional Sales, Marketing and Customer Operations for GlobalstarLLC.

http://www.comtechefdata.com

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Bell added Globalstar will now look at various ways of improving service forits satellite customers in the Central America region by evaluating thepotential introduction of various product solutions and roaming pricingalternatives already in place in North America and other regions around theworld. The company is also expected to evaluate potential service realign-ment options to improve service for the region.

FCC Authorizes WorldSpace Subsidiary toLaunch AfriStar-2 Satellite

SILVER SPRING, Md. — The Federal Communications Commission hasgranted an authorization to WorldSpace Satellite Radio satellite operatingsubsidiary, AfriSpace, to launch and operate the AfriStar-2 satellite.

WorldSpace said the AfriStar-2 satellite is already constructed and iscurrently in storage in Toulouse, France. When launched, AfriStar-2 will beinserted into geosynchronous orbit at 21 degrees East Longitude. Thesatellite will be co-located with AfriStar-1, which has sufficient capacity toserve at least one linguistic market in Western Europe, according toWorldSpace.AfriStar-2 will allow WorldSpace to expand its digital satellite radio servicesinto Western Europe. It is also intended to serve as a replacement withrespect to certain areas currently covered by AfriStar-1 when that satellitereaches the end of its operational life.

Noah Samara, chairman and CEO of WorldSpace, said FCC’s authorization isgreat news as it removes any uncertainty about having a license to operateAfriStar-2 and allows the company to implement our European launch plan.“This will give us expanded capacity to provide a focused satellite radioservice to European markets in line with the company’s execution plans,” hesaid.

Lockheed Reports Major Milestone on NewMissile Warning System

SUNNYVALE, Calif. — The Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS) team ledby Lockheed Martin has successfully completed engineering thermalvacuum testing of the payload for the first geosynchronous orbit (GEO)satellite. SBIRS will provide early warning of missile launches and supportother missions simultaneously including missile defense, technical intelli-gence and battlespace characterization.

Payloads for SBIRS GEO satellites are produced by Northrop Grumman andconsist of two advanced sensors: a scanning sensor designed for continu-ous observation and surveillance of traditional intercontinental ballisticmissile threats, and a staring sensor designed to detect very low signature,short-burn-duration theatre missiles. SM

http://www.seatel.com

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Intelsat Appoints Key Executives

WASHINGTON,D.C. — Intelsat,Ltd. has an-nounced keyexecutiveappointmentsthat will beeffectivefollowing theclosing ofIntelsat’splanned acquisi-

tion of PanAmSat Holding Corporation.

At the time that the acquisition was announced in August 2005,the companies stated that David McGlade, Intelsat’s currentCEO, would be the CEO of the company, and that Joe Wright,PanAmSat’s current CEO, would be chairman of Intelsat’sboard, after the transaction closes.

McGlade said he intends to appoint James Frownfelter, cur-rently chief operating officer of PanAmSat, as COO of Intelsatupon the closing. Frownfelter will replace current Intelsat COORamu Potarazu and Intelsat Global Service Corporation presi-dent Kevin Mulloy, who have submitted their resignations fromIntelsat effective Feb. 9 and Jan. 27, 2006, respectively.

As COO Frownfelter will have responsibility for sales andmarketing functions, engineering and operations, and majorprogram procurement. During his tenure at PanAmSat, hedirected 16 successful satellite launches and instituted arenewed focus on core competencies, resulting in significantimprovement in PanAmSat’s network reliability. Since becomingan officer of the company in 2001, Frownfelter has led thetransformation of PanAmSat from a satellite operator to a well-managed, higher quality, and more profitable communicationscompany with expanded services for global distributionapplications.

McGlade also announced that Phillip Spector will continue inhis current role as general counsel of Intelsat following theclosing of the PanAmSat acquisition. He will retain responsibil-ity for all legal and regulatory matters, as well as humanresources, facilities, and security. Spector joined Intelsat inFebruary 2005 from the international law firm of Paul, Weiss,Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, where he was managingpartner of the Washington office and Chairman of the firm’s

Communications & Technology Group. He has over 20 years oflegal experience in the satellite and telecommunications indus-tries, and earlier in his career clerked at the Supreme Court andserved in White House.

Acting Intelsat chief financial officer Robert Medlin willcontinue in that role at Intelsat until a permanent CFO is named.Current PanAmSat General Counsel James Cuminale and CFOMichael Inglese will stay with PanAmSat until the transactioncloses, Intelsat said.

Richard Covey Named ChiefOperating Officer of United SpaceAlliance

HOUSTON, Texas —Veteran Shuttleastronaut and space industry executiveRichard O. “Dick” Covey has been namedto replace Brewster Shaw as executivevice president and chief operating officerof United Space Alliance. Brewster hasreturned to Boeing as VP and generalmanager of Boeing NASA Systems.

Effective February 17, Covey joins USAfrom Boeing Company where he served aspresident of Boeing Service Company inColorado Springs, Colorado, providing

system engineering, facility/system maintenance and opera-tions, spacecraft operations support, and logistics support toDepartment of Defense, other US government, and commercialbusinesses at over 20 locations worldwide.

Before moving to Boeing Service Company, he was vicepresident of Boeing Houston Operations responsible forbusiness development, program management and support forBoeing programs in Houston. Covey joined Boeing as divisiondirector for McDonnell Douglas’ Houston Operations in 1996.

Morten Tengs Appointed New CEO ofTelenor Satellite Services

FORNEBU — The board of Telenor Satellite Services AS (TSS)has appointed Morten Tengs as new chief executive officer ofTSS effective February 1, 2006. Tengs replaces Tore Hilde whowill be leaving the company at the end of January.

Richard O.“Dick” Covey

Joe Wright David McGlade

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Morten Tengs joined Telenor GlobalServices AS in 1995 and has held theposition as the company’s CEO since1999. His education comprises bothtechnical engineering studies fromAgder Ingeniør og Distriktshøyskoleas well as a Master of BusinessAdministration from BI NorwegianSchool of Management.

Bjarne Aamodt, chairman of TSS, saidMorten has demonstrated excellentqualifications managing the success-

ful development of Telenor Global Services under very difficultmarket conditions the last few years. “With these provenqualifications and his experience I feel confident that he is theright person to lead TSS in the next phase of its development.”

Brewster Shaw Named as BoeingNASA Systems Leader

ST. LOUIS — Brewster Shaw hasbeen selected as vice president andgeneral manager of the BoeingNASA Systems business unit.Shaw replaces Mike Mott whopassed away in November 2005.

Jim Albaugh, president and chiefexecutive of Boeing IntegratedDefense Systems, said he selectedShaw for the position because ofhis extensive experience andsuccess in managing large, complexhuman spaceflight programs.

Shaw was chief operating officer of United Space Alliance(USA) just prior to this assignment and had primary responsibil-ity for the operations and overall management of USA, theprime contractor for the Space Shuttle Program. Shaw wasnamed to this position in 2003.

Shaw previously served as vice president and deputy generalmanager for Boeing NASA Systems. Prior to that, he wasBoeing ISS vice president, responsible for leading an industryteam in designing, developing, testing, launching, and operat-ing NASA’s international orbiting laboratory. Shaw has heldmultiple management and executive roles since he joined

Rockwell in 1996 after 27 years with the U.S. Air Force andNASA. Shaw retired from the Air Force as a colonel.

Radyne Appoints Myron Wagneras COO

PHOENIX — Carl Myron Wagner will join Radyne Corporationas president and chief operating officer on Jan. 30, 2006. Inaddition, Wagner will become a candidate for the title of CEO.

Wagner, 50, most recently was employed with General Dynamicswhere he served as vice president and director of Engineeringfor the Space and National Systems Division since 2004. Prior tojoining General Dynamics, Wagner served as the vice presidentand general manager of Motorola’s Instant CommunicationsStrategic Business Unit where he was responsible for thelaunch of Motorola’s “Push to Talk” cellular products. Previ-ously, Wagner was responsible for the development of cellularinteroperability, fixed wireless, and broadband satellite systems.

Brian Duggan, who has served as Radyne’s president and COO,will assume new responsibilities as the president and generalmanager of the rapidly growing Tiernan HDTV business.Radyne has also announced that Bob Fitting has agreed to aone-year extension of his contract to December 31, 2006.

Moog Elects Two New Officers

EAST AURORA, N.Y. — Moog Inc. board of directors haselected two new vice presidents of the corporation.Sasidhar Eranki joined Moog in 1979 after completing a master’sdegree in Mechanical Engineering at University of Buffalo.Throughout his career at Moog, Sasidhar has been involved inthe design and production of a variety of control systems forindustrial and aircraft applications. He has worked in Engineer-ing, International Business Development, Product Line Man-agement, and is currently deputy general manager of theAircraft Group, and director of engineering. In his current role,he is responsible for developing and deploying the engineeringtalent of the Aircraft Group.

In addition to his master’s in Mechanical Engineering fromSUNY Buffalo, Sasidhar holds a BSME from the Indian Instituteof Technology in Madras, India.

John Scannell joined Moog in 1990 as an engineering managerof Moog in Cork, Ireland. In 1994, John moved to Germany tobecome operations manager of Moog GmbH. In 1997, John took

Brewster Shaw

Morten Tengs

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a leave of absence topursue an MBA at Harvard.He returned to Moog in1999 as the general managerof Moog Ireland and thegeneral manager of theElectric Drives Product Line.

XTAR NamesLarry D.Haughey as VP-Gov’t Markets

ROCKVILLE, MD. —XTAR, LLC has namedLarry D. Haughey vicepresident for governmentmarkets responsible for thesales and marketing ofXTAR’s unique X-bandservices to the U.S.government’s commercialand military sectors,including the Departmentsof Defense, State andHomeland Security.

He will report to DenisCurtin, chief operatingofficer of XTAR. XTAR is ajoint venture between LoralSpace & Communicationsand HISDESAT.Haughey was previouslyexecutive sales branchmanager for MCI where hewas responsible for sales ofvoice, data, IP, and otherspecialized services to theDefense InformationSystems Agency (DISA),the Office of the Secretaryof Defense (OSD), JointPrograms and DoD Interna-tional Services.Before joining MCI,Haughey was director ofRBOC services at Teleglobe

http://www.isce.com

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International, where he was responsible for sales to the regionalbell operating companies (RBOC) and independent telephonecompanies. Haughey also served in similar roles at IDB, ContelASC and COMSAT. Haughey began his career in the govern-ment communications field in 1981 at the Defense Communica-tions Agency (DCA), now known as DISA.

Ascent Media Names Paul WilkinsChief Solution Architect for EMEA

LONDON, UK — Paul Wilkins has joined Ascent MediaSystems & Technology Services as chief solution architect,EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa).

Senior vice president Richard Scott, to whom Wilkins will report,said Wilkins will be responsible for the full range of systems

design, from assessment of clientrequirements to project engineeringmanagement.

Wilkins has over 25 years experience inthe systems integration business,initially with BBC SCPD; followed by 18years with Sony Broadcast andProfessional Europe; five with PinnacleSystems, and most recently AVIDTechnology Europe. His experience

spans project engineering, project management (including Seoul’88 and Lillehammer ’94 Olympics), proposals management andproduct management for server and tapeless productiontechnologies. SM

Paul Wilkins

http://www.cpii.com/satcom

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Hughes to Deliver ComprehensiveDigital Signage Service for Retailers

NEW YORK — Hughes Network Systems, LLC launched onJan. 16 its Managed Digital Signage Service, the first of severalnew services planned in 2006 under the company’s DigitalMedia Services umbrella.

Hughes said the offering will facilitate the trend in the retailindustry towards increased use of electronic in-store brandingand promotion.

With its Managed Digital Signage service, Hughes is making iteasier for retailers to capitalize on this market opportunity andstay competitive through “on-the-fly,” targeted customercommunications. The service enables retailers to changecontent based on anything from time of day to weather condi-tions.

Hughes added the service allows different content to beautomatically displayed at different times of the day in order tosend a more precise message to the target audience. Forexample, if a retailer has a different demographic in the morningthan in the late afternoon, messages can be customized toaddress distinct buying traits and to showcase productsappropriate for each audience, thereby increasing likelihood ofpurchase.

“Hughes’ Managed Digital Signage service gives retailers thepower of their own television network at their fingertips,” saidKen Cohen, assistant vice president of marketing. “Our offeringgives them the flexibility to customize their message at everysite, at every moment. And because of Hughes’ deep retailtechnology experience, our team can quickly assess a retailoperation and recommend the right technology to maximizebrand investments and expedite ROI,” she added.

Sirius Adds World Soccer Daily RadioProgram to Sports Lineup

NEW YORK — Sirius Satellite Radio launched on Jan. 16 WorldSoccer Daily broadcasting the play-by-play of more than 350pro and college teams daily talk program.

The daily talk program hosted by Steven Cohen and Nick Geberwill air weekdays from 1-3 pm ET on Sirius’ channel 126. TheEnglish-language daily national radio program devoted to theworld’s game provides an in-depth look at the best leagues

around the globe, with news, expert analysis and interviewswith the biggest names in the game.

World Soccer Daily started out as a weekly program on localradio in Los Angeles, CA, hitting the airwaves just before the2002 World Cup. The show quickly developed a passionate fanbase and in 2003 began broadcasting to a national audience onSports Byline USA.

Dish Network Launches OxygenNetwork

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — EchoStar Communications Corp.launched on Jan. 16 Oxygen Media, the only woman-owned and-operated TV network. Oxygen and Dish Network entered into amulti-year agreement and will provide 12 million Dish Networkviewers with a free preview of Oxygen immediately.

Oxygen is a 24-hour television network on a mission to bringwomen (and the men who love them) the most innovativeentertainment on television. From “Mo’Nique’s Fat Chance,”which takes America’s average beauty competition and repack-ages it for America’s average-size women, to Oxygen’s newesthit, “Campus Ladies,” Oxygen brings brave, original program-ming to women every day.With this agreement, Oxygen now reaches a total of 65 millionhomes. The network has enjoyed double-digit ratings growthand has the second-highest concentration of women 18-49 oncable and satellite television.Stratos Introduces StratosGatewayOnline Tools for Mobile SatelliteUsers

BETHESDA, MD — Stratos Global Corp. announced on Jan. 17the launch of StratosGateway, a sophisticated web-based portalthat provides easier and more efficient access to accountmanagement and product and service information for Inmarsatand Iridium mobile satellite users.

With StratosGateway, Stratos said its resellers and customerscan easily view, download and monitor call data records,perform traffic analysis, and commission, bar and unbarindividual satellite terminals via the Internet, without the needto speak with a customer service representative or fax a paperform.

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StratosGateway provides single-sign-on access to a compre-hensive, updated library of important product and service factsheets and information, which is easy to navigate and fullysearchable using a sophisticated search tool. It also includesthe latest in secure web-based technology (SSL 128-bit encryp-tion), ensuring optimum security for all operations.

StratosGateway supports Iridium and Inmarsat digital satelliteservices, including Inmarsat-B/-M/mini- M/Fleet/GAN/Swift64and BGAN (Broadband Global Area Network). BGAN is thelatest and most advanced mobile satellite technology featuringsimultaneous voice and broadband data connectivity using anaffordable, lightweight satellite terminal about the size of astandard laptop PC.

EchoStar Expands VoomHD Channels

LAS VEGAS — EchoStar Communications Corp. and RainbowMedia Holdings announced on Jan. 5 that EchoStar’s DishNetwork will expand its offering of Rainbow’s Voom HD Net-works from 10 to 15 channels.

Voom HD Networks said the announcement reinforces itscommitment to fill the HD content void and to create program-ming that maximizes the HD experience.

As part of its strategy to be the nation’s leading provider of HDprogramming, Dish Network started distributing an initial lineupof 10 Voom HD Networks in the spring of 2005. Telecast in 1080iwith Dolby 5.1 surround sound, Voom HD Networks provide 24hours of high-definition, commercial-free, programming. Thenew suite of 15 Voom HD channels will be available to consum-ers on February 1, as part of Dish Network’s new DishHDpackage, which was also introduced today at the 2006 Interna-tional Consumer Electronics Show.

Since its launch in early 2005, Voom has gone on to producecompelling original HD content for a wide variety of consumerinterests including: the largest collection of HD horror films; alive auction of one-of-a-kind memorabilia; animation for kids ofall ages and action-adventure sporting events.

The five newly added Voom HD channels will be available toDish Network customers who obtain Dish Network’s newMPEG4 satellite receivers capable of receiving the new HDchannels. Customers with MPEG2 equipment can view thecurrent 10 Voom HD channels as well as other previouslyoffered Dish Network HD programming.

Telenor Reduces Calling Rates onChinese and Lunar New Year

OSLO, Norway — Telenor Satellite Services announced on Jan.18 it is offering worldwide reduced calling rates to help celebratethe Chinese and Lunar New Year.

Telenor, in conjunction with satellite operator Inmarsat, isextending low-cost Super Quiet Time (SQT) hours around-the-clock beginning 20:00 Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) on FridayJanuary 27 and running until 6:00 GMT Monday February 6,2006.

Telenor’s Super Quiet Time (SQT) Program features substan-tially reduced prices, less than a dollar a minute, for prepaidvoice calls over maritime Inmarsat-B, -M, Mini-M, and all FleetServices.“Telenor continues to make it simple and affordable for marinersto share some time with family and friends, even though theymay be far away from home,” said Anders Kallerud, vicepresident of Telenor Satellite Services.

Globalstar Launches Static IP/VPNService for EnterpriseData Customers

MILPITAS, Calif. — Globalstar has launched Static IP (InternetProtocol) address and virtual private network or VPN capabilityfor its satellite data customers throughout the United States,Canada, and the Caribbean.

Globalstar said the new services are possible due to enhance-ments at various gateway ground stations located throughoutNorth America.

Once Static IP is set-up, a single IP address is assigned to acustomer’s Globalstar modem, delivering a constant addressand affording greater communication possibilities through theGlobalstar network, the company said. With the introduction ofthe Static IP service and associated data modems, Globalstarcustomers will now be able to initiate the transmission of datainformation or poll their various fixed and mobile assets locatedthroughout North America, even when those assets are locatedin remote areas, well beyond standard terrestrial wireless orwireline coverage.

The Globalstar Static IP address modems will communicate tospecific IP addresses using the new VPN service and the

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introduction of the VPN service will provide Globalstar custom-ers with an enhanced level of security when making use of theInternet.

Connexion by Boeing Offers NewPricing Scheme, Services for High-Speed In-Flight Internet Service

SEATTLE — Connexion by Boeing has announced evolutionsin its pricing and service enhancements for its real-time high-speed Internet and entertainment services to airline passengersin flight.

Connexion by Boeing said the service enhancements include anexpanded delivery of four channels of live global television toairlines that offer the service and implementation of Yahoo! asthe exclusive search engine on the service’s portal used by

passengers on flights to access the Internet and email.

Pricing for the award-winning service will be simplified, givingpassengers more flexibility with four choices based on theamount of time they want to be connected, Boeing said.The new pricing, effective January 31, will be based on exten-sive customer research conducted individually, and in conjunc-tion with, leading airlines in Europe, Asia and the U.S.

Beginning on January 23, all airlines equipped with theConnexion by Boeing service may begin offering their passen-gers four channels of live global TV from their laptops. Liveglobal TV programming is part of the Internet and data accessservice and is provided at no additional cost to passengerspurchasing the Connexion by Boeing service. The Yahoo!Search Engine feature, available on the Connexion by Boeing airportal, will also be accessible by passengers beginning January15.

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XM to be StandardEquipment on the 2006Scion

DETROIT — XM Satellite Radio has an-nounced that Scion of Toyota Motor Sales(TMS), U.S.A., Inc., will include XM SatelliteRadio as standard equipment on its new 2006Scion xB Release Series 3.0.The xB Release Series 3.0 is making its debut atthe 2006 North American International AutoShow (NAIAS) in Detroit, and is the firstvehicle from TMS to offer XM as a standardfeature.

Buyers of the limited-edition Scion xB ReleaseSeries 3.0 will also enjoy three months ofcomplimentary XM service and a waivedactivation fee.

In late 2004, XM became Toyota Motor Sales’exclusive partner for factory-installed satelliteradio entertainment and information services.Today, XM Satellite Radio is available in 15Scion, Lexus and Toyota models as an optionthrough port or dealer accessory programs.XM’s satellite radio receivers are also the soleGenuine Toyota Accessories authorized byTMS to bring satellite radio entertainment tothese models.

Glowlink Unveils New Ver-sion of Model 1000 Spec-trum Monitoring System

LOS ALTOS, Ca. — Glowlink has released anew version of its Model 1000 Satellite Spec-trum Monitoring and Interference DetectionSystem that packs state-of-the-art hardwareenhancement with the newly improved andexpanded Version 2.8.1 software.

“Version 2.8.1 software offers much improveduser interface, system robustness, and pro-cessing algorithms,” said Robert Estus,Glowlink VP of Operations. “With this new version of software, customers will see markedly improved performance with their cur-rently installed Model 1000 systems.”

Glowlink said customers who are on software maintenance will receive the new version of software as part of their on-going systemupgrade process. Customers on hardware maintenance will receive the hardware upgrade on request. SM

http://www.aaesys.com

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In the wake of the FCC’s 2003decision to allocate spectrum to MSV forATC, an array of negative statementscirculated in the press:

“To even say the MSS industry is abeleaguered one is an understatementwith the slew of bankruptcies that beganin the late 1990s with Iridium.” (TheEconomic Times, March 27, 2003)

“I look at it as a stay of execution,”said John Byrne, wireless analyst withKagan WorldMedia. “Theability to have aterrestrial connec-tion helps, but itdoesn’t ensuresurvival. They stillhave to attractpeople. To try andtap into new orold market

Is the MSS IndustryBeleaguered After All?by Jose del Rosario

The mobile satellite services (MSS) industry has regained attention in many parts ofthe globe, as next-generation implementations of new and forward-looking programsthat inherently pose renewed risks are once again entering the marketplace. In recent

years news reports continue to remind the MSS industry of its less than stellar performance inthe late-1990s, and analysts and skeptics have proposed that the MSS industry as a whole isbeleaguered. Moreover, the controversial decision by the U.S. Federal CommunicationsCommission (FCC) to grant a large amount of spectrum for the development of ancillaryterrestrial component (ATC) services has been met by strong opposition. Companies op-posed to ATC argue simply that satellite-based mobile services do not have a compellingproposition, and a large spectrum allocation that allows mobile satellite services to comple-ment its offerings with terrestrial capabilities is unjustified to revive the industry.

segments is a tough sell.” MRT, March 1,2003

MSS Market ProspectsNorthern Sky Research (NSR)

utilized a bottom-up approach in its latestMSS forecast model, whereby 12 distinctmarket sectors were analyzed. NSRbelieves these segments are the primaryopportunities that mobile satellite broad-band services can target. The analysis of12 market sectors in determining market

demand includes thesegments in the chartbelow.

In answering themost important andkey question ofwhether the MSSindustry will remainviable and sustain-able within the nextseveral years, giventhe checkered historyof many mobileprograms, NSRprojects healthygrowth in in-service

units driven by a variety of applicationsfor current and next-generation programs.The large driver for terminal or equipmentgrowth lies in handheld units for videoservices.

Recent years have shown the MSSindustry to be invaluable in supportingdisaster preparedness & recoveryactivities, military applications, and othercritical civil requirements that requirerapidly deployable, reliable and ubiqui-

Handhelds Commercial Airlines Commercial Shipping Oil & Gas

Land-based Vehicular Business Jets Cruise Ships • Government / Militaryo• Handheldso• Land-based Vehicularo• UAVso• Maritime

Media & Broadcast Small Private Aircraft Ferry Market Other Enterprise DemandOrganizationsSource: NSR

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tous communications services. Thegovernment/military sector in particularhas boosted demand for services andequipment that support the most challeng-ing logistical activities around the globe.The government/military is using the mostbasic satellite solutions to carry voice andnarrowband data, as well as highly refinedand sophisticated mobile broadband andvideo units such as the UAV for variousapplications that require large bandwidthand highly secure connections. Develop-ments in this sector are also benefiting thecommercial market as manufacturers beginto leverage military R&D and apply thisknowledge base towards the developmentof commercial-grade products. For ATCspecifically, the wake of Hurricane Katrinahas shown the need to implement andcomplement the government’s (local andnational) communications network in

order to better coordinate and imple-ment relief efforts. An MSS/ATCcapability should ensure better capabil-ity in terms of robustness, reliabilityand ubiquity compared to currentgovernment systems that rely on landmobile radios (LMRs).

In the commercial market, theincreasing assimilation of the Internet inboth professional and personal commu-nications, as well as the growingmobility of the global workforce, has ledto the natural evolution of the mobileweb. Mobile networks that throughputnarrowband, broadband and videotraffic are presenting new opportunitiesfor the MSS industry. New programssuch as Inmarsat’s I4 fleet, Connexionby Boeing aimed at tapping high-speedInternet access and video services on

commercial aircraft, and other “true”mobile or “On-the-Move” services havebeen launched that aim to improve themarket proposition and revenue base ofsatellite services in its role as a nicheoffering.

In the Korean market, satellite-baseddigital multimedia broadcasting (S-DMB)has produced impressive results within 8months of introduction, starting in May2005. Other countries are beginning toseriously consider replicating S-DMBservices within their borders, as theencouraging results in South Korea couldlead to tremendous market opportunitiesover time.

NSR believes the MSS market will bedriven largely by two new services interms of the increase of customers. The

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first service has already begun with S-DMB, and based on its short markethistory, it is poised for continued successuntil at least 2010.

The second and more controversialproposition is the MSS/ATC offering.NSR believes that an inflection point inthe entire MSS industry will take place in2009 when the MSS/ATC deployment hasbeen completed in the United States. Priorto 2009, the value proposition of MSS/ATC rests with the ability to communicatein preparation of, during and after emer-gency situations. The market is expectedto be fully supported by U.S. Governmentagencies given the lack of adequatecommunications capability in the wake ofHurricane Katrina. In 2009, when networkdeployments and partnership agreementshave been established, regular citizenswho are preparing for such adversecircumstances will begin to adopt MSS/ATC. This trend is truly the beginning ofthe consumer market where MSS/ATCbecomes a cellular service, not a satelliteservice. The selling point is that the enduser will always be connected since thereis a satellite component acting as a back-

up and redundant capability in case theterrestrial network is bogged down ordestroyed. The satellite mode is thereforean insurance policy in cases or situationssuch as 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina.

Moreover, there have been projec-tions and programs to increase cellularpenetration levels in the United Statesfrom 68% in end-2005 to over 90% by end-2010. Achieving such high levels of useinevitably requires aggressive ruralimplementations. Based on currenttechnologies, cellular operators will likelydeploy services rather slowly in ruralareas due to comparatively low ROIcompared to implementing additionalvalue-added services in urban centers.This trend would appear to make an MSS/ATC offering highly compelling either as astandalone service or through a partner-ship with large cellular operators. Sincelarge cellular players may not find ruralimplementations as cost-effective andattractive investments, MSS/ATC canaddress both urban and rural customerswith an offering that looks quite similar toa terrestrial cellular service. It wouldappear such an offering is precisely whatthe FCC had in mind when it allocated alarge amount of spectrum to MSS/ATC.

In terms of revenuegeneration in the wholesaleand retail markets, the market isexpected to be healthy onceagain. Current annual revenuestreams are a trickle comparedto their potential. Since 2003the market has grown at asteady pace but is expected togrow at more robust ratesduring the second half of thedecade. This growth will begenerated as next-generationprograms are implemented,including broadband accessvia Inmarsat’s BGAN, Boeing’sConnexion, S-DMB and ATC.The government/military hasbeen the anchor tenant formany companies and sectors inMSS; however, more enterpriseand consumer-oriented sectorswill drive growth over time.

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Jose del Rosario is Senior Analyst & Regional Director forthe Asia Pacific of Northern Sky Research. He can bereached at [email protected]

ConclusionThe current environment, which has

a mix of frequency bands, legacy and next-generation platforms, as well as evolvingbusiness models, is at a crossroad.Although expected to remain a nichemarket proposition, the MSS industry ispoised to achieve high market uptake thatcould arguably be interpreted as achiev-ing critical mass, similar to the prospectsof DTH services in the provision of pay-TV services as it competes with the cableindustry. Indeed, DARS and GPS areunique but increasingly being incorpo-rated in many market sectors such as theautomobile industry in the United States.Additionally, other services that have andwill be developed within the next fewyears are expected to penetrate customersegments at high rates, including video-to-handsets and ATC services.

NSR believes that MSS services willbe viable, sustainable and will thrivewithin a relatively short period of time.Why? MSS services will success simplybecause satellite communications arenecessary in addressing situations suchas the War in Iraq, 9/11 and HurricaneKatrina. Satellite applications such as TVand Internet access in maritime vessels,commercial airlines and the land vehiclesare helpful. In addition, S-DMB is flashyand full of potential. Contrary to theanalysis or diagnosis that MSS is belea-guered, MSS is healthy and will indeedremain niche, but its market propositionwill drastically improve by the end of thedecade.

This article is an excerpt from a newNSR report entitled: Mobile SatelliteServices, 2nd Edition.

Complete information can be foundat www.northernskyresearch.com/reports/MSS2/index.html SM

http://www.panamsat.com

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FEATURE

Washington-based sat-radiooperator Worldspace is movingrapidly ahead to build on its

recent subscriber successes in India, withaction targeted on China, Europe and theMiddle East. It signed a last minutecooperation agreement with ChinaSatellite Communications (China Satcom)on Dec 20, which runs to 2010. On January3rd Worldspace received formal permissionto build and launch a second craft,AfriStar 2, to 21 deg East, which when inposition will boost its coverage overEurope. As Worldspace reported in itspre-holiday FCC filing, the Chinese deal“consolidates and updates the provisionsof five earlier separate agreements”between Worldspace and its sole agentChina Satcom, which were all due to expireon Dec 31. China Satcom gets a 10%‘agency fee’ from any capacity leasessigned up for the North-East beam onAsiaStar, the operator’s 105 deg East craft.

Worldspace (WS) has the responsi-bility to build an Earth Station (atDongbeiwang Village, Haidian District,Beijing) while China Satcom will “pro-

2006: The Year for European Sat-radio?By Chris Forrester

mote” channel leasingjointly with WS. ChinaSatcom is “responsible” forobtaining and maintainingthe official Chinese licencesfor L-band uplinking andtransmission, and for after-sales services on receivers.More importantly, perhaps,is the obligation for ChinaSatcom to build out thesupplementary terrestrial repeaters neededfor widespread reception. China Satcom,as part of its agreement with WS, haswarranted that is has “obtained therequisite government licenses and/orapprovals from the relevant departmentsof the Chinese government”.

Coincidentally, the Chinese newshelped with a Dec 22 major report on WSfrom investment bank Bear Stearns, whichcited the business “peer perform” al-though suggesting the company wasrunning an “obstacle course” of chal-lenges ahead. December saw some usefulupward progress in Worldspace’s shareprice, as it moved from $11 to $14.72,helped by the Chinese deal. AnalystKunal Madhukar writes that Bear Stearnsis “constructive” about WS, generallyciting the company’s long-term prospectsand “significant untapped market oppor-tunity”.

However, Madhukar remindsinvestors that Worldspace still hasn’t tiedup a European carmaker, despite thepreliminary discussions with majorautomakers such as Citroen/Peugeot.

Also worth watching for is

Worldspace’s end-of-year report. BearStearns says it is looking for Q4/2005numbers of 40,000 to be added to the100,000 already declared, and predictsanother 365,000 net additions for 2006.This would put mean a core 500,000subscribers could be in place by the endof 2006. Bear Stearns projects 72,000 subsin India at 2005 year-end, 322,000 by theend of 2006, and 2.84m subscribers by2014. “Based on our projections, weestimate free cash flow from India wouldturn positive in 2011. The net presentvalue of the investments is estimated atabout $25 million for the country less theamounts already spent by 2006 year-endthat is already included in our cashestimate. Using the real options valuationmodel, we value the business in India atan equity value of about $45 million orabout $1 per share.”

Bear Stearns highlights the obviouspotential of India – and of course China,and provides a detailed look at Europewhere it says it assumes WS is able tocommence commercial operations in 2007with France and Italy being its favouredmarkets. “We are projecting 4.7m subs inEurope by 2014. Based on our projections,we estimate free cash flow from Western

Delphi sat-radio

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Europe would turn positive in 2011,” saysthe bank’s report, helping takeWorldspace’s global total to 15m subs,when India, China and the Rest of theWorld are included. “We expect thecompany to turn net income positive in2012, and earnings could reach $200million in 2014, or around $3 per share,”says the bank. “We estimate WorldSpacecould begin generating positive free cashflows (FCF) in 2011, though FCF fruitionwould also depend, to a large extent, onthe number of months the averagesubscriber prepays, which has beensignificant for the two satellite radiooperators in the U.S. Based on the timingof the FCF breakeven and incremental

satellite related capital expenditureswhether to replace, expand capacity, orbuild a spare, we think the company mayneed to access the financial markets. Ourmodel suggests the company may need toborrow/raise an additional $450-$500million beginning in 2008 before it starts torepay the obligations beginning in 2011.”

WorldSpace is to be congratulatedfor its activity in India, but the Indiagovernment is not standing idly by and inDecember 2005 approved the funding ofInsat-4E to be built by Indian SpaceResearch Org. (ISRO), which broadcastingminister Priyaranjan Dasmunshi describeswill be a “state of the art” craft with S-

DMB services as its core mission. Insat-4E is slated to be launched in “early 2008”.

Worldspace key metrics for 2006• 365,000 net new additions• Further expansion in India• Grant of further India repeater

licences• Progress in China• Europe, launch in at least one

country• Decision on launch of 3rd satellite

But WorldSpace is not alone ininternational satellite radio. Luxembourg-based Europa-Max Participations, andMadrid-based Ondas Media – and maybeothers are each looking to translate thesuccess of XM and Sirius in the USA intoEurope. Ondas has already announced amajor link (“strategic investor andtechnology supplier”) with sat-radiospecialists Delphi Corp, and said it isplanning to launch its 150-channel service

Data: IDC, Gallup, China Media Monitor, Worldspace estimates

Worldspace’s plans for International sat-radio

Worldspace – Europe forecasts (000, and $000 Revenues)2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Subscribers 43 162 391 768 1,335 2,141 3,240 4,697Revenues 2,186 9,434 24,825 52,144 95,962 162,108 257,777 392,059Data: Bear Stearns

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in 2009. Delphi will establish a Europeansatellite radio innovation centre inGermany this year to develop these newproducts. Celso Azevedo, CEO, Ondas,says: “As Europe continues to be markedby a shortage of digital capacity, Ondas isin the pole position to bring Europeancustomers the unparalleled depth andbreadth of media content they have neverbeen able to enjoy.”

“We are certainly excited to helpintroduce satellite radio to Europe,” saidBob Schumacher, general director ofadvanced product development andbusiness strategy at Delphi Electronics &Safety. “We believe satellite radio willrevolutionize the European audio broad-cast industry across the continent byoffering consumers a lot more choices thatare aligned with today’s lifestyles.” Delphiis currently in the middle of a Chapter 11bankruptcy reorganisation, with – it says -the emphasis very much onreorganisation.

Worldspace is also doing businesswith Delphi, having signed a MOU withDelphi to have mobile receivers ready “inthe 1st half of 2006”.

However, let’slook a little moreclosely at Ondas. Itis now reasonablywell funded,althoughrecognises thatsignificant freshcapital will have tobe raised. CurrentlyDelphi is the onlynamed investor inOndas, althoughAzevedo’s previousindustry links(DirecTV from 1995-1997, SES Astra1986-1995) give himgood contacts. Azevedo’s team includesat least one previous player from the failedGlobal Radio operation in Luxembourg (asdoes Europa-Max). Initial seed investmentfor Ondas came from Hans Peter Petersand Klaus Otto Rehnig, both described asserial entrepreneurs.

Ondas promises….• 150 channels of satellite radio• Vehicle management• Driver & Passenger info• Emergency calls and signals• In-car video/entertainment• Enhanced data applicationsData: Ondas Media, Jan 2006

Ondas says initial (Aug 2005) marketresearch from a Focus Group indicates“very positive demand”, and it will followthis up with a more comprehensive studyin Q1/06. Azevedo rightly stresses thatOndas (and potentially any rival thatmanages to make headway) will benefitfrom the hard work already done by XMand Sirius, and their radio suppliers.“Delphi have gone through all theproblems encountered from the beginningof the project, so they are practicallydoing this for the third time, which for usis a reduction of the risk for both the

technology and the schedule,” Azevedosays. He explained that the arrangementwould not be exclusive because thevarious car manufacturers would want touse their own favoured audio suppliers.Delphi would however be able to supply areference design that would be madeavailable to other manufacturers. “We arein the third round of financing, and we stillhave a lot of financing to do, but we havefour or five years in which to find thefinancing,” said Azevedo.

But as we have mentioned Ondas isfar from alone. Luxembourg-registeredEuropa-Max is still seeking next-roundfinancing, and there may be an announce-ment shortly.

The Inmarsat/Globalstar and MSVprojects do not initially include Europe,but you can see what might be possiblefurther down the line. However, thefundamental question is whether Europemight support more than one satelliteoperator in the DARS space given DARSspectrum constraints in Europe? Weasked a well-placed European insiderwhether a WorldSpace 1.4GHz GEOsatellite AND a 1.4 GHz HEO system fromOndas could both be viably accommo-

Celso Azevedo, CEO, Ondas

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London-based Chris Forrester, a well-known broadcastingjournalist is the Editor for Europe, Middle East and Africafor SATMAGAZINE. He reports on all aspects of theindustry with special emphasis on content, the business oftelevision and emerging technologies. He has a uniqueknowledge of the Middle East broadcasting scene, havinginterviewed at length the operational heads of each of the main channels andpay-TV platforms. He can be reached at [email protected]

SM

dated in 12.5 MHz of spectrum alreadyearmarked for S-DAB (=S-DARS) use byEurope’s spectrum regulators? Theanswer: “Most unlikely, given that thebusiness plans of XM and Sirius rely oneach operator having access to 12.5 MHzof spectrum as licensed by the FCC; sodividing the available European S-DAB/S-DARS bandwidth by two and givingOndas and WorldSpace each 6.25 MHz ofspectrum is unlikely to sustain a viablebusiness plan for both these two compa-nies.” In other words both WorldSpaceand Ondas are fighting it out for the samebandwidth in the 1.4 GHz S-DAB/S-DARSrange in Europe.

Ondas Media’s main rival in thelaunch of a European service isWorldspace. Azevedo is not happy: “Wethink it’s a mistake to ask the FCC to filefor a system like this over Europe. It’s likeasking France to authorise a system overthe United States.” Ondas is making its

own filing under the Spanish flag, which ismaking the necessary requests throughthe ITU.

http://www.ilc.com/satellite.html

http://www.ilc.com/landingpages/satmag052505.html

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FEATURE

China’s commercial satellite industryis moving into the Big Time—bigtime.

The sale of a communicationssatellite (Nigcomsat-1) to Nigeria and themore recent sale of another satellite(Venesat-1) to Venezuela are historic firstsfor China’s commercial satellite industryand a space program that will celebrate its50th anniversary on October 8.

The date marks the founding ofChina’s first rocket research institution,the 5th Academy of the Ministry ofNational Defense, and is recognized as thebeginning of China’s space program.

There is little doubt Beijing will pullout all the stops to honor a program thathas made China a respected player in theworld satellite industry, and only the thirdcountry to send humans into space.

The Year of the Fire Dog also marksthe 30th anniversary of formal relationsbetween China and the European Union(EU). The close business and scientificties between China and the EU areunderscored by their cooperation in the“Galileo Project,” EU’s equivalent of theUS global positioning system (GPS).

China is the first country outsideEurope to join the Galileo satellite-navigation system. Its investment of $245million (200 million Euros) in Galileo andits constellation of 30 satellites countsamong the over 400 cooperation programsin science and technology between Chinaand the EU over the past three decades.

China’s space industry is aliveand zoomingBy Peter I. Galace

These business coups illustrateChina’s renewed focus on the commercialsatellite industry after deliberatelyconcentrating first on the development ofnew generation carrier rockets.

Its successful bid for Nigeria’s firstsatellite signals a China that has learnedthe ropes and is using its knowledge tooutmuscle the Big Boys. The Nigeriandeal is China’s first ever sale of a made-in-China satellite to any country.

China closed the deal in December2005 and beat 21 companies from theUnited States, France, Britain, Italy andIsrael, among others. Before the satellitesale to Nigeria, China only manufacturedsatellite components for other countries,but never an entire satellite.

Chinese quality was a major reason

for Nigeria’s selection of China as theprovider of its first satellite. Nigeria saidChina had submitted a “superlativeproposal” and its technical capability andexpertise had met stringent performancerequirements. Nigcomsat-1 will belaunched in 2007.

China Great Wall Industry Corpora-tion (CGWIC) described the Nigerian saleas a breakthrough in China’s internationalcommercial space program since Chinaasserted its capability as a manufacturerand launcher of satellites for foreigncustomers.

CGWIC is the sole commercialorganization authorized by the Chinesegovernment to provide internationalcommercial launch services, in-orbitsatellite delivery and international spacetechnology cooperation.

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On the other hand, theVenezuelan satellite isChina’s first sale to Venezu-ela and to any SouthAmerican country. Chinaand Venezuela signed thedeal last November inCaracas with VenezuelanPresident Hugo Chavez atthe signing ceremony.

Venesat-1 will belaunched from China in2008. The satellite will makeVenezuela self-sufficient intelecommunications andwill cover sparsely popu-lated areas not yet reached by commercial telecommunica-tions.

China will also turn over satellite technologies toVenezuela in a effort to help the latter build its own satellites.Venesat-1 is also called the “Simon Bolivar Satellite” after theSouth American independence fighter.

Nigcomsat-1 and Venesat-1 are based on the DFH-4(Dongfanghong or “The East is Red”), China’s latest satelliteplatform. DFH-4s provide telephony, broadcasting, DTH TV,Internet and other services. Both the Nigerian and Venezu-elan packages include launch services using Long Marchrockets.

China’s position as the smart new kid on the Big Boyblock isn’t only because it products and services are cheaperthan those from the US, the EU or Russia. Chinese qualityhas come a long way from the humiliation of 1996 whenChina’s Long March 3B failed in its first launch and de-stroyed the Intelsat 708 satellite.

China began to offer the Long March launch vehiclesfor international commercial satellite launch services in 1985.In November 1988, CGWIC signed its first contract to launcha foreign communications satellite, AsiaSat-1, on a LongMarch rocket. The launch was successfully carried out inApril 1990.

From 1990 to 2004, CGWIC conducted 24 internationalcommercial launch missions for 30 satellites and six piggy-back payloads. CGWIC has grown from a single rocketsupplier to a package service provider that offers satellite,

carrier rockets and ground systemfacilities.

DTH: rocket fuel forgrowth

China’s continuing forays into spaceare fueling the growth of its satelliteindustry that has also profited from therecovery of the world commercial satelliteindustry thanks to massive US militaryspending.

Through wholly owned subsidiaryChina Telecommunications BroadcastSatellite (ChinaSat), China operates twoin-orbit ChinaSat telecommunication

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satellites and is majority shareholder inHong Kong-based APT Satellite HoldingsLimited, which has four Apstar satellites inspace including the new Apstar-6. Thereis also the SinoSat-1 satellite operated bystate-owned Sino Satellite Communica-tions.

SinoSat-2, China’s first directbroadcast satellite and its largest to date,is scheduled for launch this year on aLong March 3B, China’s most powerfullaunch vehicle.

Such a small telecom fleet for themost populous country on earth under-lines China’s insistence of doing thingsin-house and outsourcing wheneverappropriate. China says it currently has 16in-orbit satellites including telecommuni-cations, remote sensing and meteorologi-cal units. Even the Chinese admit thisnumber is way short of the urgent needscreated by China’s rapid economic growthand national defense needs.

But China will soon need moresatellites with the explosive growth of itseconomy (averaging 9 percent annuallyfor the past 10 years) and the recovery ofthe world satellite industry.

The Satellite Industry Association(SIA) is confident enough to predict thatconsumer focused satellite services (thekey growth driver in 2003 and 2004) willcontinue until the recovery solidifies in afew more years. US government satellitespending is expected to remain at a highclip until 2020.

SIA noted that while the satelliteindustry is still fighting its way out of thetelecom downturn, companies from everymajor region and across each sector (suchas operators, manufacturers, value-addedresellers and carriers) are reportingimproved business.

SIA is in no doubt as to the main

driver of thisrecovery. It said 53percent of allglobal launches in2004 were U.S.government relatedwhile 47 percentwere commercial.

It said otherkey engines of thisgrowth werestrong consumerdemand for videoservices, and thedeployment of newuser applicationsand equipment inboth markets.

While fallingprices and profitmargins exist inmost sectors, current trends indicategrowth over the next few years. Theincrease in satellite services should leadto a revival of the manufacturing andlaunch sectors, which then will lead tomore satellites being ordered andlaunched.

SIA noted that satellite services wereleading the industry’s ongoing recoveryfrom the telecom crash of 2000-2003,accounting for 63 percent of industryrevenues totaling $97 billion in 2004. Itsaid direct-to-home (DTH) satellitetelevision services made up 81 percent ofsatellite service revenues.

China’s announced intent to beginDTH satellite broadcasting in 2006 opensthe door to further strengthening thesatellite industry’s recovery while openingChina’s huge DTH market to majorsatellite industry giants such as Intelsatand SES Global and to regional playerssuch as AsiaSat and Apstar.

Research firm IMS Research said

China had over 25 million digital satelliteTV households in 2004, almost similar innumber to the US.

IMS projects the number of digitalsatellite TV households in China to growover the next five years and could reach60 million by 2010 if China launches DTHthis year as expected.

China’s huge DTH numbers dwarfthose in the rest of Asia. In 2004, theleading DTH markets were Japan (3.3million subscribers), South Korea (1.6million). Malaysia (1.5 million), Australia(890,000) and New Zealand (490,000).

On the other hand, the Cable andSatellite Broadcasting Association of Asia(CASBAA) estimates that Asia has 190million multi-channel households (orthose that receive satellite or cableservices).

China’s telecommunications industryis estimated to have posted revenues of

Under an agreement signed in November 2005, the ChinaGreat Wall Industry Corp was contracted to manufactureand launch Venesat-1 for Venezuela. The satellite, de-signed with a mission life of 15 years, will be constructedby the China Academy of Space Technology, based onthe country’s DFH-4 Bus, China’s new-generation tele-communications satellite platform.

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$72 billion in 2005, up 10 percent from2004. China’s economy is expected tohave grown from 9.5 to 10.3 percent in2005 to hit $2 trillion. It isgrowing five times fasterthan Europe’s leadingeconomies.

The launch ofChinaSat-9, a directbroadcasting satellite, inlate 2007 is intended toexploit the coming boomin China DTH. ChinaSat-9,an Alcatel Alenia SpaceSpacebus 4000 C1platform, will be fitted with22 active Ku-bandtransponders for broad-cast satellite services(BSS), including 18 36-MHz and four 54- MHzchannels. A Chinese LongMarch rocket will be thelaunch vehicle.

SinoSat-2, ChinaSat-9 and Apstar-6 will leadChina’s push into DTH.Apstar-6 will provideadvanced broadbandmultimedia, new digital TVservices and traditionaltelecommunicationsservices to telecom andTV operators in AsiaPacific.

It will cover Chinawith a dedicated highpower Ku-band beam forbroadband multimediaservices. It will be the firstcivilian Chinese satelliteequipped with an anti-jamming system to thwartattacks by Chinesegovernment foes such asFalungong.

AsiaSat is forging ahead with itsown DTH pay-TV service in Hong Kong,Taiwan and Macau. By moving into DTH,AsiaSat aims to increase its transponder

utilization rate that in 2004 stood at 41percent for AsiaSat-2; 74 percent forAsiaSat-3S satellite and 18 percent for itsnew AsiaSat-4.

http://www.kromos.com

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The Ku-band payload in AsiaSat-4offers spot beams for selected areas ineither the BSS or the Fixed SatelliteService frequency band.

Peter Jackson, chief executive officerof AsiaSat, hopes that Chinese customerseventually will take up a large portion ofthe capacity aboard AsiaSat-4.

Enter the Big BoysChina began using foreign satellites

for TV broadcasting in 1985. Since then,however, China’s promise of spectacularsatellite service growth has been held incheck by the government’s reluctance to

open China to full-fledged foreigncompetition.

The conventional wisdom saysChina will remain more of a long-termplayer than a source of short-term growth.In recent years, however, China hasloosened its tight regulatory grip, butremains less liberal than neighboringIndia.

Rupert Murdoch’s Star TV has beena conspicuous beneficiary of whateverliberalization Chinese telecoms has had.Despite this seeming advantage, Starremains on the look out for small onlineproperties in China and aims to developthese assets into successful businesses inthe long term, a strategy in line with theconventional wisdom about how to dobusiness in Chinese telecoms.

Star said its consolidated operationsin China during 2005 were close tobreakeven. Its major growth driver wasadvertising revenues at Xing Kong, Star’sgeneral entertainment channel. Star ownsthe world’s largest library of Chinese films.

Star said China’s present regulatoryframework for broadcasting casts a cloudof uncertainty. It felt pay TV lags behindthe development of most other mediawhile DTH and IPTV may be the means toboost development.

Because China continues to drag itsfeet on deregulation, non-Chinese satelliteoperators will have to partner withChinese companies such as ChinaSat ifthey want to do business in China.AsiaSat has also complained aboutChina’s restrictive policies.

This situation notwithstanding,formidable satellite operators such asIntelsat/PanAmSat and SES Global/Astra/Americom/New Skies Satellites standpoised to serve China’s needs for DTHand other digital services. Between them,

both giants have 20 satellites serving AsiaPacific, including China. Intelsat operates16 of these satellites.

These satellite operators still takethe lion’s share of China and Asia’ssatellite business. And they’re in Asiabecause of the region’s explosive growthin consumer satellite services. They’realso partnering with regional players tomaximize their competitive strengths.

In December 2005, Intelsat and APTSatellite—the world’s leading and Asia’sleading satellite companies—signed astrategic cooperation agreement in whichthey agreed to market each other’ssatellite capacity and ground resources,and to provide broadcast and telecommu-nications services to China and the AsiaPacific.

This strategic move allows Intelsatand its media and corporate data custom-ers to access the Asia Pacific marketthrough APT’s Apstar-5 and Apstar-6satellites. On the other hand, APT willhave access to Intelsat’s capacity in otherregions of the world via Intelsat’s fleet of28 satellites. This will expand APT’s reachand enable it to seamlessly carry traffic towherever its customers need it.

Ni Yifeng, Executive Director andPresident of APT, said the agreement willsignificantly strengthen APT’s sales andmarketing functions and allow it toprovide more comprehensive services toits customers.

Intelsat said the agreement positionsit to take advantage of any new businessinitiatives or opportunities that arise in theAsia Pacific region, including China, overthe near and longer term.

Intelsat CEO David McGladebelieves that entering into this agreementcreates value at the company and cus-tomer levels. It also enables Intelsat to

Yang Liwei, China’s first astronaut,waves to the people after his safelanding in north China’s InnerMongolia and stepping out of there-entry capsule of Shenzhou 5 onOct. 16, 2003. Yang’s craft toucheddown after 21 hours in orbit.Beijing’s mission control declaredthe country’s landmark debut flight“a success.” (Xinhua, Wang Jianmin,photo)

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Peter I. Galace is editorial director of Satnews Publishers.He has written extensively on the telecommunicationsdevelopments in Asia for numerous publications. Currently heis associate editor of Satnews Daily and Weekly editions, andart and production editor of the International Satellite Directoryand the monthly e-zine, Satmagazine. He can be reached [email protected].

expand its service offerings in the regionwhile creating a new avenue for customersof both companies to seamlessly take theirtraffic into or out of the region.

Intelsat has close ties with China,which historically is one of its top 10customers. Twice in 2001, Intelsat came toChina’s rescue when accidents knockedout China’s undersea cables, depriving upto 20 million users of Internet access.Intelsat used its satellites to restoreInternet service to the affected users.

The 2008 Olympic Games in Beijingwill present Intelsat and other satcos withthe opportunity to dramatically grow theirbusiness. Intelsat, however, took 70percent of the TV broadcasting businessduring the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.

The Net in ChinaToday, however, commer-

cial satellite services such asDMB (Digital MultimediaBroadcasting) services viasatellite and broadband viasatellite hold the brightestpromise for China’s satellitecompanies.

Satellite broadband looksespecially promising andNorthern Sky estimates $4

billion in revenues for this service by2009. Driving satellite broadband growthwill be broadband Internet access viasatellite. Satellite Internet access mightwell become the satellite industry’s firsttruly mass-market service capable ofcompeting against DSL on price.

Although China still limits Internetuse and occasionally censors what it callsdangerous content, there is no stoppingthe growth of the Internet in China. Theneed for speed will be vital as China’sInternet users continue to rise, from anestimated 94 million in 2004 to 103 millionin 2005. China had 22.5 million Internetusers in 2000. The number of Internetusers in China increases by 800,000 everyweek.

Private industry groups reported 43million broadband subscribers in 2004from 31 million in 2003.

PCs sold in China reached 22 millionin 2003 (second after the US). There were

150 million cell phones sold in 2003 (1st inthe world) while 1.7 billion text messageswere sent from these mobiles.

These huge numbers make China theplace to be for satellite service companiesdespite the tough regulatory environment.

The Chinese in SpaceTwo successful manned spaceflights

in two years are enough to make anynation proud. China achieved this featwith its first manned spaceflight in 2003and a second similarly successful missionby a two-man crew in 2005.

The success of the Shenzhou 5 and 6missions is also a huge success forChina’s launch industry. China’s participa-tion in the Galileo Project is also beinghailed as a triumph for its space program.

Next in line for China’s spaceprogram is a lunar fly-by mission. Chinahas announced that the program’smonitoring system; launching field andground application system have enteredsystem integration and joint test. The firstlunar satellite, called “Chang’e-I,” will belaunched in 2007.

A space station is to follow suit butthe crowning glory of China’s spaceprogram will be a moon landing, probablyby the next decade. And that’s no starryeyed pipe dream. SM

A Long March 3B rocket lifts offfrom a launch pad in Xichang inSouthwest China’s Sichuan Provincesuccessfully orbiting AsiaSat-6 ofHong Kong-based company ApstarSatellite Ltd in April 2005. TheAsiaSat-6, which has 50 transpon-ders, was launched to replaceAsiaSat-1 A. The Long Marchrocket, which has the biggestcarrying capacity of any commerciallaunch vehicle, is capable of carry-ing any satellite with a maximumweight of 5,100 kilograms into orbit.

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Space Tourism has been a dream ofspace entrepreneurs for the lastforty years since astronauts Yuri

Gagarin from Russia and Alan Sheppardfrom USA began sub orbital flights in1961. During this decade the space travelis coming to the general public.

During the last quarter of 2005the dream became closer to reality whenVirgin Galactic (www.virgingalactic.com),the world’s first commercial space tourismbusiness, announced that it will locate itsworld headquarters and Mission Controlin New Mexico. The agreement betweenthe State of New Mexico and VirginGalactic calls for New Mexico to build aUS$ 200 million spaceport in the southernpart of the state, on 27-square miles ofstate land.

New Mexico’s spaceport, will offerfledgling astronauts an experience thatwill be truly out of this world. VirginGalactic also plans to create a five-stardestination experience in New Mexico toaccommodate customers, their families,and space enthusiasts.

Funding for construction of thespaceport is expected to come from a

Space Tourism a New Reality?

Photos courtesy ofby Space Tourism Society

combination of state capital outlay,federal appropriations, and a local-

option gross receipts tax that will beproposed to voters of southern NewMexico counties that stand to benefit fromthe spaceport and the resulting jobgrowth.

The agreement between New Mexicoand Virgin says the state will build andthen lease to Virgin Galactic customizedhangar and training facilities, and thecompany will pay user fees for use of thespaceport, as is customary in the aero-space industry. Virgin Galactic will sign a20-year lease.

Sir Richard Branson’s interest inspace began when he witnessed theApollo moon landings as a teenager. Thename Virgin Galactic was first registered inMarch 1999 as Virgin began discussionswith several fledgling private spaceventures with a view to investment in thesector.

However, it was to be another threeyears before circumstances brought Virgincloser to SpaceShipOne and the X-Prize.Scaled Composites were in the process ofconstructing the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer. This was an aircraft successfullypiloted non-stop around the world by

Steve Fossett in March 2005. Virgin sawSpaceship One under construction andforged an agreement with the visionary,Paul Allen, to license the technologyshould the craft successfully win the X-Prize.

A design for Spaceship Two is nowin its final planning stages and construc-tion of the commercial prototype isexpected to commence in 2006 and be

flying by 2008. It is expected that fiveSpaceship Two’s and two White KnightTwo carrier aircrafts will be built, in orderto allow 50,000 customers to experiencepersonal space flight over a ten yearperiod up to 2019. Currently, Virgin has40,000 registrations from individuals from120 countries.

New Mexico’s spaceport has been inthe planning stages for 15 years. Thespaceport, located in Sierra County, about45 miles northeast of Las Cruces, and 25miles southeast of Truth or Consequenceis approximately 27 square miles of open,generally level, rangeland with an averageelevation of 4700 feet.

October 4, 2004 - A team led byfamous aerospace designer Burt Rutanand financed by Paul Allen won the $10million Ansari X-Prize. Their rocketpowered craft, Spaceship One, flew intospace 100 kilometers (about 60 miles)above the Earth twice in a two-weekperiod to win the prize. The rules requiredthat both flights be piloted and carry twopassengers or an equivalent weight.

Among the main organizations thatare covering the Space Tourism, SpaceTourism Society (STS) founded by Mr.John Spencer in 1996 was the first

Not-for-profit society specificallyfocused on space tourism. STS

by Bernardo Schneiderman

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FEATURES

(www.spacetourismsociety.org) is one ofthe key catalysts of the growing SpaceTourism Movement. STS Defines SpaceTourism as:

- In-Earth orbit experiences;- Beyond Earth orbit (such as lunar and Mars) experiences;- Earth-based simulations, tours and entertainment experiences; and Cyber space tourism experiences.

STS believes that space tourism isthe most logical endeavor for privateenterprise to pursue towards the goal ofexpanding humankind into space.

For more information on spacetourism, Futron, the Aerospace and

Telecom consulting company(www.futron.com) issued a report calledSpace Tourism Market Study covering

Photo bySamuelConiglio

Bernardo Schneiderman has over 20 years of experience inSatellite communications and is the President of TelematicsBusiness consultants based in Irvine, CA. He has been working inBusiness Development, Sales and Marketing for Satellite Carri-ers, VSAT Equipment Manufacturer and Consulting Companies in the USA, LatinAmerica, Brazil and Africa developing business for the Telecom, Broadcast andthe Enterprise Market Segment. He was the editor of the Publication BrazilTelematics Newsletter during 1995-2003. He has a MBA from University of SanFrancisco with Major in Telecom and International Marketing and BSEE fromUFRJ in Brazil. He can be contacted at [email protected]

both orbital Space travel & destinationforecast for a period of 20 years that hasbeen one of the major reference in theSpace Tourism Business. The report isavailable at Futron’swebsite. SM


SATMAGAZINE.COM

Back to Contents 38

February 2006

EXECUTIVE SPOTLIGHT

Inmarsat recently launched its high-powered Inmarsat 4 seriesof satellites that has started to provide its Broadband GlobalArea Network (BGAN) service in December 2005. BGAN is aservice that provides IP broadband and voice telephony on alaptop-size unit. To elaborate on the BGAN service and itsimpact on the mobile satellite services sector of the industry,SatMagazine Managing Editor, Virgil Labrador spoke withInmarsat’s Regional Director for North America Frank August.Excerpts of the interview:

Q. Give us a brief background onyour recent launches of yourInmarsat 4 series of satellitesand the launch of the BGANservice.

A. We’ve been in business nowfor over 25 years and the mostrecent platform of satellites we’vebeen using have been theInmarsat 3 series, last year onMarch 11th we launched the firstof the series of Inmarsat 4satellites, which at least at thattime was the most powerfulcommunication satellite to be launched for commercial use. We launched the second of the series of Inmarsat 4 satellites this past November 8th. The first satellite covered aregion from Europe over to Africa to Asia and the secondsatellite which we expect to put in service in the second quarterof 2006 covers the Americas. The satellites are not only the mostpowerful but also the most technologically capable. Because ofthis, we are able to make equipment even smaller than that we’veoperated on with the previous Inmarsat 3 series. I know mostpeople think that satellite equipment has to look something like adish. The equipment for the Broadband Global Area Network(BGAN) now looks more like IT equipment, we have a laptop sizeone and a half of a laptop size.

Q. What’s the difference between your between RBGAN andBGAN services?

The biggest difference is that the RBGAN is IP only and themaximum channel for using it was 144 kbps while BGAN which

launched in December 1st have a voice capability as well as IP.Each of the BGAN products have different capabilitiesdepending on the needs that we saw in the different markets—from one unit that offers speed of 384 downlink and other unitsthat offer 492 kbps uplink and downlink. There are varyingspeeds of access between a voice call and an IP session. TheBGAN unit is capable of doing IP streaming, teleconferencing,file transfer, video and audio broadcasts up to speeds of 256kbps guaranteed bit rate. Also ISDN is an option in one of the

units as well as SMS andmessaging and all the thingsthat you associate with 3Gnetworks such as call forwardingand voice mail and the like.

Q. What is the coverage area ofyour BGAN service?

A. The first two satellites coverabout 85 % of the earth’s surfaceand about 98% of thepopulation. We do have a third asatellite that has beenconstructed and rigged as aspare and we’re happy to saythat we did not need the spareas the first two satellites

launches were successful. Right now we have theopportunity whether we want to launch that third satellite or not.We’re very interested in doing that but we haven’t made afinancial decision yet but if we do, then that third satellite willallow us to cover more of the world with the Western half of theUS, Alaska, the Pacific, East Asia and Australia.

Q. Various companies offer BGAN service such as Telenor,Thrane and Thrane, Nera. How does your distribution systemwork?

A. Inmarsat has take the strategy of managing the satellite andthe ground infrastructure for the Inmarsat 4 BGAN service andwe offer the service through certain primary distribution partnerscompanies such as the companies that you mentioned and alsoservice providers around the world such as BT, Stratos, Telenorand SingtTel.

Interview with Inmarsat’s Regional Director for North America Frank August

Frank August

SATMAGAZINE.COM

Back to Contents 39

39February 2006

EXECUTIVE SPOTLIGHT

The way we handle manufacturers is that we providespecifications that defines the interface between the equipmentand our satellite just for managing the spectrum that is ondemand and managing our system’s operations. Once we type-approve the equipment, the manufacturers sell it through theirchannels, which tend to overlap since they sell both theequipment and the service. Our role in this process is to makesure everything goes smoothly and that the equipments workswith our network.

Q. Do you market the product yourself or do you rely on yourdistributors for that?

A. We do market the product, you may not see a hugeadvertising campaign globally because we market through ourchannels and support them in various ways.

Q. What are the rates like for your service?

A. Each of the service providers will have their own servicepackages, so they vary but they average monthly fees of $30-$40 per month, 75 cents per minute for a phone call and $ 8 permegabyte which is less than roaming GPRS rates.

Q. What segments of the market will be using your product?

A. We think that many different aspects of the government andmilitary markets are very keen on what BGAN can do and how itcan complement their existing communication networks. We’vealso seen as a result of the recent natural disasters anopportunity for providing broadband data access in a disasterarea or in an emergency situation.

We also see potential in the enterprise market generally and alsowith broadcasters as we can provide more mobility to satellitenews gathering than has existed in the past. Oil and gas is alsoa good market as it has a lot of people working remotely.

Q. Who are your direct competitors to this service?

A. Competition is somewhat relative but I suppose if you look atthe competitive landscape, we are against the like of the satellitephone operators even though we are not trying to be a satellitephone. One could envision someone using a satellite phonesaying “well, look, I really need broadband access and I’m notreally walking down the street when I’m communicating anywayso rather than using a satellite phone I’ll use BGAN and get thebroadband access which I really need and oh yeah, I can stillmake phone calls, too.”

I suppose we also compete with VSATs—but when it comes tomobility, if I’m not fixed very long and I’m going to be in the

http://www.avltech.com

SATMAGAZINE.COM

Back to Contents 40

February 2006

EXECUTIVE SPOTLIGHT

move for a period of time it might be better if I use BGANbecause I can carry it in my briefcase and not mounted on atrailer or in multiple suitcases.

The real discriminator for the BGAN solution is the mobilitycomponent of it. If the user can make do with an IP broadbandconnection if its available to them while traveling then manyusers will probably make do with it, but for those users whoreally depend upon and really need broadband access to managethe business remotely they are going to find BGAN moreappropriate. We are really not trying to compete with urban orsuburban services, we really see an opportunity in providingservices outside urban and suburban areas where operationsand people still need to be connected but just don’t have achoice before. So, we’re not concentrating on those areas whereobviously some of the terrestrial networks can grow from.

Mobility is the key although there will be also someopportunities for some semi -fixed operations for small projectteams.

Q.What other uses are in store for BGAN?

A. We have built a GAN vehicular version (GAN is the Inmarsat3 version of a terrestrial communication solution) . There are alsoactivities now, although not yet type-approved, to providevehicular version of BGAN. We expect that manufacturers willbe announcing vehicular version of BGAN either at the end ofthis year or early. And after that we are considering some omnisolutions. With an omni antenna, it could be much smaller andprovide many more vehicular solutions. SM

One hotapplication forBGAN isSatellite NewsGathering(SNG).(photo courtesy ofInmarsat)

http://www.thinkskynet.com

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VITAL STATISTICS

Futron is a premier provider of decision support consulting services to the aerospace and telecommunications industries.Using our proprietary methodologies, models, and in-depth data repositories, Futron transforms raw data into valuableintelligence. Our results help clients make higher quality business and technical decisions. Our consulting servicesinclude market and industry analyses, safety and risk management, and communications and information management.

For more information contactSpace & Telecommunications Division, Futron Corporation – www.futron.com, Tel: +1- 347-3450 – [email protected]

42Back to Contents


MARKET INTELLIGENCE

As we move well into 2006, the GVFQ1-Q2 agenda for the Middle Eastregion will feature at least two

major events, the first in Dubai, thesecond in Cairo.

CABSAT 2006 takes place in Dubaiover the period 7-9 March and – as perprevious collaboration with the DubaiWorld Trade Centre – GVF will hold itsSatellite Symposium in parallel to theCABSAT exhibition, but – this year – witha slight difference. The 8 March GVFSatellite Symposium 2006, “Growing theBroadband Networking Environment &the Middle East Satellite Imperative”, isbeing organised in conjunction with theMiddle East Satellite CommunicationsCommunity, but this year also includesclose collaboration with the Asia-PacificBroadcasting Union and Arab StatesBroadcasting Union (ABU/ASBU). TheSymposium will be preceded by a jointABU/GVF plenary session within whichtopics of common interest to the satellitebroadcast and satellite communicationsectors will be explored. Following theplenary session the ABU and GVF“tracks” will continue in parallel.

The GVF “track” will examine theunprecedented demand for IP-basedservices that is driving millions of poten-tial end-users towards broadband commu-nications solutions. Large-enterprise,SME, SOHO and residential users alike,continue to clamor for cost-effectiveaccess to these interactive solutions,

Informing the Middle EastRegional Satellite Agendaat CABSAT and BeyondBy Martin JarroldChief, International ProgramDevelopment, GVF

and to meet this demand, DSL,cable modem, and other deliverysystems, including satellite, arerapidly being deployed aroundthe Middle East region. So, oneof the fundamental questions is:How are satellite-basedbroadband solutions competingin this dynamic environment?

The Symposium will go onto consider such questions as:

• What are the advantages ofsatellite-based broadband solu-tions?

• What are unique characteristics ofsatellite broadband?

• How do broadband satellite serviceproviders build their businesscase?

• How will satellite-based servicescontinue to evolve to match futuremarket and demand dynamics?

• Where are the revenue streams tobe achieved and profits to bemade?

These and many other questions willbe addressed in the following programmeon 8 March:

10:00 - 11:30 > Joint ABU/GVFPlenary 11:30 - 12:00 > Refreshment Break

12:00 - 12:05 > Welcome to GVF

Main Programme

12:05 - 13:05 > GVF Key Theme 1:Broadband over Satellite - Defining,Enabling & Leveraging MiddleEastern Demand

Lead Speaker + Panel Discussion –This session will address the key factorsthat determine and define Middle Easterndemand for broadband communicationsservices, and provide a comprehensiveunderstanding of just exactly how thesatellite service provider community iscurrently leveraging-off regional demandcharacteristics to focus its offeringstowards identified needs. Following aLead Speaker address, a panel of distin-guished industry experts will provide theirup-to-the-moment analysis of the currentregional situation and the trends ahead.

13:05 - 14:05 > GVF Key Theme 2:Broadband over Satellite - TheTechnology as Driver

Lead Speaker + Panel Discussion –

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MARKET INTELLIGENCE

With technology agnostics populating theInformation and Communications Technol-ogy (ICT) purchasing communities, thesatellite product and service vendor focusin offering high-value, high-qualitysolutions, is increasingly channelledthrough diversified technology portfoliosthat provide for seamless, end-to-end,solutions. How is this being achieved,and how does the ready availability ofhighly innovative new satellite technolo-gies drive the sales and revenue-streamsuccesses of the sector? Does thetechnology close the sale, or is theremuch more to securing the deal? How arethe new satellite standards influencing theequipment market? A Lead Speaker andpanel, representing various key industryperspectives, will provide the answers andfurther stimulate the regional debate.

14:05 - 14:45 > Refreshment Break 14:45 - 15:45 > GVF Key Theme 3:Broadband over Satellite - TheApplication as Driver

Lead Speaker + Panel Discussion –With a distinctly applications focusedperspective, this session will provide anoverall industry view and analysis of thedistinct advantages of satellite-based solutions within the broadbandnetworking environment. How are theadvanced applications and networkingrequirements of the large corporate, SMEand SOHO end-user being met with the“via satellite” option? How is the satelliteindustry continuing to evolve to supplystate-of-the-art applications? How is thesatellite service vendor communitytranslating its offerings into clear competi-tive advantages for its customer-base? Is“the Application” the most importantdriver of sales growth and satelliteindustry success? A combination of LeadSpeaker analysis and panellist commentwill add to the centrality of this continuingdialogue.

15:45 - 16:00 > Closing Remarks

Further information, and details ofremaining speaking slot opportunities,may be obtained from me [email protected].

In November 2005, in Abuja, GVFheld its West African Satellite Communica-tions Conference & Exhibition. Duringthese proceedings it was perfectlyapparent that in the Nigerian and widerWest African geographical context anumber of vertical markets across theregion, particularly the oil & gas sector,were becoming ever-more dependent onsatellite for the cost-effective delivery oftheir mission critical communicationsnetworking. Now, in order to further buildon the GVF’s facilitation of key discussionand networking platforms, within whichthe subject of the communicationsimperatives for such key verticals can befully addressed, the satellite – and widerICT community – is preparing for a majorconference on Oil & Gas Communica-tions for Africa and the Middle East.

Scheduled to take place in Cairo,over 15-17 May 2006, the conference willaddress the following elements:

• Executive Overview Roundtable: NewO&G Networking Communications –Evolution of the Application & theDynamics of Technology Trends –Panel discussion

• Bandwidth Dynamics: O&G IndustryDemand, Telecoms Industry Supply –The Price & Quality of Service Nexus –Panel discussion

• Hybridizing the O&G Communica-tions Solution Offering over Satellite &Terrestrial – Panel discussion

• Ensuring the O&G Industry MissionCritical Communications Dynamic:Evolving National/Regional Licensing &Regulatory Environments to EnhanceO&G Sector Growth – Panel Discussion

• Maintaining the O&G IndustryMission Critical CommunicationsDynamic: Satellite Links in Survivingthrough Disaster Situations – Paneldiscussion• Oil & Gas Communications: Variationsin the Regional Bandwidth SupplyDynamic – the Middle East & Africaversus the North Sea

• Oil, Gas & the Environment: UsingInformation & Communication Tech-nologies to Manage the ResourcesExploitation Footprint

• E-Commerce in the Oil & Gas ICTEnvironment: Procurement, Trading &Customer Contact

and will also feature key casestudies. The final day of the event willfeature a training programme from theGVF’s suite of Regulatory & PolicyCapacity-Building tools and its range ofCourseware for Sustainable NetworkDeployment.

Further information on Oil & GasCommunications: Africa and the MiddleEast will be available at www.gvf.org orfrom [email protected].

Martin Jarrold is the Director, InternationalPrograms of the Global VSAT Forum. He can be reached [email protected] For more information on the GVF gotowww.gvf.org

SM

44Back to Contents


STOCK MONITORSTOCK MONITORSTOCK MONITORSTOCK MONITORSTOCK MONITOR

For real-time stock quotes go to www.satnews.com/free/finance.html

ADVERTISER’SINDEX

AAE SYSTEMS 21www.aaesys.com

KROMOS 33www.kromos.com

AVL 39www.avltech.com

COMTECH EF DATA 12www.comtechefdata.com

CPI SATCOM 17www.cpii.com/satcom

ILC 29www.ilc.com

ISCe 2006 16www.isce.com

L-3 NARDA SATELLITENETWORKS 31www.lnr.com

LORAL SKYNET 40www.loralskynet.com

MITEQ 20www.miteq.com

PANAMSAT 25www.panamsat.com

SEATEL 13www.seatel.com

SES GLOBAL 37www.ses-global.com

Company Name Symbol Price (Jan. 30) 52-wk Range

APT SATELLITE ATS 1.60 1.12 - 2.10ANDREW CORP ANDW 12.91 10.07 - 14.19ASIA SATELL SAT 16.70 16.16 - 20.55TELECOMMUNICATINS(ASIASAT)BALL CORP BLL 40.17 35.06 - 46.45BOEING CO BA 69.03 49.54 - 72.40BRITISH SKY ADS BSY 34.20 33.59 - 44.99CALAMP CORP CAMP 10.49 5.23 - 12.59C-COM SATELLITE CMI.V 0.30 0.21 - 0.56SYSTEMSCOM DEV INTL LTD CDV.TO 2.26 1.67 - 3.24COMTECH TELECOM CMTL 32.07 21.42 - 45.65THE DIRECTV GROUP DTV 14.08 13.17 - 16.79ECHOSTAR DISH 27.62 24.44 - 32.33COMMUNICATIONSFREQUENCY ELEC- FEI 11.99 9.80 - 15.90TRONICSGILAT SATELLITE GILTF 5.97 5.06 - 7.62NETWORKSGLOBECOMM SYS INC GCOM 7.60 5.09 - 8.44HARRIS CORP HRS 45.97 27.25 - 47.87HONEYWELL INTL HON 38.03 32.68 - 39.50INTL DATACASTING IDC.TO 0.19 0.14 - 0.33INTEGRAL SYSTEMS ISYS 21.70 18.02 - 24.70KVH INDS INC KVHI 11.04 8.54 - 11.64L-3 COMM HLDGS LLL 78.81 64.66 - 84.84LOCKHEED MARTIN LMT 66.66 55.40 - 67.92NEWS CORP NWS 16.59 14.76 - 18.63NORSAT INTL INC NSATF.OB 0.85 0.43 - 1.51NTL INC NTLI 63.96 55.52 - 70.79ORBITAL SCIENCES ORB 12.93 8.84 - 13.55PT PASIFIK SATELIT PSNRY.PK 0.05 0.09 - 0.30QUALCOMM INC QCOM 48.57 32.08 - 49.45RADYNE CORPORATION RADN 13.70 7.15 - 16.33SCIENTIFIC ATLANTA SFA 42.77 26.73 - 43.90SIRIUS SATELLITE RADIO SIRI 5.86 4.42 - 7.98SES GLOBAL FDR SDS.F 12.45 6.70 - 12.47TRIMBLE NAVIGATION TRMB 40.21 26.64 - 44.55WORLDSPACE INC WRSP 13.17 10.26 - 26.00VIASAT INC VSAT 25.51 17.30 - 28.84XM SATELLITE RADIO XMSR 26.43 26.16 - 37.31

http://www.aaesys.com

http://www.kromos.com

http://www.avltech.com

http://www.comtechefdata.com

http://www.cpii.com/satcom

http://www.ilc.com

http://www.isce.com

http://www.lnr.com

http://www.thinkskynet.com

http://www.miteq.com

http://www.panamsat.com

http://www.seatel.com


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