Trust and transparency while building strong partnerships with content providers, advertisers and end users are the keys to the development of China’s online video market, according to speakers at the CASBAA Online Video in China forum on March 2, 2011 in Beijing. Keynote speaker Johannes Larcher, SVP International, Hulu, said the US-based online platform focuses on three key points - monetization of content, secure distribution and shared risk. Larcher added that Hulu has more than 250 content partners and 600 advertising partners.

The demand for mobile backhaul is growing at an unprecedented rate. Smart phones on ave-rage consume five times as much bandwidth as a regular cell phone and the number of smart phones is projected to increase by 300% to  two billion units in 2015.  This has prompted the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) to call for an increase in both fiber and spectrum in order to avoid network bottlenecks.  In July 2010 NSR projected that the satellite portion of this market should be worth just under  US$ 600 million by 2015. 

The GVF Broadband Maritime Offshore & Oceanic 2011: Information & Communications Networking Mobility South East Asia Conference – BMSEA 2011 – drew to a close on 16th February following two days of in-depth dialogue on the application of satellite-based technologies and services to the networking communications requirem ents of the maritime industry.

The CABSAT & Satellite Middle East/North Africa (MENA) 2011 show held in Dubai, UAE, from February 8-10 bills itself as the third-largest satellite event of its kind in the world and it has grown by 15% compared to last year. More than 750 companies from 55 countries, including 11 national pavilions, exhibited at the Dubai World Trade Center showcasing the latest products and developments in the broadcast, digital media and satellite markets.   

There has been solid growth in the Earth Observation (EO) market in the past few years due to a strengthening of demand for civil government and military EO satellites and associated data. However, this reliance on government and military organizations distorts true market economics, as only a few large users such as the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGA) provide the majority of revenues for U.S.-based operators according to NSR.

With the Middle East television audience set to rise by almost 20% over the next three years*, 19 new satellites due for launch by 2013 and 90% satellite TV penetration**, there has never been a more important time to be aware of the latest broadcast technology and business practices. To address those trends and assist in realising the potential in the Middle East, CABSAT MENA, running from 8 – 10 February 2011 at Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre, has transformed its conference for 2011, making it more detailed and more international in its scope.

CASBAA’s Thailand in View forum, organised in association with the Satellite Television Association of Thailand, concluded on January 20, 2011 with an endorsement of the power of pay-TV by H.E. Abhisit Vejjajiva, Prime Minister of Thailand. The Prime Minister opened the conference examining the opportunities and challenges affecting the broadcasting sector by championing regulatory change to support the growth of the cable and satellite broadcast industry as a constructive and ethical medium in Thailand.

Satellite and the Middle East/North Africa Horizontal and South East Asia Vertical Markets

Readers of this column who will be attending the CABSAT MENA & Satellite MENA 2011 exhibition at Dubai International Convention & Exhibition Center (DICEC) over 8th to 10th February will be interested to know that the Editor-in-Chief of this very publication will feature in a prominent role during one of the conferences embedded within the event.

It seems like a natural progression to bring the Internet to every possible consumer electronics device available today, and the television set is no exception. Not to be left behind, many a DTH provider has provisioned Ethernet ports in the next generation of STBs, although the software and strategy to provide enhanced services may still be a few years away. As expected, North America and Western Europe are leading this market as viewers in these regions become more particular about what content they want as well as where and when they want it.

As noted in my column last month, the program for the recent GVF Oil & Gas Communications conference in Kuala Lumpur included a session entitled Cloud Computing and Future Oil & Gas Industry Networking.  This was the first time the topic of the Cloud had been introduced to any of the GVF-EMP vertical market-focused series of conferences, though not the first time that a Cloud-related topic had been included in one of the GVF’s horizontal-market events – specifically the MENASAT Summit held at the time of the Satellite MENA exhibiti