The World Teleport Association (WTA) announced its rankings of the Top Teleport Operators of 2010, providing a unique look into the diverse teleport sector of the global communications industry. Rankings are reported in three categories: the Independent Top Twenty, the Global Top Twenty, and the Fast Twenty.

The Independent Top Twenty

As illustrated by the inclusion of such subject matter as ‘Cloud Computing and Future Oil & Gas Industry Networking’; and, ‘Commercial Applications in the Oil & Gas Sector Context: Helping Developers Get on the Satellite Wavelength’; to ‘Building-Out the Hybrid Opportunity: Evolving Regional Broadband Satellite-Wireless Integrated Solution Deployments’, and ‘Satellite in MENA: The Future is Ka...‘, the GVF “Event Horizon” over the next several months can be characterized as having both vertical market-related and horizontal market-related elements.

Military satellite market just a few years ago was one of the fastest growing segments of the satellite communications industry.  However, a global economic downturn and de-escalation of conflicts in the Middle East and South West Asia coupled with changing warfighter requirements have had a profound effect on the future of military satellite communications.

The global satellite industry is usually viewed as an extremely competitive and sometimes cutthroat business.  Market share; revenue growth; market capitalization; and EBITDA compete for the attention of owners, management, and the investor community.  However, there is a revolution going on supporting the idea that you can “do well by doing good;” that these measures of business success can be positively impacted by a thoughtful commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). 

The Fixed Satellite Services (FSS) operators have all weathered the financial crisis and even managed to continue to grow their businesses in 2009 and are continuing to grow in the first half of 2010. However, the big question is: “What is their next act?"

by NSR

Cambridge, MA, September 20, 2010-In 2010, the UN-HABITAT’s report, State of the World Cities 2010/2011: Bridging the Urban Divide found that the global population has reached its tipping point, a condition where populations are more urban than rural. Today, 50.6% live in urban areas, and the trend is irreversible. Increased urban populations may be taking away a vital market for satellite backhaul.

Since satellite backhaul is really a proposition for rural and underserved areas, population trends initially do not appear to favor satellite

Eutelsat Communications announced the key highlights of its two-yearly survey of television reception by satellite and cable homes.

First conducted  in 1994 and covering Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, the key objective of the survey is to measure the trends of three main indicators in the broadcasting market:

Asia’s Pay-TV industry players say new technologies such as IPTV and 3D TV offer the greatest untapped opportunity, according to the 2010 Asia-Pacific Pay TV Operators Survey jointly produced by Global Intelligence Alliance (GIA), a global strategic market intelligence and advisory group, and ContentAsia, an Asia-based information resource designed for everyone in the entertainment. The survey polled 35 pay TV operators and platforms across 14 countries in the Asia Pacific.

The satellite industry is taking a positive step forward in supporting the maritime community through the creation of the GVF Maritime Satcom Forum. This new working group, being spearheaded by the GVF, includes the top manufacturers, network operators and service providers in the industry.

It’s a serious problem bedevilling the industry far too long now. Last year, in Asia alone, the estimated revenue losses were pegged at almost US$2 billion. Operators warn that the plague, if left unchecked, could destroy the whole industry-not just in Asia but the entire global Pay-TV market.  So how Asia is grappling with this persistent problem could be instructive for the rest of the world as  new markets are opening up in places such as the Middle East, Africa and Latin America.