The GVF's global VSAT Certification Program, which was cited recently in the SSPI's Industry Innovator awards ceremony,  is making vital inroads in the maritime satellite space.

In a previous column I noted the GVF VSAT installation training curriculum because it includes a focus on the deployment of systems used in the maritime environment, and would be included in one of the program sessions of the forthcoming GVF Broadband Maritime Europe conference in London on 28th and 29th June (www.uk-emp.co.uk/BMEu.Ldn.2010/).

The latest GVF/UK-EMP Conference Partnership event, the 3rd Annual Oil & Gas Communications Europe Conference: ‘Digital Applications & Communications Dynamics from the North Sea to the Arctic Ocean’, concluded on 13th May, with calls for the GVF-driven industry dialogue between the satellite and maritime/offshore sectors to continue to expand.

Over the last few years I have been devoting a not insignificant percentage of my work energies to activities linked to the offshore and maritime sectors – strategically important customers of satellite industry equipment vendors, service providers, and operators. If you are a regular reader of this column, you will know all about the GVF Oil & Gas Communications Europe event that is taking place in Aberdeen, Scotland, as I write; and, about the forthcoming Broadband Maritime Europe 2010 conference that will take place in London, England, 28-29 June.

At the 2010 NAB Show, World Teleport Association was co-producer of the Destination Broadband Theater in the Upper South Hall. In 16 panel sessions over three days, we focused on two closely-related topics: delivering and monetizing video content delivered over broadband, and how traditional television distribution is evolving in response to the broadband revolution.  

Much attention is being paid to consumer broadband service via satellite as this has the potential to match the US penetration of DTH TV and Satellite Radio (DARS). However, there is still a very substantial ongoing business using various types of VSATs to serve commercial and govern-ment needs in developed and developing regions of the world. After all, satellite communications is the best alternative if modern terrestrial infrastructure is not available.

The Connection is in the Satcoms. In my various recent columns in this space I have focused on important, and ongoing, key thematic developments in the communications solutions marketplace which are separately, and collectively, creating manifold expansion opportunities for the satellite communications industry to leverage the several advantages that it has over all other communications technologies and platforms. 

The issue of inadequate bandwidth in the world very small aperture terminal (VSAT) market has experienced a conflicting impact: a spurt in service revenues and, simultaneously, a dip in the sales of equipment or hardware. VSAT providers, while pleased with the hike in service revenues, are wary of pricing many potential, cost-sensitive VSAT users out of the market.  

The 3rd Annual GVF Oil & Gas Communications Europe Conference (O&GCE3) on 12th & 13th May 2010 is also the 9th event in the global Oil & Gas Communications Series organized by GVF and UK-EMP. Continuing the Series into its fifth year, the 2010 conference takes the ‘Digital Applications & Communications Dynamics’ focus beyond the territory of the hydrocarbon-bearing sectors of the North Sea, continuing far to the north to the Arctic Ocean region.

by Bruce Elbert President, Application Technology Strategy, Inc.

Markets for satellite communications equipment and services have expanded to fill the gaps in terrestrial broadcasting and telecommunications networks. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the Middle East, which is the focus of this article.

After reaching around 4.6 billion mobile cellular subscriptions by the end of 2009, ITU expects the number of mobile cellular subscriptions globally to reach five billion in 2010, driven by advanced services and handsets in developed countries and increased take-up of mobile health services and mobile banking in the developing world.