My previous column for this publication focused on the oil and gas exploration and production sector, with particular reference to the increasing attention of the energy industry on deepwater and ultra-deepwater hydrocarbon reserves which now appear to be much more abundant than was thought ten years ago.

The World Teleport Association (WTA) has published its annual Inside the Top Operators research report. The  eagerly awaited report draws from data submitted to WTA by teleport operating companies around the world for the association’s 2008 Top Operator rankings.

The multi-channel TV industry is more competitive than ever, with a major focus on growing business while navigating the new world of online media and digital content. This was the consensus during the CASBAA Con-vetion held in Hong Kong last November.

The CASBAA Convention 2009, the annual industry meeting organized by the Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA) in Hong Kong on November 3rd - 6th, drew more than 700 delegates, speakers and media from around the world.

Specialization in one or two services brings benefits to teleport operators, including in-depth knowledge of customer needs, the ability to invest in technology appropriate to those needs, and a high degree of expertise. But specialization also carries the risk of having too many financial eggs in one basket. When asked to identify service from which their companies generated at least 25% of revenues, respondents put enterprise networking at the top of the list, followed by broadcast video, civilian government applications, Internet backbone and VoIP and military government applications.

The next Pacific Telecommunications Conference, PTC ’10, will again focus on a hot topic for many in the telecommunication and IT industries, "cloud computing". While seemingly esoteric to many, especially some in the sometimes insular satellite sector, cloud computing is coming to dominate the thinking of planners and implementers in many telecommunications and IT sectors.

by Martin Jarrold, Chief, International Programs Development, GVF

Deployment of broadband satellite technologies is correctly recognized as an imperative to maximization of cutting-edge digital oilfield applications and to considerations of cost-effectiveness – it is a force multiplier, enabling return on investment, as well as facilitating mission critical communications links.

The Middle East market has seen the recent addition of new Fixed Satellite Serivces (FSS) operators who are betting on the potential of Direct-to-Home (DTH) and broadband services via satellite in the region. But is the market really there for these services?

What drives demand for FSS satellite capacity?

Phew…we survived! That seemed to be the expression on everyone’s lips at the recently-concluded Satellite Business Week organized by EuroConsult held in Paris from 7-10 September. There was a definite feeling of relief in the air. Relief that the recession hadn’t hit the satellite companies as badly as it had other industries. A sentiment that probably isn’t shared by companies that recently filed for bankruptcy such as ICO Global, Protostar and SeaLaunch-all but the latter were noticeably absent this year.

Satellite Markets and Research Editor-in-Chief Virgil Labrador and Europe, Middle East and Africa Editor Howard Greenfield discuss the highlights of the IBC Conference and Exhibition held in Amsterdam, the Netherlands from September 10-15, 2009. To view a video of this summary click here.

by Lou Zacharilla, Dir. of Development, SSPI

At the recent Satellite Business Week summit in Paris, the buzz centered around emerging markets for broadband and mobile services, as well as an increased use of satellites in support of emerging economies in Africa, observational and environmental sciences and the appetite of the global enterprise.