In the course of my work as a consultant and executive recruiter based in Asia, I have spoken to over 150 satellite and digital broadcast sales, business development and senior management professionals in the last six months on the prospects of the Asian market. The consensus among key satellite executives is that the business of satellite communications in Asia continues to grow and is better off than other regional markets by "a significant margin."

 A diverse mix of military leaders, state disaster recovery officials and industry executives shared a range of insights on making the best use of the global satellite communications grid during the three-day ISCe conference organized by Hannover Fairs USA from June 2-4 in San Diego, California.

From 2005 to 2008, the number of direct-to-home (DTH) satellite platforms grew over 49% from 65 to 97 platforms worldwide, according to estimates by Euroconsult. At least 10 new DTH platforms were announced in 2008. Despite this dramatic growth in DTH platforms, the industry is facing pressure to reduce costs in the current global economic environment in order to maintain and expand its subscriber base and to meet investor expectations for returns.

Since the Stimulus Bill passed early this year, countless private and public organizations have begun gathering information to apply for billions of dollars in stimulus grants and loans. However, these groups tend to underestimate satellite broadband technology’s ability to meet the goals of the US Congress and the Obama Administration. Not to be left out, some of the largest satellite companies have launched their own campaign to get the message out to Washington and the public.

The total satellite industry today is estimated to produce about 1% of global communications revenues. Anybody care to try for 2%?  At the 2009 NAB Show, the  World Teleport Association and Society of Satellite Professionals International produced another year of their Content Distribution Forum on the show floor. Attendance was great despite the decline in overall exhibition traffic in this year of recession, which is having such an impact on the media business.

The 8th annual ISCe Conference. ISCe 2009, scheduled for June 2-4 in San Diego, California, will focus on SATCOM solutions for homeland security, disaster recovery and support for warfighters in the pursuit of victory. ISCe 2009 will provide attendees with unprecedented access to key military and civil agency decision makers.  

With a new Administration in Washington, D.C., spending priorities across the board are being analyzed and reviewed. The results of this scrutiny could have significant ramification

Satellite TV is the biggest money maker for the overall satellite industry, creating investment, subscriber base and wealth. It rests on the solid revenue footing from a food chain that ranges from the end user paying for subscriptions to networks that collect from advertisers and affiliates like TV stations and cable systems. However, we are witnessing a new business model that provides a free service to end users who only need to buy reception equipment consisting of a dish with a digital set-top-box.

The Satellite 2009 conference and exhibition held annually in Washington D.C. is always a good bellwether of how the industry is doing. More so today, when the global economies are reeling from the worse downturn in decades. Unlike in other conferences in recent months, when the severity and seriousness of this downturn was not yet fully evident, the timing of the Satellite show presents a unique opportunity to provide a fuller perspective of the state of the industry. With over 9,000 satellite executives including many of the CEOs of leading companies descending on Washington, D.C.

The Satellite 2009 conference and exhibition held annually in Washington D.C. is always a good bellwether of how the industry is doing. More so today, when the global economies are reeling from the worse downturn in decades. Unlike in other conferences in recent months, when the severity and seriousness of this downturn was not yet fully evident, the timing of the Satellite show presents a unique opportunity to provide a fuller perspective of the state of the industry. With over 9,000 satellite executives including many of the CEOs of leading companies descending on Washington, D.C.

Not too long ago when someone got on the internet the chances were it was to do email or to search for information. In other words communication was mainly one to one and users were primarily consumers of information. With a few exceptions these were not time sensitive pursuits and were heavily biased towards downstream communications. Not any more. Many users have become participants creating, sharing and commenting on content. This will come as no surprise to anyone with children in their teens or twenties, as this change in usage is being driven by them – the Millennial Generation.