News Analysis

by Dan Freyer

New multi-megabit-per-second Ku-Band satcoms-on-the-move (OTM or SOTM) products and service offerings, some employing technology originally vetted in military use, are being brought to market for commercial services. These exciting new service opportunities include live news video streaming from moving vehicles, rear-seat entertainment for cars,in-flight and in-train broadband services, as well as law enforcement and first-responder systems.

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.

by Robert Bell, World Teleport Association

"Bursty," as you probably know, is a term for communications traffic that unexpectedly lurches from low data rates to high data rates. It is hard to deal with because it presents two unpleasant alternatives: sizing the circuit to handle the maximum requirement, which leaves a lot of expensive capacity idle, or settling for less capacity and knowing that service will slow to a crawl during periods of peak demand. The latest shared-bandwidth and bandwidth-on-demand solutions are specifically designed to deal with bursty traffic.

by Dan Freyer

Businesses, among them the likes of Nokia, HP, Microsoft, Apple, and others are turning to satellite experts to help them rev up their events. Satellites offer nationwide and global reach, letting you share your message cost-effectively with virtually any authorized and equipped site, and there are thousands of satellite-capable venues available around the world. Thanks to huge improvements in recent years in the cost-efficiency of satellite and video technology, satellite links are more affordable than ever before.

by Lou Zacharilla

Director of Development,  Society of Satellite Professionals International (SSPI)  

Simply put, 2008 and the first half of 2009 have been years best described in 1992 by Queen Elizabeth as annus horribillis. In other words, they really stunk. This is obvious to the millions of men and women dangerously out of work everywhere; to the North American auto industry; to those dependent on financial services for credit or to make payroll, and to the billions of folks in Asia who were raised out of poverty during the past two decades, but who find their rising economic circumstances in peril.

by Virgil Labrador, Editor-in-Chief

The Satellite Industry Association(SIA) released its 2009 State of the Satellite Industry Report at the ISCe 2009 conference in San Diego, June 3rd. The results of the report show a 19 percent growth in overall world satellite industry revenues – with revenues totaling $144.4 billion in 2008. Global revenues for the satellite industry continue to increase, averaging an annual growth rate of 14.2 percent from 2003 – 2008. Meanwhile, Euroconsult is projecting the industry will grow 50% in the next decade.

 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.

by Robert Bell

Executive Director, World Teleport Association

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. (You can view video of the sessions at www.worldteleport.orgwww.sspi.org, thanks to the support of PSSI Global Services and Echostar.)

by Michelle Elbert

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.