News Analysis

Paris, August 2, 2010--Despite a limited market slowdown, the fixed satellite market reached a new high in revenues last year, according to Euroconsult’s soon-to-be-released report “Satellite Communications & Broadcasting Markets Survey, Forecasts to 2019.” The fixed satellite sector grew both in terms of transponder demand (+5.3%) and revenue reaching $10.3 billion revenue in 2009. The company maintains a positive outlook for the future of the industry. Television broadcasting and emerging markets continue to be the primary growth drivers, with satellite broadband service (“BBS”) systems contributing to growth as well.

by NSR

CAMBRIDGE, MA – August 2, 2010 - NSR’s annual review of the wireless backhaul via satellite market shows the industry made tremendous gains from the blistering pace of wireless subscriber growth in 2009 and the first half of 2010. Despite a challenging economic environment, the wireless industry was one of the global economic bright spots, which led to sustained demand for satellite backhaul services for use primarily in rural markets. 

 by Elisabeth Tweedie

Cape Canaveral, Florida, June 15, 2010--SpaceX was never going to be a “quiet” company.  From its early days in 2002 it has attracted publicity, some good but much of it highly critical both of its objectives and of its ability to achieve them. 

Washington, D.C., June 8, 2010 – The Satellite Industry Association (SIA) released its 2010 State of the Satellite Industry Report, showing an 11 percent growth from 2008 to 2009 in overall world satellite industry revenues. Global revenues for the satellite industry totaled $160.9 billion in 2009, resulting in an average an annual industry growth rate of 11.7 percent from 2004 through 2009. 

by Elisabeth Tweedie, Contributing Editor

Los Angeles, Calif., May 17,2010--The OMVC (Open Mobile Video Coalition) took a prominent position at NAB this year with the Mobile DTV Marketplace set up in the Central Lobby and a Mobile DTV Pavilion in the South Hall, as well as hosting a breakfast and speaking at several sessions. The OMVC is an association of nearly 900 TV broadcasters supporting the A/153 ATSC Mobile DTV Standard which was adopted by the ATSC in October 2009. This is an in-band system providing the mobile service as part of the terrestrial transmission within the same 6MHz channel used for ATSC HD and SD programming.  

New York City, May 6, 2010 – The World Teleport Association (WTA) announced the release of a new white paper, Strategies for Sustainability. The report presents WTA’s findings and outcomes from its March 2010 Member Forum on the Green Teleport as well as in-depth interviews conducted with early adopters of advanced energy management solutions among the Association’s membership. 

by Virgil Labrador

Editor-in-Chief

Los Angeles, Calif. April 30, 2010--During the most recent broadcasting trade shows since the IBC in Amsterdam last fall, 3D technology has been the buzz including the NAB show in Las Vegas early this month. The blockbuster success of 3D movies such as Avatar help fuel interest in 3D technology among tech-savvy consumers, but will 3D—essentially a recycled technology that was first introduced in the 50s and became a passing fad—deliver the goods this time around? 

by Elisabeth Tweedie

Los Angeles,Calif.  April 30, 2010. When I think about 3D the British expression "two swallows don’t make a summer" keeps coming to mind. In the last few months we’ve indeed seen two "swallows": "Avatar" and "Alice in Wonderland", both of which generated the vast majority of their significant revenue (they were respectively the 1st and 22nd highest grossing films ever) from the theaters showing the movies in 3D. "Call of the Wild" also in 3D was released six months before "Avatar" but only managed to produce box office revenues of around $30,000 in the US.

by Chris Frith 

President, AUSPresence

A telco PR executive once remarked to me that satellite was like a solution always looking for a problem.  Given that he was looking to represent my satellite consultancy firm, I thought this was an odd way to earn my business!  Dents to my ego aside, what this guy was reflecting is simply the wider telecommunications industry and a great many potential customers’ perception of satellite – VSAT communications in particular.  How things have changed! Now, not only do the problems exist – let’s refer to them as needs (it’s more marketing friendly) but also customers are willing and have the means to pay for them. Today, we have broadband satellite providing internet access not just in the remote areas but right up close to population centres; innovative service providers are marketing hybrid satellite networks on the basis of their increased reliability and quick deploy systems which provide large scale connectivity to those first on the ground when disaster strikes. So let’s take a closer look at what needs are emerging and how leading VSAT service providers are rising to the challenge. Then we’ll take a look into the crystal ball to see where this is heading.