CABSAT 2013: Platform for a Critical Satellite Industry Agenda
by Martin Jarrold
London, UK, February 4, 2013--When writing under a leaden winter UK sky during January the subject of CABSAT in the rather warmer month of March in the UAE is a very easy one to turn to, and indeed there’s much on the critical agenda on which to be informed. Thus, this year GVF has a very busy CABSAT week, focused on both the Dubai International Convention & Exhibition Center (DICEC) and the GVF/MenaNets Training Facility in Dubai’s Jebel Ali Free Zone.
The MENASAT @ CABSAT Satellite Summit is presented each year by GVF in cooperation with DWTC as part of the CABSAT exhibition and CABSAT Academy. It has developed a reputation for in-depth and invaluable discussions covering the current hot topics for the satellite industry, and the 2013 program, which, in combination with other GVF events, will span the entire week from 11th to 15th March, is no exception. Again this year, as last, parts of the GVF program are being held in association with IRG (the satellite Interference Reduction Group), the WBU-ISOG (World Broadcasting Unions-International Satellite Operations Group), and the RFI-EUI (Radio Frequency Interference-End Users Initiative). Also, for those parts of the program, GVF welcomes the kind participation of the ITU.
At the heart of GVF’s CABSAT week is the two-day MENASAT Summit, this year designed to cover high-capacity/high-throughput satellite technologies, and satellite interference prevention.
GVF MENASAT @ CABSAT 2013 – ‘The High-Capacity Satellite Summit’
DICEC Meeting Room (Hatta G+H, above Exhibition Hall 2) | 13th March | from 12:00
The ‘The High-Capacity Satellite Summit’ will take place on 13th March. The program will provide the satellite, and wider communications industry, an opportunity to engage in extended dialogue on advanced high-capacity and high-throughput satellite system topics. As of the 28th January the draft program will cover:
· The Technology & Regional Market Context of High-Capacity/High-Throughput Satellites
· Global & Regional Satellite Operators and High-Capacity/High-Throughput Satellites
· Markets & Verticals: Leveraging the High-Capacity/High-Throughput Solution
· OEMs & Ground Infrastructure: The High-Capacity/High-Throughput Equipment Manufacture & Teleports Context
· Networking Applications in the High-Capacity/High-Throughput Environment
Regional Regulation & Licensing for High-Capacity/High-Throughput Satellite Systems
GVF MENASAT @ CABSAT 2013 – ‘The Satellite Interference Prevention Summit’
DICEC Meeting Room (Hatta G+H, above Exhibition Hall 2) | 14th March | from 11:45
Taking place on 14th March will be the ‘The Satellite Interference Prevention Summit’, held in association with IRG (the satellite Interference Reduction Group), the WBU-ISOG (World Broadcasting Unions-International Satellite Operations Group), the RFI-EUI (Radio Frequency Interference-End Users Initiative), and with the kind participation of the ITU. Delegates will learn about the challenges of satellite interference specific to the MENA region, and better understand both the causes and possible solutions, as well as contributing to the discussions, covering:
· Intentional Interference: Sources & Responses
· Improper Installations and Training & Certification
· Sub-Standard Equipment and Type Approvals, PQA & Earth Station Design
o Comms on the Move
o Auto-Deploy Systems
o Ka-band Ultra-Small Aperture VSAT
o Maritime Stabilized VSAT Platforms
o Aeronautical VSAT Systems
o Wireless Interference and the Satellite Industry Spectrum Initiative
o Unidentified Carriers and Carrier ID
Dysfunctional Networks and Network Validation
The CABSAT exhibition halls over 12th to 14th March will feature the GVF @ CABSAT 2013 Exhibition ‘Product Quality Program’, featuring the importance of product quality as a key factor when selecting satellite communications earth station equipment.
Recently, leading manufacturers throughout the world have begun to submit their equipment to international industry-endorsed tests to facilitate the delivery of higher-performance systems. Earth station equipment that has been submitted to approval measures conducted in co-ordination with the GVF Product Quality Assurance (PQA) Framework will be spot-lighted in the CABSAT exhibition halls as well as during the MENASAT @ CABSAT Summit.
This feature of CABSAT 2013 is of tremendous value, both to the communications industry and the broadcast and telecom user communities. As satellite communications have become more popular, the number of earth stations entering the marketplace has increased dramatically. With millions of fixed and mobile satcom terminals now planned for production, GVF's Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) represents the global satellite industry – including satellite operators, earth station manufacturers and integrators – as they coordinate industry testing and type approvals that help characterize the quality of satcom equipment. Information about type approvals, and those products that have already been tested, will be a center-piece of the CABSAT 2013 program.
The MENASAT @ CABSAT Summit will include presentations on the GVF PQA Framework and how it serves as a path through which manufacturers can have their equipment type-approval tested. This will provide an excellent opportunity for the Middle Eastern satellite communications industry to learn how they can take advantage of the program and apply approved products to the solutions offered to their customers.
The main advantage of type approved products is that satellite end users are able to introduce antenna systems that have demonstrated compliance with industry-approved specifications. Users will be able to examine those products in the CABSAT exhibition halls, where a Quality Products Trail will help identify exhibiting manufacturers who have approved earth station products. The approved products available in the CABSAT exhibition will include systems designed for broadcasting and consumer broadband, as well as enterprise-class terminal equipment for fixed networks and for state-of-the-art communications on aircraft, trains, ships, and other vehicles.
The GVF MRA, which is the industry mechanism through which the approvals are coordinated, provides guidance for manufacturers and satellite operators pursuing GVF MRA Testing & Satellite System Operator Type Approval for VSAT equipment. To prepare for the CABSAT program, please visit www.gvf.org/approvals.
Other features of GVF’s CABSAT week will be:
‘The GVF Product Quality & Training Briefing’
GVF/MenaNets Training Facility, Jebel Ali Free Zone | 11th March | Times to be confirmed
GVF Installer Training Hands-on-Skills-Test (H.O.S.T.)
GVF/MenaNets Training Facility, Jebel Ali Free Zone | 15th March | Times to be confirmed
GVF/MenaNets Evening Reception
Venue to be advised | 13th March | from 19:30
If interested readers would like to speak at the GVF MENASAT @ CABSAT 2013 Summit you are invited to contact me at martin.jarrold@gvf.org.
Please note that future Executive Briefings will provide updates on future GVF-EMP Oil & Gas Communications Conference Series programs:
GVF Oil & Gas Communications Brazil 2013: Big Oil, the Deepwater Ocean Expanse, and Big Data
16th to 17th April | Rio de Janeiro | Brazil
www.uk-emp.co.uk/emp-home/future-events/oil-gas-communications-brazil-2013/
GVF Oil & Gas Communications Europe 2013: North & Northwest to the Arctic & Atlantic Margin
14th to 15th May | Aberdeen | UK
www.uk-emp.co.uk/emp-home/future-events/oil-gas-communications-europe-2013/
-----------------------------------
Martin Jarrold is Chief of International Program Development of the GVF. He can be reached at martin.jarrold@gvf.org
