GVF MENASAT@CABSAT 2012: Satellite Interference and the (Ka-) Band Plays On
by Martin Jarrold
London, February 1, 2012--Taking place on the second (29thFebruary) and third (1stMarch) days of CABSAT 2012, at the Dubai International Convention & Exhibition Center (DICEC), is GVF MENASAT @ CABSAT, which this year will comprise the Satellite Interference Mitigation Forum, and the Satellite Markets & Services Summit.
The Satellite Interference Mitigation Forum is part of the CABSAT Academy, and is organized by GVFin association with sIRG(satellite Interference Reduction Group), and in coordination with the WBU-ISOG(the World Broadcasting Unions-International Satellite Operations Group) and the RFI-EUI(Radio Frequency Interference-End Users Initiative), and the Satellite Markets & Services Summit– entitled ‘Market Drivers & Services Dynamics: Satellite Applications & Technologies in MENA’ – is also part of the CABSAT Academy, and organized by GVF. Both events feature free-of-charge registrationfor CABSAT attendees.
GVF is delighted, once again, to be working with Satellite Markets & Researchas a Media Partner for its CABSAT program, and looks forward to Virgil Labrador’s contribution to the program as a session moderator.
On 29thFebruary, following Registration & Refreshments from 11:00 to 12:00, the Satellite Interference Mitigation Forum program will run from noon to 17:30 and will focus on the collaborative efforts of broadcasters and satellite industry leaders to combat satellite interference throughout the world. The key questions to be asked are: “What results have been achieved?” “What challenges remain to be addressed?” And, “What is required to address those outstanding challenges?” This Forum will examine the answers.
Interference causes service interruptions, increases operational costs, decreases reliability rates, and impacts industry competitiveness. Broadcasters' and satellite industry efforts to solve radio frequency interference (RFI) problems have been extensive, but the adoption of viable solutions and their comprehensive implementation have yet to be achieved and there is heightened urgency for results. Here is the program for Satelltie Mitigation Forum:
Session 1
The View from the ITU
Yvon Henri, Chief, Space Services Department, Radiocommunication Bureau, ITU
Session 2
The Broadcasters’ Perspective: Progress, Plans and Requirements
Dick Tauber, Vice President of Transmission Systems & New Technology, CNN News Group (Other speakers to be confirmed)
Session 3
Addressing Satellite Interference Challenges & Understanding the Solutions
Martin Coleman, Executive Director, sIRG (satellite Interference Reduction Group)
Martin Jarrold, Chief of International Program Development, GVF
Session 4
The Satellite Operators’ Game Plan
Pasquale Falconio, Operational Care & Customer Support Manager, Eutelsat
Stewart Sanders, Senior Vice President, Customer Service Delivery, SES Engineering; Chairman & Director, Space
Data Association (Other speakers to be confirmed)
Session 5
Stopping Interference Now: Pro-Active & Re-active Solutions
- Training & Certification
- Product Quality Assurance
- Carrier ID
- Spectrum Initiatives
- Space Data Association
- Network Validation Initiatives/Sub-Optimal & Dysfunctional Networks
- Auto-Deploy Antenna Systems
Martin Coleman, Executive Director, sIRG (satellite Interference Reduction Group)
Riaz Lamak, President & Director, Mahdi Bagh Computers Pvt Ltd
Mazen Nassar, CEO, MenaNets & GVF Master Trainer for MENA Region
Pete Zilliox, Co-Owner, SatProf Inc
(Other speakers to be confirmed)
The following day, on 1stMarch, the Satellite Markets & Services Summit, ‘Market Drivers & Services Dynamics: Satellite Applications & Technologies in MENA’, will, as shown below, cover a wide range of topics. Registration & Refreshments will commence at 11:00, and the Summit program will begin at 12:00, concluding at 17:30. A lunch break will be included in the program.
The Summit will include a blend of topical and themed discussions and analysis of cutting-edge product and service solutions from the global satellite industry that are positioned to meet the communications needs ofthe MENA marketplace, in particular a focus on Ka-band in the Middle East.
Demand for spectrum never abates and over the years satellite systems have responded to this increasing demand by developing ever-more efficient and powerful space and ground segments. Now the satellite market has responded to the demand for spectrum by developing state-of-the-art systems that can use the Ka-band.
Due to increasing congestion in C-band and in Ku-band there has been consi-derable growth in the number of Ka-band satellite systems being deployed and planned for fixed (FSS) mobile (MSS) and broadcasting (BSS) services. Ka-band satellite technology in general is already mature and offers equipment at low cost, leading to Ka-band satellites having become a very important part of the overall telecommunications infrastructure. With their high power and broad coverage, satellites have traditionally been optimized for video distribution and professional data networks. Now, technology allows the Ka-band to provide significantly increased capacity and new services, meaning that costs to users have been reduced, and throughput dramatically increased. Ka-band user terminals are also very attractive in terms of size (smaller) and price (cheaper), even when compared to Ku-band satellite equipment.
With the advent of higher functionality and lower cost, Ka-band satellites can now support a broader range of domestic and international communications services.
Internet, Mobile Applications and HTS
A high profile and important use of the Ka-band is for broadband Internet access via satellite. In many countries, broadband access to the Internet has been identified as a key enabler of national competitiveness and economic prosperity. Furthermore, many countries have set targets to give all citizens access to the Internet, whatever their location, to overcome the digital divide. Many people living in rural areas today simply do not have broadband Internet access. In many such areas, terrestrial technologies will never provide broadband coverage.
Typical/traditional C- and Ku-band geostationary satellites with broad beams used for consumer broadband provide around 1 Gbps of throughput. Thanks to frequency re-use made possible by using multi-spot beams in the Ka-band, this throughput can be increased 50 to 100 fold. Hence these Ka-band geostationary satellites are referred to as high-throughput satellites (“HTS”). The massive increase in throughput allows these geostationary satellite operators to offer satellite capacity in support of direct end user terminals and backhaul applications at considerably lower prices. In addition, innovative approaches using non-geostationary satellites to provide certain types of Ka-band services, e.g. Internet backhaul, have also now evolved and will become operational shortly.
The Ka-band is a breakthrough satellite communications technology for delivering cost-effective, two-way broadband services with near 100% coverage of world geography. The two-way capability means customers do not need a traditional phone or cable line to receive high-speed Internet access. This enables dramatic improvements in access to two-way, high-speed Internet services for consumers and businesses in rural and remote areas.
Recently there has been a rapid increase in the use of Fixed Satellite Service networks by Earth stations mounted on mobile platforms. FSS networks are currently being used to provide telecommunications services to aircraft, ships, trains and other vehicles using both the C-band and Ku-band. The growing demand for service to these mobile platforms has caused service providers to turn to the Ka-band to meet the need for increased transmission speeds, capacity and efficiency. Taking into account the growing demand for mobile applications, studies are also on-going in ITU-R and CEPT to determine under what technical and regulatory conditions mobile earth station use in other parts of the Ka-bands could be accommodated and operated in Ka-band FSS networks.
Here is the session program for the 1stMarch Summit, showing the full range of topics of discussion, in addition to Ka-band.
Session 1
Understanding Today’s & Forecasting Tomorrow’s MENA Growth Drivers in Communications
Jawad Abbassi, Founder & General Manager, Arab Advisors Group
Chris Baugh, President, NSR
Ghassan Murat, Head of Strategic Marketing, Eutelsat
Hussein Oteifa, Senior Regional Director, Middle East, SES
Session 2
The Energy & Maritime Key Regional Verticals – The Mission Criticality of the Satellite Communications Space
Kyle Hurst, Senior Manager Market Development, Maritime, Thuraya
(Other speakers to be confirmed)
Session 3
Satellite Transponder Supply & Demand, and the Dynamics of Ka-band in the MENA Region: Global & Regional Satellite Operators - Local Knowledge & Universal Markets
David Ball, CTO, NewSat
Tony Colucci, Vice President, Sales & Marketing, SS/L
Mike Fiddes, Sales Director, Middle East & Africa, Avanti Communications
Jean-François Fremaux, Business Development Director, Eutelsat
Simon Maher, Vice President, Middle East, O3b Networks
Session 4
Mitigating Disaster, Promoting Development, Driving Sustainability
Zahid Zaheer, Director, GMPCS Affairs, Thuraya
(Other speakers to be confirmed)
Session 5
New Regulatory Dynamics: MENA Administrations in a Global Context
Ahmed Alomary, Commissioner, Communications & Media Commission, Iraq
Zeina Mokaddem, Director, Abu Dhabi office, Access Partnership
Kumar Singarajah, Chair, SAP-REG (Satellite Action Plan-Regulatory Working Group) (Other speakers to be confirmed)
Session 6
Satellite-Wireless Access to Multimedia Solutions on the Move
Benoit Denis, Manager, Consulting & Advisory, Space & Media Industries, Deloitte(Other speakers to be confirmed)
Session 7
DVB-S2 ACM & the Cutting-Edge of Technology Advance: Market Advantages for MENA SatComs
(Speakers to be confirmed)
For more details about theSatellite Interference Mitigation Forumand the Satellite Markets & Services Summitplease contact Martin Jarrold at GVF (martin.jarrold@gvf.org). Information updates will be available through http://www.cabsat.com/ and http://www.gvf.org/
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Martin Jarrold is Director of International Programs of the GVF. He can be reached at: martin.jarrold@gvf.org
