Satellite Pro Middle East

ISSUE 17 | APRIL 2013

GOING

GLOBAL GULFSAT’S EPIC VSAT DEPLOYMENT ACROSS 90 COUNTRIES

REGISTER

TALKING TELCOS

AFRICAN HOTSPOTS

BANKING ON SATELLITE

Who said what at the Telco Roundtable

It takes more than selling raw satellite capacity

Private equity firms reaffirm faith in the industry

SatellitePro Maritime Roundtable: Where end-users meet solutions providers

PUBLICATION LICENSED BY IMPZ

crédit photo : Shutterstock

AT THE HEART OF YOUR VIDEO WORLD

DRIVING GROWTH IN THE MIDDLE EAST With the launch of the EUTELSAT 7 West A satellite we have increased our resources at 7° West by 30%. We now broadcast more than 600 channels to over 30 million homes in the Middle East and North Africa. Reach your target audience via Eutelsat and be part of the number one broadcasting position in the region.

New office in Dubai: EUTELSAT MIDDLE EAST FZ-LLC Thuraya Tower II – Dubai Media City www.eutelsat.ae

SatellitePro Telco Rountable P24

EDITORIAL Publisher Dominic De Sousa

I watched the chimney...

Group COO Nadeem Hood

I did watch the chimney. Despite the hectic preparations for CABSAT. Despite the anxieties around organising the Telco Roundtable – the second in our series of industry roundtables.

Managing Director Richard Judd richard@cpidubai.com +9714 440 9126 EDITORIAL Group Editor - Broadcast Division Vijaya Cherian vijaya@cpidubai.com +97150 768 3435 Editor Supriya Srinivas supriya@cpidubai.com +971 55 105 3776

Not only did I watch the chimney, I listened to experts and random tourists at St. Peter’s Square speculating endlessly about who the next Pope will be. Not many of us missed the aerial view of Rome as Pope Benedict XVI bid adieu to the Vatican. The Vatican gave unprecedented access and the broadcast industry seemed more than up to the task. So were the operators. A whopping 700 hours of satellite capacity was secured on Eutelsat’s satellites.

ADVERTISING Publishing Director Raz Islam raz@cpidubai.com +9714 440 9129

What would three years of chimney watching have been like back during the Papal election of 1268 AD? I presume there were some dedicated souls in the courtyard of the Vatican keeping a watch, perhaps in turns.

Group Sales Manager Sandip Virk sandip@cpidubai.com +44 7734 442526

The grand scale of satellite coverage is often lost in the din caused by link budgets, reseller politics and installer training sessions. In this issue, we cover a MoFA project for a GCC country that entailed VSAT installations in 90 countries. Mohammed Al Haj, Chairman of Gulfsat, spoke of the logistical and regulatory issues that posed problems bigger than anything technology related. Fascinating stuff on literally a global scale.

Sales Manager Rodi Hennawi rodi@cpidubai.com +971 4 440 9106 PRODUCTION AND DESIGN Head of Design Fahed Sabbagh fahed@cpidubai.com Graphic Designer Glenn Roxas glenn@cpidubai.com PHOTOGRAPHY Jay Colina Abdul Kader Pattambi

On the other hand, there’s SES that is forging partnerships with big names in consumer electronics as it attempts to create vibrant broadcast neighbourhoods in Africa. The appetite to step out of the traditional role of selling raw capacity and getting into the messy world of solutions providers, resellers and consumers, is growing. Shawkat Ahmed of Yahsat talks of connecting schools in Afghanistan and Nigeria.

You know you are doing something right when private equity money backs you. Nic Volpi of Permira, a private equity firm, tells us why the satellite industry is a good investment.

There is too much to say in this issue, and sometimes the pages in a print edition aren’t enough.

Database Manager Rajeesh M rajeesh@cpidubai.com +9714 440 9147

See you online as well.

Production Manager James P. Tharian james@cpidubai.com +9714 440 9146

Supriya Srinivas Editor

DIGITAL SERVICES webmaster@cpidubai.com Digital Services Manager Tristan Troy Maagma Web Developers Erik Briones Jefferson de Joya Published by

Registered at IMPZ PO Box 13700 Dubai, UAE Tel: +971 (0) 4 440 9100 Fax: +971 (0) 4 447 2409 Printed by Printwell Printing Press LLC

© Copyright 2013 CPI. All rights reserved.

While the publishers have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of all information in this magazine, they will not be held responsible for any errors therein.

In this edition: “We are offering prices on par with fibre in Africa on ABS-3” - Ajay Jethwani, Senior Sales Director, Asia Broadcast Satellite (ABS) – page 10

“Satellite operators are uniquely positioned to drive the DTT rollout in Africa” - Yassine Dahbi, Managing Director - Middle East, Eutelsat – page 18

“Having worked in this region for the past 15 years, I am personally frustrated with the lack of transfer of technology to the region” - Ahmed Hassan Afify, Founder and CEO, Wiseband – page 22

“L-band messaging terminals are a third of the cost or less of Ku- and C-band systems” - Sue Rutherford, Director, Market Development at SkyWave Mobile Communications – page 48

Thuraya SatSleeve Expand your iPhone’s horizons.

Just slide and click.

And you’re ready to go.

The perfect blend of mobility and simplicity, the Thuraya SatSleeve brings satellite communications to your iPhone within seconds. An industry first, Thuraya SatSleeve enables you to stay connected using the devices you are most familiar with. Just insert the iPhone into the SatSleeve and put the entire world within reach, ensuring connectivity through phone calls and SMS via satellite mode.

SAFA TELECOM IEC TELECOM GROUP

CONTENTS

Issue 17 | APRIL 2013

SatVertical: Telcos

News

24

4

Talking Telcos

Distribution deals, broadband services, transponder lease

A peek into the SatellitePro Telco Roundtable

Talia, Arabsat, Avanti, Sana, Newtec, Cygnus, Cetel, Harris and more...

SatVertical: Broadcast

24

SatLead

10

90 countries and counting

“Products for telcos and other verticals need to be interoperable”

Mohammed Al Haj and Sanjay Cherian of Gulfsat describe the epic VSAT deployment

28

Broadcast neighbourhoods in Africa SES’ Ibrahima Guimba-Saidou believes it takes more than selling raw capacity

SatInvestment

32

SatEvents

Shaping the satellite dream

16

Nic Volpi, of private equity firm, Permira, on the company’s investments in the satellite industry

Conversations at CABSAT From offering SNG services over the GCC to creating a McDonaldesque franchise for antennas…

SatTechnology

22

37

“Enabling IP routing and IP-VPN secure transport to deliver 20Mbps download and 6Mbps upload”

Why L-band makes sense Sue Rutherford of SkyWave argues that L-band is the most cost-effective solution for SCADA monitoring and asset tracking

SatTechnology: Product Review

36

Technology Review Glowlink, TCS, Peak Communications, Linwave, Phasor Solutions and more...

SatGuest

40

Voices and views Speakers at Milsatcom MEA explore solutions to the satcom challenges faced by global militaries

ISSUE 17 | APRIL 2013

40 GOING

GLOBAL GULFSAT’S EPIC VSAT DEPLOYMENT ACROSS 90 COUNTRIES

REGISTER

TALKING TELCOS

AFRICAN HOTSPOTS

BANKING ON SATELLITE

Who said what at the Telco Roundtable

It takes more than selling raw satellite capacity

Private equity firms reaffirm faith in the industry

SatellitePro Maritime Roundtable: Where end-users meet solutions providers

PUBLICATION LICENSED BY IMPZ

On the cover: Mohammed al Haj, Chairman, Gulfsat

The inaugural Milsatcom MEA Conference in Dubai

SatNews

Arabsat to extend My-HD Media’s bouquet of channels to 170m viewers My-HD Media, the television platform that offers a single viewing card solution for High Definition (HD) channels in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) regions, has signed a longterm strategic partnership with Arabsat.

Under the agreement, Arabsat will expand the reach of My-HD Media’s bouquet of channels to more than 170 million viewers in more than 80 countries across the Middle East, Africa and beyond.

Commenting on the strategic agreement, Cliff Nelson, CEO of My-HD Media, said: “We aim to build a diversified bouquet of 40 HD family entertainment channels and we are confident that our association with Arabsat will be a long-term profitable collaboration that will add significant value to both parties but most importantly to the end consumer” added Nelson.

Khalid Balkheyour, President and CEO of Arab Satellite Communications Organisation (Arabsat), said: “The main objective for our successful alliance with

(L to R) Cliff Nelson, CEO of My-HD Media, Khalid Balkheyour, President and CEO, Arabsat

My-HD Media is to provide a commercially viable, mass market ready, end-to-end distribution platform to the broadcasters on Arabsat.” www.my-hd.tv

Talia launches broadcast playout at 26 deg East Talia has announced the start of broadcast playout services on the Arabsat fleet. Located at 26 degrees East, the Arabsat broadcast hotspot reportedly offers more than 600 channels of satellite television and radio stations.

“This is the perfect opportunity for channels to cover the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe all from one location,” said Travis Mooney, Chief Operations Officer of Talia. “The Badr position is unique and captures the audiences of the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe.”

Broadcasting with Arabsat marks the expansion of Talia’s Media Division and 4 | SatellitePro | April 2013

according to the company spokesman, allows Talia to offer a complete solution to their existing broadcast customers, as well as offer new partners any solution they require. Talia reportedly offers, separately or as a bundle: contribution links, teleport services, satellite broadcast playout, as well as IPTV solutions. www.talia.net

Sana to offer broadband in Libya via Avanti

Libya-based satellite provider Sana will be providing broadband on Avanti Communication’s Hylas 2 satellite to businesses and government organisations that are involved in rebuilding the country.

Dr Aimen Sabkha, from Sana said: “Satellite services are the only viable option for a country of more than 2.5 million square kilometres, particularly in the more remote regions where many oil and gas companies operate.”

As a result, it is estimated that only 5.5% of the Libyan people have internet access, which is one of the lowest rates in the Middle East and North Africa. Additionally, internet speeds in Libya rank as the slowest in the region.

Dr. Sabkha added: “Satellite is the only viable form of high speed communications which is available everywhere right now as Libya lacks digital infrastructure in many places.

“Thanks to the flexibility of Avanti’s Ka-band technology, we can optimise our services to create high-speed resilient and secure networks for large enterprises and domestic consumers.”

Sana expects demand to continue to rise in the region. As well as strong interest from sectors such as oil and gas and the government, there is also demand for applications in television and radio transmission, internet cafes and shipping.

As fibre infrastructure improves, Sana also sees enormous opportunity to provide backhaul support services in the future. www.sana.ly

NigComSat partners with Newtec Satellite broadband brings ATM to rural for Ka-band broadband services areas in Africa

Timasaniyu Ahmed-Rufai, Managing Director and Chief Executive at NigComSat

Nigerian Communications Satellite (NigComSat) Limited has selected satellite specialist Newtec to provide a Ka-band hub platform including terminals to offer B2B and B2C broadband services. The broadband platform will enable voice, data, video, internet and application service solutions over Nigeria via the NigComSat-1R satellite.

Timasaniyu Ahmed-Rufai, Managing Director and Chief Executive at NigComSat, said: “High-

speed and reliable internet will transform the economy and lead to more and better opportunities for many individuals. In 2011 we successfully put our own high throughput satellite in the sky and I am pleased to welcome our new technology partner Newtec. We are teaming-up with Newtec because of its track record in delivering reliable, fast and easy-to-use satellite solutions at an affordable cost.”

The installation of a first Newtec broadband hub is reportedly complete.

NigComSat reportedly plans to operate several thousands of satellite modems within the first year of operation.

Serge Van Herck, CEO of Newtec, said: “Our Newtec MDM2200 Ka-band consumer modem and our MDM3100 enterprise modem enable NigComSat to provide highly competitive connectivity services, achieving download speeds eventually up to 45Mbps.” www.nigcomsat.net

UAE-based Cygnus signs on broadcast customer for new Thuraya IP+ Thuraya Service Partner, Cygnus has announced the extension of the relationship with Al Aan TV with the deployment Shabeer Mohammad, of Thuraya IP+ Managing Director, Cygnus terminals which are the latest addition to Thuraya’s portfolio of mobile satellite broadband terminals.

Reportedly weighing 1.4 kilograms and smaller than a regular laptop, Thuraya IP+ can be deployed, the company claims, by field journalists to support high-bandwidth applications, at speeds of up to 444kbps on standard IP and 384kbps on streaming IP with a built-in antenna. The satellite

broadband terminal can be configured to provide asymmetric streaming capabilities, enabling media users to control their upload and download speeds based on usage requirements, to optimise bandwidth cost.

Al Aan TV’s Head of Technical, Raad Haddadin, said: “The terminal meets our stringent requirements for security, reliability and portability for our field correspondents.”

Cygnus’ Managing Director, Shabeer Mohammad, said: “We are excited about Thuraya’s latest innovation for the mobile broadband market and see great potential for the Thuraya IP+ in our key markets and across a multitude of market sectors.” www.cygnustelecom.com

Following an agreement signed between SatADSL and SES Broadband Services for the development of new high-speed satellite broadband solutions in the continent, ATM networks will be rolled out in select countries in Africa.

Satellite-based communications services company, SatADSL, will reportedly offer broadband solution to businesses, banks, non-governmental organisations and governmental institutions in rural communities across Africa. The new service, the company claims, has already been tried and tested by several banks in the continent.

ATM operators will reportedly be able to set-up cash machines in small towns where terrestrial communication services are not accessible, unreliable or too costly.

“Financial institutions offer excellent services in the main cities where fibre connections and WiMax are available,” said Jerome van der Putt, Head of Sales at SatADSL. “However, in remote locations where the population is less dense, telecommunication links are often not as reliable,” he added.

SatADSL is working on three pilot projects at present for ATM deployment with banks based in Ghana, Cameroon and Zambia, the company said. www.satadsl.net April 2013 | SatellitePro | 5

SatNews

Thuraya sponsors freelance journalist, Sebastian Meyer Thuraya Telecommunications Company, in partnership with the Rory Peck Trust, a non-profit independent organisation dedicated to the support, safety and welfare of freelance news gatherers, have come together to sponsor freelance journalist, Sebastian Meyer.

Sebastian Meyer, freelance photographer, multimedia journalist and co-founder of Iraq’s first and only photo agency called Metrography said: “Infrastructure here in Iraq is in terrible shape with electricity cuts part of our daily life.

For reporters and photographers who need to file their work on time, this can be a serious problem as communication lines often fail.

Thuraya’s IP+ satellite broadband terminal for Metrography will be a significant help in delivering stories from corners of the country often cut off from electricity and the internet.” www.thuraya.com

CETel signs extension for transponder lease on Arabsat As part of its strategic collaboration with Arabsat, CETel has announced its commitment and extended part of its capacity lease with Arabsat on the satellites Arabsat 5A at orbital position 30.5° East and Arabsat 5C at orbital position 20° East. The additional multi-year agreement reportedly embraces satellite capacity of more than two transponders.

The additional capacity is required to enlarge Geolink’s and CETel’s VSAT satellite networks and to reportedly serve the growing demand in the EMEA markets in maritime VSAT operations and oil and gas networks.

Currently, CETel provides uplink services from 9.3m/9.0m antennas from its teleport facilities in Germany and combines the coverage over Africa and the Middle East into a service based on European-based teleport fibre networks.

6 | SatellitePro | April 2013

(Extreme right) Guido Neumann, Managing Director, CETel Group, with the management team

“For nearly a decade, CETel and Arabsat have built a strong and reliable partnership, that combines CETel’s technical expertise and quality service with Arabsat’s excellent satellite fleet to meet the demand of the of the Middle East and African markets” commented Guido Neumann, Managing Director of CETel Group. www.ce-tel.com

UAE-based XSAT to distribute Iridium products in Russia

Gleb Larionov, Managing Director, X SAT FZE

XSAT FZE has announced that XSAT RRE has reportedly become one of the official Iridium Communications (“Iridium Russia”) partners in the Russian Federation.

XSAT RRE is a Joint-Venture between UAEbased XSAT FZE, and Russian Radio Electronics (RRE), a Russia-based electronics holding.

XSAT RRE anticipates good demand for Iridium products and services, especially for M2M applications, taking into a consideration a vast Russian territory and Iridium’s global coverage. In 2009, Iridium formed Iridium Russia to conduct business in the country due to strong regional interest in its voice and data communications capabilities.

“The XSAT RRE assignment as Iridium partner in Russia is a confirmation of our strategy to provide reliable services and excellent customer care worldwide. We are confident that Iridium will be a leader in the Russian mobile satellite markets and XSAT RRE will be a reliable and trustworthy partner,” said Gleb Larionov, Managing Director, X SAT FZE. X SAT maintains offices in Dubai (U.A.E.), Florida (U.S.A.) and Moscow (Russia), where it manages sales in the Middle East, Africa, Europe, CIS and Americas. The company’s main activities include provisioning of Mobile Satellite Services (Iridium /Thuraya / Inmarsat), Fixed Satellite Services (YahClick) and GSM products and services for enterprises. emea.xsatglobal.com

Harris Broadcast partners with First Gulf Company Harris Broadcast has secured a new DVB-T2 transmission order from Saudi Broadcasting Corporation (SBC) as the country continues its transition to a national network of digital transmitters and satellite services. The latest phase of the ongoing SBC modernisation programme will add transmitters to sites in Aded and Yabren, bringing the total number of Harris Broadcastsupported DVB-T2 transmission sites to nine.

Harris Broadcast will supply Maxiva ULX (3.4kW) and Maxiva UAX (2kW) UHF transmitters in cooperation with Saudi Arabian dealer and systems integrator First Gulf Company (FGC).

A spokesman for Harris Broadcast commented: “We are delighted to work with First Gulf Company and Saudi Broadcasting Corporation to continue this programme across Saudi Arabia by using some of our highly efficient DVB-T2 transmitters that

Naim Saidi, DGM & CEO, FGC

Walid Al Moukhtar, Board Member & GM, FGC

help to reduce operating costs, optimise the available broadcast spectrum and ensure real integration throughout the workflow.”

Harris Broadcast and FGC are working together to upgrade these sites with Harris Broadcast DVB-T2 transmitters, along with tower, antenna and electrical upgrades. www.fgcltd.com

Satellite assembly Space satellite plant in Cairo from Ghana The Egyptian Authority for Remote Sensing and Space Sciences (NARSS) and the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) signed a memorandum of understanding to build a satellite assembly plant in Egypt, as reported by AllAfrica.com.

In a statement, NARSS Chairman Dr. Mohamed Medhat Mokhtar said that under the MoU, the Chinese side will review and approve the design of the Egyptian satellite “Egypt Sat 2”, which is expected to be finalised by the Egyptian side in July 2014.

The new satellite will be manufactured, assembled and tested in the plant to be established in Egypt, he added.

In accordance with the deal, the Egyptian side will also be allowed to take part in the Chinese space missions and new in-orbit technology demonstrations, Mokhtar said. www.narss.sci.eg

The All Nations University College in Koforidua will soon launch its first space satellite, called “Cansat” built by the Intelligent Space System Laboratory of the university.

Mamfred Quarshie, Director of Intelligent Space System Laboratory of the All Nations University, said the lab was set up as an educational project that enables the integration and collaboration among engineering and science careers, as well as encouraging team work.

He said the first step in the establishment of educational projects was the Cansat programme which is a small “satellite”, with all components, such as sensors, actuators, and GPS, housed inside a 350-ml can. www.anuc.edu.gh

India to launch first navigational satellite in June

K Radhakrishnan, DoS Secretary and Chairman, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)

India plans to launch its first navigational satellite in June, a top official of the Department of Space (DoS) stated, as reported by PTI. The first Satellite of Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) constellation, IRNSS-1 will be launched by PSLV-C22, said DoS Secretary and Chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) K Radhakrishnan. According to ISRO officials, IRNSS is an independent regional navigation satellite system, designed to provide position accuracy of better than 10 metres over India and the region extending about 1500 kms around the country.

“It is designed to provide an accurate real time Position, Navigation and Time (PNT) services to users on a variety of platforms with 24x7 service availability under all weather conditions,” an ISRO official said.

IRNSS provides two basic services – standard positioning service for common civilian users and restricted service for special authorised users, the official said.

“We are planning for a June launch,” Radhakrishnan told reporters after addressing a symposium on ‘Indian Remote Sensing Satellite (IRS) Series: A Saga of 25 years’.

IRNSS-1 would be tested in orbit for threefour months once it’s launched, he said.

ISRO has planned to have a constellation of seven satellites under IRNSS. www.isro.org April 2013 | SatellitePro | 7

SatLead

90

COUNTRIES AND COUNTING

Every country posed a logistical, cultural or political challenge – Mohammed Al Haj describes the epic deployment of satellite connectivity for a GCCbased Ministry of Foreign Affairs project in more than 90 countries

10 | SatellitePro | April 2013

C

onnecting a GCC-based country’s embassies and consulates around the world to the headquarters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) is a project that does not come around often for satellite solutions providers.

Having won a competitive bid in 2001 along with British Telecom, Mohammed Al Haj, Chairman of Kuwait-based satellite solutions provider, Gulfsat, takes pride in the fact that nearly nine years after the initial award in 2003, the concerned MoFA has approached Gulfsat for a futher expansion in sites and upgradation of connectivity.

Speaking to SatellitePro ME at Gulfsat’s well-appointed stand at CABSAT 2013, Al Haj underscored the mission critical nature of the project.

“In times of crises, as we have seen in recent times, terrestrial networks are vulnerable and MoFAs around the world are concerned about maintaining secure, always-on connectivity with their embassies and consulates.”

The project of undisclosed value is meant to facilitate voice, fax, video and data communications across 90 countries globally with their GCC-based headquarters.

After a competitive bid in 2001, the contract was awarded in 2003. The first phase was completed in 2008. Initially Gulfsat worked with BT as the key systems integrator. “Once we gained sufficient experience, we, as Gulfsat, took over,” recalls Sanjay Cherian, Business Development Manager, Gulfsat Communications Co., and part of the project management and design team for the MoFA project.

During the initial phase, the sites numbered 63 and a TDMA-based mesh network was deployed, explains Cherian.

Key Equipment Hub antennas and amplifiers: Vertex Remote antennas: Andrew Solutions Remote BUCs: Mitec Telecom LNBs: New Japan Radio (NJRC) Modems: Comtech EF Data Voice compression system: Avaya Voice gateways, Media servers, IP phone sets: Avaya Hub technology: Vipersat dSCPC network from Comtech EF Data

On convergence and offering managed services: Mohammed Al Haj, Chairman, Gulfsat

“During the course of phase 1, we gradually migrated to dynamic SCPC (dSCPC) as part of performance enhancement. This was met with tremendous appreciation from the client because performance improved drastically in terms of bandwidth utilisation. There was effective bandwidth on demand and latency factors improved. And since most of their usage is voice-related applications, the new solution made a huge difference in terms of performance.”

The project has entered the second phase with the client wanting to upgrade their network, both in terms of number of sites and adding redundancy.

Cherian explains: “By the end of the first phase, we had deployed solutions in about 70 sites. The number of sites has gone up to 90 with more to come, in the current

phase. Towards ensuring redundancy, for every site, we are deploying a hybrid combination of MPLS and satellite-based connectivity. In that sense, the current phase is more than just a revamp of the existing network, it is almost a new project by itself. From the hub architecture to the design of the network, the aim is to keep up with technical developments, the need for greater security and so on. “ Challenges during deployment Speaking to SatellitePro ME at CABSAT, Mohammed Al Haj explained the role of Gulfsat in the project thus: “We have maintained a very active role in this project, by taking up the responsibilities for project management, account management, systems integration, quality control and improvement and manning

“Gulfsat was established 15 years ago. We have focused on three areas: Broadcast services under a sub-brand called Gcast for TV and radio broadcast; Glink for satellite connectivity focusing on different verticals including government, oil and gas, shipping, military etc. and Gtalk for voice communication.

“As a company, we aim to leverage our expertise in various areas and offer converged technology solutions.

From investment in the ground infrastructure to our international nodes offering last-mile connectivity, and our uplink facilities and the satellite infrastructure in space, we aim to offer managed end-to-end services for broadcast, oil and gas, government and other key verticals. continued next page

April 2013 | SatellitePro | 11

SatLead

“The number of sites has gone up to 90 with more to come, in the current phase. Towards ensuring redundancy, for every site, we are deploying a hybrid combination of MPLS and satellite-based connectivity”

12 | SatellitePro | April 2013

the NOC 24/7. Apart from the normal challenges faced in a large network such as with any typical MoFA, we were also faced with political, cultural and regulatory challenges.”

Based on feedback from the installation team that comprised of 25 personnel including 15 engineers, Cherian elaborates on the complex challenges faced by the team during the global deployment for this mammoth MoFA project.

“The degree of challenge varied from site to site – there was hardly any site that did not pose a challenge. Countries such as Iran, Syria, Iraq and Libya were understandably challenging from the security point of view. Cuba was also a political challenge. We faced logistical challenges in countries such as Bhutan that has no airport.

“There were regulatory challenges in places such as China where a frequency test had to be conducted for every frequency that was allotted. In countries such as India and Pakistan, there were challenges owing to the fact that their regulators had not encountered such unique requirements earlier. Some European countries were stringent from the point of view of landscape regulations.

We had to obtain permission from not just the landlord but from the planning commission for the district as well. In some places, the colour of the antenna had to coordinate with the rest of the building and go along with the landscape.

“Also in many parts of the world, embassies are in very well guarded areas, surrounded by trees and other structures which block your line of sight to the satellite. In some sites, we had to build microwave towers as tall as six or seven metres just to get the antenna above the blocking elements. Those were challenges of installation.

“Then you had structural challenges where the antennas could not be supported by roofs that were old or not strong enough. So we had to reinforce the structure of the roof before installing the antenna. In some cases, we encountered sloping roofs that posed installation challenges. Then you had places that were

“In terms of infrastructure, we have eight nodes in places such as Singapore, Bahrain, Dubai, Cairo and so on. We have sales offices in Jordan and we will be opening one soon in Egypt. A fully automated playout centre is in the UK and we have three uplink facilities in Kuwait, New York and a third one about to open soon in Cyprus. We also have an ISP licence generating a lot of synergy between Gulfsat and Gulfnet – the internet and online data services division.

“As Chairman, it is my mandate to restructure each business stream to create synergies for the mutual benefit of the entire company.

Within Glink for instance, we are adding multiple layers of solutions to drive our business in banking, MoFA etc. Price is no longer the differentiator. It is key to offer integrated solutions that add value. And investing in the right people is absolutely critical to take this vision forward.

“Competition in the region is good. And it is not just from other satellite operators, but local telcos that are taking on the role of delivering TV content to homes. Offering everything from connected TV to voice and data services is challenging for satellite operators but given the state of infrastructure on the ground across the region, dependence on satellite-based connectivity will prevail for the near future if not longer.”

MDM3100 IP SATELLITE MODEM

Designed for your Business:

NEW!

HIGH THROUGHPUT B2B APPLICATIONS

• combine with Consumer/SME broadband acces • support Private Networks and Branch office connectivity Packaged with a performing outdoor unit portfolio.

Solution Guide Enterprise Connectivity

ide on Gu Soluti ity nnectiv rise Co

Solution Guide Enterprise Connectivity

Enterp

nt

The MDM3100 is designed to:

NEW FREE APPLICATION NOTE “ENTERPRISE CONNECTIVITY” RISE ENTERPECTIVITY CONN

Speed Enhanceme

The success of today’s enterprises highly depends on reliable and secure connectivity.

Web surfing

File Download

Streaming

Full IP address flexibility 28m 15s

57m 30s

-98%

A VNO has full IP address flexibility within its VN. This means IP addresses can -89% be used multiple -47% times across different VN’s. 17s

IPv6 Support for Busin ess Continuity

The single biggest argument for IPv6 MPLS integration today is “business continuity”. The networks 9s that most organisations have nearly run out use today of unique numbers.

Multiprotocol Label Depending on the 3m region you live in, Switching (MPLS)14s this has already happened. is the underlining technology that enables To preserve the capabilities and service providers TCP Newtec value we enjoy today, to offer customers 51s high-speed Newtec networks. we have to adopt TCPprivate the new protocol.

Duration TCP Newtec Service providers Duration can easily integrate Duration their MPLS networks with the Sat3Play© platform. This way, IPV6 REMOTE NETWORKS User Experience a customer’s remote Figure 2 – Improved location can be integrated FWD / 1 Mbps RET Mbps 10 SLA: 8.0, with the rest of their SP1, Internet MPLSExplorer sites to PC with Win Vista an backbone. A network With the larger address in this configuration space inherent to eliminate the need can IPv6, addresses within a network for encrypted VPNs can be allocated more and multiplehops between remote effectively in a hierarchical fashion. locations and headquarters.

The IPv6 routing configuration also This functionality is extended with IPv6 allows latency sensitive prefix delegation applications such as video conferencing support as a way centralize and delegate to and VoIP to be used IP address assignment. multiple sites. between SOHO AND SME

ě ȱ ȱ ȱ Business Services

INTERNET ACCESS

FOR

MIGRATION

for pure broadband SCENARIO USING DUAL An MPLS Label Edge typically looking STACK Routeroffices IPV4/V6VOIP that is are Small connected to the can be configured are all Hublike web surfing, to classify office applications organisations mainMPLS withpush access and corporations and labels onto the packets.

Some Service Providers, classification can happen needs. This The system also supports and e-mail. security and scalabilityDestination that either on Source or networks where both faced with different for security IP address or 802.1Q IPv6 access IPv4 and is needed. In such VLAN tags coming to the same have such high needs the Hub. cases, an IPv6 network from belong organisations will all terminals Others will have be merged with an can An architecture where IPv4 network to create care of it themselves. services for Small they will fully take a single, logical offer Internet access dual-stackInIPv4/IPv6 will leverage the network is ideal to network. Hosts behind confidence that they Enterprises. this enough trust and On a Sat3Play® or Small & Medium that dual-stack a terminal in network can have Office Home Office the service provider. only one public both IPv4 and IPv6 services offered by terminals consume can coexist on the access.

All configuration Sat3Play network architectures management is simple. . Service platform different address IP and diversification service IPv4 address AL & fully accelerated. same platform, providing by offering NMENTtraffic is encrypted and CAPEX and OPEX in aVER payload Providers can optimise GO entities S for multipleINE SS, services ION to SAT BUS strugglingANI enterprise connectivity providers helps service ORG ES FOR highly shared platform. This Router business ENTAL concerns SERVIC prises IPamong their biggest RNM enter prise balance IPv6 a IP Routing OVE WAN strike Subnet IPv4 Nat’d Subnet N-G satisfaction and cost. ions and ity. Enter NOcustomer Nat44 organisat e connectiv een a central capacity, scalability, today’s secur , betw and ss of and branches s of activity ity The succe on reliable different point connectiv between widespread ity depends et. The ity exists ically productiv ic intern connectiv geograph the publ and improved e they are. and IPv4 @ wher prise and actions office IPv6 Routed Subnet of a matter an enter secure trans es, no as part between more een entiti terminal deployed faster, ation betw cost effective ces can be enables ng inform mely IP servi by shari an extre attractive re: ing ion, tructu solut By offer network providing strial infras scalable ntary to terre network terrestrial compleme for the adequate service case no a way to backup ce in • as a continuity ectivity servi providing business conn available for main re is ion service • as the infrastructu any locat video and g data/ terrestrial operation to rencing, the multicastin video confe extend ces, efficient highly tion servi • as a collabora cations appli media-rich 1 trading 3 financial

tec.eu www.new

5

Follow us:

t in

Ĵ ǯ Ȧ ȏ Linkedin.com/company/newtec

You

Tube

Youtube.com/NewtecSatcom Slideshare.net/newtec_satcom

www.newtec.eu

SatLead

now designed as a hybrid network. Even if a particular equipment fails, you have an alternative solution.”

With the entire network managed remotely, training was restricted to a basic operational level of expertise.

Moreover, Gulfsat, according to Cherian, has established preventive and corrective maintenance contracts with ground operators in every site.

Gulfsat at CABSAT 2013

cold so we needed to provide a de-icing solution. These details are all documented in each specific installation report.”

Installations in the sites were done either by the Gulfsat team depending on access or by local contractors in other cases.

The equipment included hub antennas and amplifiers from Vertex. Remote antennas were from Andrew Solutions.

Mitec Telecom supplied the remote BUCs. LNB’s were sourced from New Japan Radio (NJRC) and modems currently used are from Comtech EF Data. Avaya currently supplies the voice compression system.

Regarding the technology at the hub, we have currently deployed dSCPC (dynamic SCPC) on Vipersat platform from Comtech EF Data. The voice gateways and media servers and IP phone sets are from Avaya.”

On the choice of solutions and equipment, Cherian reiterates that the criteria was primarily to source the best in class in each category.

“We are basically a service provider and our technical services can only be as good as the equipment that we propose. If the service goes down because of a hardware failure the customer will find fault with the service provider. To avoid such a situation, we have our own preferred vendors as far as every category of satellite equipment is concerned. And this is an approach we follow across all verticals.”

14 | SatellitePro | April 2013

Redundancy, bandwith utilisation and security Redundancy and security of information are critical factors for a MoFA, with terrestrial connections vulnerable at times of crises. Ensuring redundancy was one of the primary objectives of the current phase of the project, reiterates Cherian.

“Redundancy was not available in phase 1 of the project. In the second phase we are in the process of adding redundancy using MPLS links. Security has been ensured using Secunet Encryption systems.”

Traffic was prioritised based on the customer’s requirements, states Cherian.

“Based on the client’s requirements, we deployed an automatic system that ensured that unutilised bandwidth was channelled to areas where it was most needed.

Given the global nature of operations of a MoFA, bandwidth is redeployed from sites during their off-peak hours to those sites experiencing peak usage.”

“Critical, hard-to-reach sites were given cold standby redundancy and extra bandwidth-on-demand access.

This has been done in the current phase recognising that there are some sites due to logistics or regulations, that are difficult to reach in case of equipment failure. The cold standby redundancy was a value added service that we provided and the client has appreciated this effort. In any case, the solution is

Seamless migration to the dSCPC platform With the mandate to monitor and maintain every single component of the network and a dedicated NOC for the project, the importance given to this particular MoFA project by Gulfsat is evident. Cherian takes special pride in highlighting the seamless integration of the project from the older to the current platform.

“We were able to seamlessly migrate from the original platform to a much improved new dSCPC platform during the course of the project with a goal of network optimisation. It took meticulous, time-consuming planning on a siteby-site basis. Without interrupting their active applications, we kept both networks running at the same time till the migration was complete. “ Given the grand, literally global, scale of the project, the Gulfsat team embraced some practical solutions while keeping the network scalable for future expansion.

Keeping in mind, the onerous challenge of shipping fully integrated equipment into 90 countries with varying regulations, the team made use of existing legacy equipment wherever possible.

Initially with a hub in Kuwait, a couple of satellites were used – one to provide coverage over the Indian ocean region and the other to cover the Atlantic ocean region. In the current phase, dedicated satellites have been deployed over Europe, Africa/Latin America and Asia.

While every installation is possibly a story in itself, Mohammed Al Haj and his team at Gulfsat have already begun to leverage their invaluable experience gained from the deployment of the current project with similar MoFA-related projects in the Arab region. PRO

assess your Satcom requirements, whether you’re building a new facility, expanding a current one, relocating to an existing building, or just revamping the existing facility. We’ll discuss with you DOO RI \RXU RSWLRQV DQG KHOS \RX ÀQDOLVH \RXU requirements. We’ll guide you as you upgrade your network to achieve faster, more secure and cost-­effective results.

FGC will

FGC offers the most advanced and reliable solutions on the market. Our satellite-­based broadcast solutions are being deployed by leading DTH platform providers to deliver a vast array of DTH services across the Gulf region. The modulators that we deliver demonstrate optimal performance in both DVB-­S and DVB-­S2, also enabling HDTV services at a cost widely accepted by the industry.

As we move away from one-­way, single-­screen viewing into an interactive, multiscreen environment, the need for multiple architectures, platforms and processes gains clarity.

So do the bHQHÀWs of streamlining technology, expertise, and consumer and business insights that allow you to focus on the bigger picture.

We believe that TV has a bright future – and with good reason.

The global market for ‘anytime, anywhere’ media consumption has only just begun – and the visual medium is at the heart of an increasingly personalised consumer experience.

A complete TV solution, strategic collaboration, unmatched insights and adaptable pricing models support a new vision of multimedia. It brings our unique range of cross-­segment expertise – combined with award-­winning technology and solutions – to help you thrive in this new business landscape.

www.fgcltd.com

P.O.Box 25560, Riyadh 11476, Saudi Arabia Tel: +966 1 219 0888, Fax: +966 1 219 1888 Email: info@fgcltd.com

SatEvents

CONVERSATIONS

AT CABSAT

From developing new markets to packaging compelling solutions, the satellite industry is walking the Ka-band talk and demonstrating enough ‘out-of-the-box’ thinking to keep clients interested and new sectors intrigued

Offering SNG services over the GCC: Yassine Dahbi, Eutelsat

W

ith news breaking during the interview that Eutelsat was the number one satellite capacity provider for the coverage of the election of the new Pope at the Vatican, the mood was euphoric at the busy stand in CABSAT. Yassine Dahbi, Managing Director of Eutelsat’s Middle East office in Dubaï, spoke to SatellitePro ME about the importance of the region to the operator and the plans ahead.

“We’ve had year-on-year growth of 22% in terms of new TV channels over the region” “Since the creation of the company, we have consistently included the Middle East in our footprint. If we look at our fleet of 30 satellites, 28 of them offer coverage over both Europe and the Middle East. In the video broadcast sector, our partnerships with Nilesat, Noorsat and Gulfsat have been particularly successful.

In terms of recruitment of new channels, year-on-year growth at the 7/8 West video neighbourhood is about 22% for the past five years. Within the next three years Eutelsat capacity will increase by over 20%: of the seven satellites currently under construction, four of them have the Middle East in focus.

16 | SatellitePro | April 2013

“The broadcast sector in the Middle East and North Africa is an increasingly sophisticated environment, similar to Europe. The growth of HD is a strong sign of maturity as is the presence of regulators such as the ones in the Emirates or Morocco that specialise in broadcasting issues and drive an overall broadcast strategy. And with technology ranging from DVB-S2 and MPEG4, among other solutions, you can have an HD channel for 6Mbps compared to 18Mbps that was needed when we deployed the first HD demo channel in 2005. HD is no longer that much of an investment for broadcasters. In Europe for example, for a TV channel, satellite capacity represents between five to 15% of operational costs.

Content rights and production costs account for much more.”

“New compression techniques have also enabled us to develop new pricing structures around megabits compared to megahertz, notably in the IP world.”

“Audience is key. As operators, we need to work closely with broadcasters and be aware of what MBC, Al Jazeera and other premium networks and service providers are planning in the next five years so that we can anticipate their requirements.

We invest 40% of our revenues in future satellites which gives high visibility to our clients as they work on their long term planning. In April this year, we opened an office in Dubai to ensure proximity with our clients in the region.”

Yassine Dahbi, Managing Director - Middle East, Eutelsat

Offering Ka-band over UAE, Bahrain and Qatar for SNG “Eutelsat has opened the first Ka-band equivalent 62 dB spotbeam over the UAE, Bahrain and Qatar and we are in active discussions with local telcos to build an offer. The interest is high to exploit this new frequency range. To enhance and

Creating a McDonaldesque franchise for antennas Dubai-based Wiseband has launched “Lucky 7”, a bandwidth-on-demand broadband service over Avanti’s Hylas 2 through its reseller network to corporate, banking and small business customers across a country where high-speed internet services are reportedly in short supply. Seated at the Avanti stand, Ahmed Hassan Afify, Founder and CEO of Wiseband, outlined a radical new approach to selling satellite solutions in the region.

“With 2Mbps up and 8Mbps down, we are targeting corporate customers. With an office in Benghazi, we sell to around 350 resellers and are looking at a potential of around 25,000 corporate customers across Libya. The service we are offering is bandwidth on demand and not a flat fee.

His Highness Sheikh Hasher bin Maktoum Al Maktoum, Director General, Dubai Department of Information inaugurated the nineteenth edition of CABSAT, at the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC)

extend the scope of enterprise services, we are collaborating with OneAccess that has developed a dedicated satellite router that incorporates integrated traffic acceleration, IP routing and IP-VPN secure transport to deliver 20Mbps download and 6Mbps upload. What is significant is that this means increased traffic speeds in a fully secure environment over our Ka-sat High Throughput Satellite.”

“Move towards DTT across Africa is a game-changer” “Satellites are uniquely positioned to support DTT roll-out in Africa, delivering content to terrestrial transmitters and enabling homes beyond terrestrial reception to receive channels on a Direct-to-Home basis. We also have the capability to broadcast all formats, from Standard Digital to HDTV and IP. “Together with Telediffusion d’Algerie,

“I am particularly excited about another project – creating global franchises for the manufacture of antennas. Having worked in this region for the past 15 years, I am personally frustrated by the lack of transfer of technology to the region. The solutions providers have to depend on outside help for every aspect of the deployment. So we are currently testing an antenna at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

we recently announced the five-year extension of a contract for capacity on the Eutelsat 5 West A satellite in order to support their deployment of Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) across Algeria.

I believe, just as in Europe, that satellite and terrestrial will work together to transform Africa’s broadcasting landscape and broaden access to television which currently reaches 30-35% of African households.”

“A virtuous circle promoting quality TV channels” “While there were some spontaneous initiatives during the early days of the Arab spring in terms of new TV channels, we are now seeing a growing focus on quality programming. Firstly, on the production side, there is a general move from SD to HD. Two years ago, the market was sceptical about

Ahmed Hassan Afify, Founder and CEO, Wiseband

“One of our primary aims is to reduce the cost of the antenna by ensuring in-country production.

With countries such as Brazil you have 100% duty on such products manufactured outside the country. A service provider in the UAE, for instance, can apply to manufacture the antenna – all he needs is a 10mt x 10mt facility. He will be given all the manufacturing tools and raw materials. He can then sell the antennas at prices as competitive as USD10,000. As the franchise owner, we don’t get paid till our franchisee sells the antennas. We have already received considerable interest from many dealers across the globe. Regarding type approval from operators and other regulators, we undertake to get it done. In six months, we should be in a position to launch this project.”

the spread of HD in the Middle East given the domination of Free-to-Air channels.

Today, of the 398 HD channels on Eutelsat’s fleet, more than 50 address Middle East and North African audiences and this trend is accelerating. Our video neighbourhood at 7/8° that serves the Middle East and North Africa is the third in the world to break the 1000-channel barrier, after the US and Europe. And what is heartening is the growth in ethnic channels aimed at expatriate communities in the region as well as global brands like the BBC with BBC Arabia that have been spurred by the dynamic video neighbourhood at 7° West.

On the issue of jamming, Dahbi states: “We are not guardians of content, we are an infrastructure provider operating in an environment where it is the role of regulators and governments to fix broadcasting laws and ensure they are respected.”

April 2013 | SatellitePro | 17

SatEvents

“We are working on school projects in Afghanistan and Lagos” – Shawkat Ahmed, YahSat Farmers in South Africa and hype around rain fade “In South Africa, we have more than 1,000 farmers outside Johannesburg, Durban and Pretoria, using our services. Every week a few hundred sites are added to our dashboard. Our service providers are bundling the service with

Shawkat Ahmed, CCO, YahSat

With the second satellite in space, and the YahClick broadband service launched commercially in the beginning of January 2013, solutions providers from Yemen, South Africa, Afghanistan and elsewhere in the region, are jockeying for rights to sell the consumer broadband solution in their respective regions.

Shawkat Ahmed, CCO, YahSat, gave me a quick update on the rollout of YahClick.

Projects in Afghanistan and Nigeria “We are working on school projects in Afghanistan and Lagos – a few hundred sites initially but once they are happy with the performance, we are talking of a few thousand sites. Because of so much demand coming for special projects, we have set up a special projects management division to make sure that the implementation is as per the plan. We are seeing demand for similar projects in other countries such as Iraq.

“Earlier, governments in developing countries found the cost of ownership and the recurring monthly cost unaffordable. For the first time they have a feasible solution, where, in many cases, they can start from USD 50 per site. On our part, we treat these projects very carefully because they will change the social fabric in these societies.

For the first time you have the possibility of connecting the remote areas in Afghanistan and other places with a product that sells for USD 400 to 500 and service plans starting from USD 20 per month.

18 | SatellitePro | April 2013

VOIP and so far, overall, orders for 30,000 units have been received.

“Regarding rain, the Hughes terminals have been selling in the US for the past seven to eight years. And Hughes sells 15,000 units a week. While you might suffer some degradation of service in heavy rain, it is not a major issue because of the Adaptive Coding and Modulation (ACM) technology. In South Africa, where we did our analysis recently, the results were 100% in terms of quality of

“For 95% of the RF spectrum, a simple spectrum monitoring system will provide enough capability” On the sidelines of the GVF summit, Roger Franklin, CEO, Crystal Solutions, spoke about the market he was targeting for his spectrum monitoring solutions.

“Typically, my client needs to monitor his carriers for spikes, power drops, interference events that are noticeable and record it because he has to show it as evidence to his satellite provider to undertake corrective action. Companies are increasingly doing more with the same number of people. Monitoring needs to be automatic and easy-to-use … operators at the NOC cannot pay attention to everything.”

On spectrum monitoring and the bottomline “There can be a definite link between spectrum monitoring and the bottom line, but like many failure detection systems, it may not be immediately obvious. With a spectrum monitoring and recording system such as Crystal’s, the customer can be alerted to potential outages by being aware of RF problems that are gradually getting worse over a period of time. With digital video, the picture often looks great until the RF deteriorates significantly, after which the video picture goes away. When using spectrum monitoring, the customer can be alerted to deteriorating RF conditions while video is still present. This enables the customer to prevent an outage, thereby protecting revenue or avoiding penalties. Additionally, with a recording of the RF spectrum, the customer may be able to prove when they are a victim of intentional interference which may impact their service level obligations.”

Roger Franklin, CEO, Crystal Solutions

Popular misconceptions about spectrum monitoring “The most popular misconception concerning spectrum monitoring is that it is expensive and you must have detailed spectrum analytics with any monitoring system. Our system is designed to be affordable, makes use of economically priced spectrum analysers (as well as high-end analysers), and monitors multiple spectrum segments from multiple RF sources. This enables a customer to leverage a single analyser to monitor many carriers. It also is not always economically practical to use a high-end and hard-to-configure spectrum analytics system to provide simple monitoring and early warning detection.

“The high-end systems should be reserved for times when detailed spectrum analysis is required. An analogy: why give every soldier a large HD camera pack to see things far away when you can simple give them a pair of binoculars. For 95% of the cases, a pair of binoculars will work just fine. Likewise, for 95% of the RF spectrum, a simple and easy-to-use spectrum monitoring and recording system, such as Crystal’s, will provide more than enough capability.”

service. Similarly in Afghanistan. The take-up is improving because many of the IT managers have tested it and they have found it better than the alternatives. The availability we are committing to is 99.5%. The best broadband network in Iraq would offer availability between 85 to 90% uptime. At the same time, in all of those markets, the issue of delivery to those subscribers is through mobile broadband using 3G technology. So you would have congestion issues.

“With YahClick, a 1Mbps service is available for USD35 – 40 and a 10Mbps service for USD100 depending on VAT and other costs.

These figures are unheard of in these countries.

For the first time you have 15 to 18Mbps in terms of service. In April, we should be launching in Yemen and in East Africa that includes Kenya, South Sudan, Tanzania and Ethiopia. We will then be launching in Pakistan and the remaining markets – 28 in all – by the end of 2013.”

“Developing ground infrastructure for connectivity from London to Malaysia”Paksat CEO, Usman Bajwa We met Usman Bajwa and his PAKSAT team a year after their striking debut at the 2012 edition of CABSAT. A year on, the CEO says that they have experienced faster than expected take-up of PAKSAT-1R capacity with more commitments on the anvil and the team is going through initial brainstorming for a follow-up satellite.

“It has been a few months since we set up our MCPC video broadcast service in collaboration with the Fujairah Media Group at the Fujairah Teleport. We have been successful in attracting regional TV channels to our satellite – channels that want to broadcast not only to Pakistan but to the region. The platform is a cost-effective plug-and-play video uplink solution that offers easy entry cost-wise to smaller broadcasters as well.

“We have the largest video neighborhood in Pakistan and now the hub in Fujairah has helped us attract a number of international

Ka-­stream: The new broadband offering from SkyStream

Usman Bajwa, CEO, Paksat

channels including Arabic and Persian TV channels. We will be soon be signing up with a few more TV channels operating out of Europe and the Middle East. We have also rolled out a similar service with our teleport service partners in Greece for TV channels that are operating out of Europe, small ethnic and religious channels that want to be received in the MEA and South Asia regions. In addition, a few customers have also started test transmissions from the UK. The strategy is to try and grow the infrastructure on the ground to enable us to offer not just video broadcast but data connectivity and internet broadband services from the UK all the way to Malaysia in the East - not many satellites have this sort of extended reach.”

On joining the Ka-bandwagon “We are keeping a close watch on the deployment of Ka-band solutions across the region and that is one of the options we are looking at for the next satellite.

“However the Ka-band based business model is a definite shift from our traditional role as satellite operators.

Operators are working towards a concept that comes close to a B2C approach. If the operator gets it right, the payoff will be huge. But a satellite operator will have to think like an ISP that is customer facing.

You are no longer just an operator that sells raw capacity and lets the solution provider package it. Also given the coverage that transcends national boundaries, you have to think like an ISP in multiple countries, keeping in mind the diverse preferences of customers in each country and the

Riyadh Al Adely, Managing Director, SkyStream

“We have launched the Ka-band service over Libya and will do so soon in Afghanistan with Avanti, and we are calling it Ka-stream. We are using the iDirect platform and very small terminals of 98 cms. We have purchased new capacity from Avanti and incidentally, this is our first deal with the operator.

We have co-located the Series 15100 Universal Satellite Hub from iDirect with SITA Teleport. Our main focus is on retail broadband. But we will not be selling directly to the end-user. We are going to design VNOs and circuits for customers – VNOs to resellers and circuits to corporate clients. Avanti is using the high-power spot beams and for Libya and Afghanistan where it is very dry, Kaband is ideal.”

regulatory landscape.

“While operators are currently working on different distribution models, including working with ISPs on the ground in individual countries, the challenge is finding the right fit between the service and the distribution partners.

“The ISP as a distributor poses a challenge for Ka-band services, as the satellite operator has to compete for the ISP’s attention and resources with other faster moving, higher volume services on its product portfolio. This in turn has an impact on the take-up of satellitebased broadband services in a territory.

April 2013 | SatellitePro | 19

SatEvents

An office in Dubai: Establishing a presence in the region

Michel Verbist, Head Business Development Satellite Services, Orange

“One of the major changes in the Middle East is the surge in capacity that is being made available given the number of satellite launches in the recent past. Traditionally in the past, we had C- and Ku-bands. Now we have a growing capacity in Ka-band. This region becomes all the more interesting because it is not affected by rain-fade.

From the Orange point of view, our satellite business has been very successful across the African continent where we are the number one satellite systems integrator to multinationals and enterprise customers.

“Right now, we have decided to become more visible in the local market and we are targeting companies with offices in the Middle East that are seeking connectivity. Our office here in Dubai has around 30 people and it is a dynamic environment that is already bringing in business in the enterprise vertical. Orange is looking at specific verticals such as oil and gas and maritime. Dubai is one of the international maritime hubs so from that perspective, we are very keen to explore the maritime vertical.

In addition, we are obliged as a satellite service provider to be present here to meet with regulations and work with local partners in terms of licencing requirements. Our presence at CABSAT has helped us cement some of those key local associations.

“While price is important, I believe we bring added value to the table given our in-house satellite expertise and the fact that we terminate the space segment in the terrestrial backbone. This allows us to provide end-to end services with robust SLAs.”

20 | SatellitePro | April 2013

Addressing the insatiable demand for bandwidth “The approach we take to product development is two-fold – one is about understanding the end-user needs within different vertical markets and clearly defining the use case. It is about understanding the applications that they are running and what we need to do to ensure that satellite is a mainstream connectivity option for them.

Then we look at our partners, the ones offering the service to the end-users. We develop our system in a manner that provides them the flexibility to offer a service that delivers the same level of quality of and user experience as a terrestrial network.

“The latest product we have developed is the next generation high-end X7 remote. It is our response to the market’s demand for higher throughput and higher bandwidth requirements. It has all the key product features required in an enterprise grade remote: an ideal form factor, variant power supply configurations to internally power higher wattage BUCs and an embedded 8-port VLAN aware switch that allows for secure traffic segregation. The X7 also has two fully independent DVB-S2 demodulators so that you can actually receive multicast traffic from a completely separate network than that of your unicast traffic. This becomes very interesting with the emergence of

Afghanistan: On the opportunity next door “We have a long-term view of the country post the 2014 NATO pullout. There will be a decline in demand for broadband and IP connectivity in the short term but we expect this to be compensated in the medium term with an increase in GSM backhaul connectivity. We have been in talks with GSM operators across the country and they have aggressive plans to expand their coverage across Afghanistan primarily through VSAT connectivity.

“Our experience in Pakistan was similar when with the spread of fibre, the IP trunking business over satellite disappeared but this decline was more

Toni Kousiafes, Product Manager, iDirect

high throughput satellites and spot beam architectures and is highly relevant in broadcast overlay type networks.

“This particular product has been designed and brought to market to address the insatiable demand for high throughput in all verticals that our partners serve including oil and gas, high-end enterprise and maritime, among others. Take a use case in oil and gas, in particular, offshore drilling rigs. The communication infrastructure is typically shared among multiple users that are collocated on the drilling rig; therefore the demand for throughput could be 10Mbps to 15 Mbps on the return carriers. We are addressing this need, all the while maintaining the value of using a shared Adaptive TDMA architecture.”

than compensated by the growth of GSM operations and the backhaul business.

“We are also looking at expanding into South Asian countries such as Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Myanmar.”

On the promise of DTH in Pakistan “In the coming months and year, we are hoping that DTH sees the light of day in Pakistan. The government had initially issued DTH licenses back in 2005, but due to the political and economic situation at the time, the licensees were unable to launch services and the investor interest also cooled off. We are now seeing an increased interest from investors to undertake DTH projects in Pakistan” PRO

SatTechnology: M2M

WHY L-BAND MAKES SENSE Sue Rutherford, Director, Market Development at SkyWave Mobile Communications makes a case for L-band especially in M2M applications

22 | SatellitePro | April 2013

K

u-band and C-band technologies offer bandwidth for streaming applications like video, voice and broadband connectivity. In many cases, however, high data throughput capability does not make financial sense for applications such as SCADA monitoring and control, fleet management and asset tracking.

L-band is often the most cost-effective solution for these kinds of applications.

This type of satellite communication offers real-time visibility to monitor the status of equipment and production between a remote point and the front office. It is often the answer when the goal is to meet increasing demand for richer information in M2M applications because it allows businesses to share data across diverse operations without the added cost associated with continuous connectivity required for internet, video and voice applications.

L-band satellite messaging terminals provide a fiscally responsible way to automate machine-to-machine (M2M) communications by sending and receiving the equivalent of text messages.

The technology meets the increasing demand for richer information in remote applications and data sharing between diverse operations without the added cost associated with continuous connectivity.

L-band satellite messaging terminals offer many features that make them very attractive for remote monitoring and tracking SCADA telemetry applications:

“L-band messaging terminals are a third of the cost or less of Ku- and C-band systems while ongoing airtime costs can be an even smaller fraction” I`^_k j`q\ `em\jkd\ek1 L-band messaging terminals are a third of the cost or less of Ku- and C-band systems while ongoing airtime costs can be an even smaller fraction.

Choosing L-band terminals allows you to stretch communication budgets while enjoying complete visibility.

GXp ]fi [XkX# efk fm\i_\X[1 L-band terminals are available that use a special messaging protocol allowing users to only pay for the data that is sent over the satellite.

It isn’t necessary to waste money sending bulky TCP/IP and other protocol overheads over the air.

IX`e$]X[\ i\j`jkXek1 L-band terminals operate at a lower frequency, which means they are not susceptible to the interruptions in communication that plague Ku and C-band equipment. The result is a reliable connection to your equipment regardless of the weather.

JdXcc ]ffkgi`ek1 Ku-and C-band antennas can be up to 2.4 metres in diameter which is problematic if installation space is at a premium. [L-band] terminals are available that are less than 0.16 metres in diameter,

Ku-and C-band antennas can be up to 2.4 metres in diameter which is problematic if installation space is at a premium. [L-band] terminals are available that are less than 0.16 metres in diameter, which provide more installation flexibility

which provide more installation flexibility.

Ef dfi\ gf`ek`e^ \iifij1 Ku- and C-band systems need careful pointing to the satellite to ensure a reliable connection.

L-band satellite terminals are not bound by these strict requirements. Installation is significantly easier and connections are more reliable since general pointing towards the satellite is all that is needed. <e\i^p \]ÔZ`\ek1 With the right solution, L-band messaging terminals can operate on small solar panels or even AA batteries making them less expensive to power and install. This means there is no need to install and operate generators to run equipment. @eZfejg`Zlflj1 Unlike Ku- and C-band antennas, L-band satellite terminals do not look like a TV satellite antenna and are not attractive to thieves. This allows businesses to protect their critical communication link.

JdXik1 Beyond being a simple communication modem, L-band messaging terminals can function like a Remote Terminal Unit (RTU), allowing users to programme local intelligence. This allows users to dictate under what conditions information should be sent over the satellite and keep airtime costs down while still receiving urgent communications instantly. :fee\Zk\[1 In addition to being smart, L-band messaging terminal technology can be sourced with analogue, digital and serial interfaces built right into the device.

Monitor sensors, talk to existing RTUs using Modbus and more without the costs of external controllers.

Fe k_\ dfm\1 Because L-band terminals

“With the right solution, L-band messaging terminals can operate on small solar panels or even AA batteries making them less expensive to power and install” only require general pointing, they can be used for mobile assets like trucks and offshore supply vessels. This results in simplification of the procurement process by expanding a communication platform to track vehicles, text-message drivers and monitor fuel efficiency.

The features of L-band technology offer businesses many benefits. For instance, it is a cost-effective way to improve workflow.

Communicating scheduled or one-off diagnostic data via satellite eliminates the need for manual data collection and immediately draws attention to degrading equipment and necessary maintenance and performance visits. Maintenance visits become more productive and are more likely to result in a first-time fix because diagnostics and preventive maintenance can be performed before sending a technician.

This ensures the right equipment to complete repairs will be available on site.

The reduction in time spent and a quicker resolution alleviates workflow demands.

Communicating through an L-band satellite solution can also increase production. Vital data can be sent and received in real time to manage and improve production. For instance, pressure, volume and flow collected at regular intervals can trigger remote adjustments to run assets most efficiently. In other situations, real time data can uncover maintenance issues before an outage occurs or equipment fails.

Data communicated via satellite can also be seamlessly integrated with enterprise back-office systems. This positively affects ERP, service management and parts management systems. It also automates billing, scheduling and time and expense reporting. From a macro perspective, it also improves service analytics for performance, HR and sales.

When operational decisions and actions can be made in the moment, lag costs can be eliminated. Immediate satellite communications can also prevent escalating costs caused by lost resources from leaks.

As an added benefit, companies are better equipped to reduce risks and increase employee safety by minimising the number of visits to remote areas.

Remote monitoring and operations management requires technology that delivers consistent reliable communication service. When L-band satellite messaging technology is integrated into the automation processes, businesses have the communication tools to increase productivity and decrease costs across the enterprise. PRO April 2013 | SatellitePro | 23

SatVertical: Telco

A COMMUNICATIONS STORY: THE SATELLITEPRO TELCO ROUNDTABLE Moderator David Hartshorn prefaced the discussion by observing that “the picket fences between telcos and the wireless industry has broken down. We have converged to a significant extent and this is now no longer a telco story or a satellite story – it is a communications story”. We offer a fascinating range of views aired during the two-hour roundtable On the question of providing backup The discussion on backup opened with moderator, David Hartshorn, discussing the various bandwidths available and how satellite operators need to regard each bandwidth as a ‘tool’ in their ‘tool-box’.

Sanford Jewett (Thuraya): We are currently in discussion with maritime solutions providers who are looking at L-band as a backup to Kaband when weather conditions deteriorate.

Dr. Harald Stange (Romantis): Customers are looking for products that will allow them to switch traffic from one bandwidth to another to ensure reliability. We are currently working with operators such as ABS with solutions that will allow the switching from Ka-band to C- or Ku-band in the event of rain. The measuring device on the product checks signal levels and when it gets lower than the threshold specified, the service will automatically switch to Ku-band and return

Ajay Jethwani Senior Sales Director ABS

Dr. Harald Stange, Managing Director and CEO, Romantis

Ahmed Al Muhaideb, Vice President – IPTV & Broadcasting Services, du

“Considering limited orbital “It comes down to who “Rain is not as big an slots, these agreements your client is and the SLAs issue in this region as it (Condosat) are significant” that are defined” is over Africa” 24 | SatellitePro | April 2013

Eng. Amjad Al-Mansouri, Project Manager Business Development, Gulfsat

Sanford Jewett, Vice President of Marketing, Thuraya

David Hartshorn, Secretary General, GVF

“Satellite is crucial in providing a secure connection especially when it comes to banks, enterprise and government”

“Leveraging capabilities and selling capacity at lower prices per megabit – that’s what customers want”

“We are working with broadcasters’ associations globally on a campaign to protect continued access to C-band from the wireless industry“

when the service improves. These solutions are in response to the new satellites in space offering a range of bandwidths.

Ahmad Al Muhaidib (du): I do not understand the business case for investing in two bandwidths – double the running costs for the same service. Since rain is not as big an issue in this region as it is over Africa, we do not face major issues with degradation of signals. Moreover, our uplink stations have large enough dishes with enough signal strength to cover any degradation issues, if at all. We have been approached by satellite service providers with the offer of Ka-band and as with all other requirements, we are guided by our end-users’ needs.

Dr. Harald Stange (Romantis): It comes down to who your client is and the SLAs that are defined. Maritime customers, for instance, are willing to pay for two bandwidths because they cannot afford a degradation of service. As for operators and solutions providers, they have a more reliable service to sell and they will integrate that into their pricing schemes. Banks in the region, for instance, cannot afford degradation of service with an ATM machine not working for even half an hour.

John Huddle (Thuraya): When the revenue models for media companies is based on subscription, ie; people paying for content, the companies do not really care about building in redundant services. But as you move into an advertising-based model, broadcasters are willing to pay a significant

amount of money for backup facilities. I believe the same will happen in this region as models change and that will determine the appetite for investments in backup facilities.

it costs to ensure that their viewers get the highest quality possible. Some clients are alright with a bit of time delay and some repeat of signals – as a provider, we need to offer a range of solutions.

Sanford Jewett (Thuraya): Historically operators did not want to be backup providers and you had to pay double the price for backup. Operators are now taking a more flexible point of view. In the terrestrial GSM world, no one builds a network anymore.

They are all sharing facilities – sharing towers and establishing roaming agreements with each other to fill in the gaps. This way of thinking needs to come into the satellite industry. Leveraging capabilities and selling capacity at lower prices per megabit – that’s what customers want.

Ajay Jethwani (ABS): We have, for instance, signed a multi-transponder Condosat Agreement with KT corporation for multiple C and Ku-band transponders on ABS’ satellites. Considering limited orbital slots, the importance to utilise frequencies efficiently, and the need to save on satellite and launch costs – these agreements are significant.

David Hartshorn (GVF): The interest in hosted payloads is growing. You now have a trade association – the Hosted Payload Association – the concept is definitely getting more traction. We are working with broadcasters’ associations globally on a campaign to protect continued access to C-band from the wireless industry and currently trenches are

Need for flexibility in approach Moderator David Hartshorn initiated this discussion by referring to the trend among some broadcasters who were doing SNG uplinks with consumer class terminals.

“These broadcasters were formerly using terminals that cost more than USD 100,000 and they are currently using solutions that cost a few hundred dollars.” Is this a potential game-changer for the broadcasting sector?

Roger Franklin (Crystal): With news gathering and especially breaking news, first-to-air beats quality of transmission so broadcaster are willing to compromise on quality. Broadcasting is not an application.

It is a series of applications and with SNG, If you get the content before anyone else, my willingness to accept lower quality in signals would be higher. Broadcasters are not alone with regard to exploring this opportunity, humanitarian organisations and others are looking at it. And lastly, if you are alright with recording the feed and sending it, latency ceases to be an issue.

Dr.Harald Stange (Romantis): We handle a lot of capacity and it is interesting to see where demand comes from. For instance, with football in Italy, we can never sell enough capacity. They are willing to pay whatever

April 2013 | SatellitePro | 25

SatVertical: Telco

being dug in preparation for the 2015 World Radiocommunication Conference.

On the grey market, disaster relief, competitive prices and other issues Sanford Jewett (Thuraya): Is there a role for MSS in the telco sector? We have just signed a deal with the Japanese telecommunications firm, Softbank. When the earthquake and Tsunami took place, millions of subscribers were out of service. Disasters bring down the GSM network and this has happened all along our footprint, be it in Indonesia or Iraq.

MSS services are then vital. Moreover we have distribution arrangements with telcos such as Etisalat, Zain and others. We will be announcing, next week in Satellite 2013, the launch of the Thuraya SatSleeve that connects your iPhone to Thuraya’s satellite network, allowing you to stay connected almost anywhere in the world.

Ahmad Al Muhaideb (du): Although a substantial portion of our business is broadcast, we have a growing VSAT solution and it is critical to offer a complete solution to customers especially in terms of backhaul where again, satellite is critical.

Eng. Amjad Al-Mansouri (Gulfsat): Satellite is ideal for point-to-multipoint services. The other important factor is security especially when it comes to banks, enterprise and government.

We have deployed secure connectivity in more than 90 countries across the world for a Gulfbased Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA). From VOIP to video conferencing, this is a closed, fully secure network.

Roger Franklin, President and CEO, Crystal Solutions

“With news gathering and especially breaking news, firstto-air beats quality of transmission” 26 | SatellitePro | April 2013

Khaled Mokhtar (Access Partnership): One of the big advantages of a satellite network vis-à-vis mission critical services is that it is not easily interrupted or disrupted. There is of course an ongoing concern about regulations. It is not unique to this part of the world. However on the part of the regulatory authorities in the region, there is a real concern that such forms of communication can be misused by criminal elements. There is a problem of spelling out and enforcing regulations in such a way that normal business practices are not hampered. In addition, in this region we do not have reliable statistics on the licenced terminals in each country – not just the number but also the kind of terminals.

These statistics will go a long way in beginning to solve the grey market issue.

Ajay Jethwani (ABS): It is true that the satellite industry is under pressure to bring down costs. In this regard, we are

Khaled Mokhtar, Director, Middle East & North Africa, Access Partnership

“There is an ongoing concern about regulations. It is not unique to this part of the world”

particularly proud of the service we are currently offering on ABS-3 over Africa where we are concentrating on backhaul.

The price between USD 400 and 500 per megabit is on par with fibre. In landlocked countries, this is of great benefit.

Ahmad Al Muhaideb (du): The marketing impact of the satellite industry may seem less as compared to other sectors in the communications industry because the solutions are largely meant for government , enterprise and other sectors. It is not sold to an end-user directly.

David Hartshorn (GVF): We are beginning to see cloud-related activity on the horizon in conferences. Some of our member companies are much more forward thinking and they believe the cloud is a perfect avenue for the satellite industry because of the security angle. They are in the cloud space against that value proposition. PRO

John Huddle, Head of Media & Broadcast, Thuraya

“As revenue models change for broadcasters (from subscription to advertising), the appetite for backup facilities increases”

High Performance.

Open Architecture.

When you have it all, that’s

At Intelsat we’re used to big things.

We already own and operate the biggest satellite, teleport and fiber infrastructure network in the world. But we’ve got even bigger plans.

Intelsat EpicNG – our Next Generation high-performance satellite platform with an innovative combination of C-, Ku- and Ka-bands, wide beams, spot beams, and frequency re-use. * High Performance: high throughput, efficiency and reliability * Open Architecture: scalable, forward and backwards compatibility with your existing hardware * Greater Control: you define network topology and service elements * Optimal Coverage: all-continent coverage and a complementary overlay with Intelsat’s unmatched global fleet For you, this means lower cost of ownership.

More control. More choices. That’s Epic.

Meet with Intelsat during NAB 2013 at Booth SU3111.

Contact us at mobility@intelsat.com for details.

Epic NG www.intelsatepic.com

SatVertical: Broadcast

GROWING BROADCAST NEIGHBOURHOODS ACROSS AFRICA At the helm of SES’ initiative in Africa, Ibrahima GuimbaSaidou, SVP, Commercial, SES, in conversation with SatellitePro ME, believes that the strategy to build vibrant broadcast neighbourhoods across Africa will take more than selling raw capacity to broadcasters

T

he ITU deadline for the transition from analogue to digital broadcasting is a couple of years away and is a bumpy ride at best for most African countries. A report from the African Telecommunications Union (ATU) states that “43 countries look unlikely to meet the ITU’s 2015 deadline”.

Acknowledging the difficulties of rolling out terrestrial digital (DTT) broadcast equipment, the satellite companies are putting forward DTH satellite as an alternative. The arguments put forward by operators include the huge problem of theft of cable, the instant reach of satellites to underserved semi-urban and rural areas and lastly the possibility of a pan-African free-to-air bouquet, reaching millions of TV viewers to pique the interest of pan-African advertisers.

Towards increasing viewers to their respective broadcast neighbourhoods, satellite operators are putting on the table some compelling solutions. For instance, an average television viewer in Africa is poised to get on purchase of a Samsung 32” LED TV, a built-in satellite receiver, so that viewers can easily get access to the relevant FTA channels . At the helm of SES’ initiative in Africa, Ibrahima Guimba-Saidou, SVP,

28 | SatellitePro | April 2013

Commercial, SES, believes that the strategy to build vibrant free-to-air and free-toview broadcast neighbourhoods across the continent will take more than selling raw capacity to broadcasters.

Speaking to SatellitePro ME at a particularly busy SES stand at CABSAT 2013, Guimba-Saidou outlined a strategy that involved every player in the broadcast ecosystem right down to the installer.

“Our approach to the African market is that of a technical enabler. As a neutral service provider we build on three pillars that complement each other. Taking into account the local dynamics within individual countries in our coverage area, we will work towards building channel neighbourhoods for Anglophone and Francophone countries and a third pillar combining the two language groups including Arabic and Portuguese language channels.

“Content is key to building thriving neighbourhoods. No matter how good a channel is, an English language channel will not work over a Francophone country and vice versa. Also, given that the world is evolving quickly, we need a bridge between those key language groups and therefore the

third pillar.”

Strong viewership numbers also have an impact on lowering the entry barrier for broadcasters, asserts Guimba-Saidou.

“In the orbital location 28.2 deg, one of our broadcasters, Multi TV from Ghana, has moved past one million viewers. When you have that volume, it makes the cost of the set-top-box competitive, thus lowering the critical entry barrier.

“The media sector in Africa is opening up, as a growing middle class demands more channels and more content is produced in Africa. The deadline of June 2015 by which digital migration is to take place creates a unique opportunity for the market. We can support these changes by creating value for both viewers and broadcasters alike.”

Distribution strategy is critical Apart from relevant content and entry costs, in his presentation at CABSAT, GuimbaSaidou stated that successful distribution is key to success.

“A variety of DTH businesses around the globe have failed based on insufficient distribution performance or the absence of a distribution strategy.”

Guimba- Saidou’s team hopes to optimise distribution strategies through an installer accreditation programme through the Elevate Installer programme.

“In most developing countries, the quality of installation is not that great because of a lack of skills. On an average, a staggering 80% of the antennas are deemed to be wrongly aligned. if you are a new subscriber having spent your money on a brand new installation and you find the picture blurry after a strong gust of wind, you assume it is the satellite to blame.

“What we have done is to develop an installer programme and create an ecosystem where they are incentivised to recruit others. In many of these countries they are thirsty for knowhow and what is more, we are offering a training programme at no cost that in turn, allows them to make money through referrals. In addition to the training, they are given uniforms, badges and caps to create a sense of belonging and pride. Trained installers positively impact

African Countries by GDP

$285.4 b $188.4 b $173 b $140.6 b $91.4 b $75.5 b $62.3 b $39.6 b $29.4 b $28.5 b $26.2 b $22.2 b South Africa

Egypt

Nigeria

Ibrahima Guimba-Saidou, SVP, Commercial, SES

“A variety of DTH businesses around the globe have failed based on insufficient distribution performance or the absence of a distribution strategy”

Algeria

Morocco

Angola

Libya

Tunisia

Kenya

Ethiopia

Ghana

Sources (SES) data.wordbank.com www.google.com/publicdata en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gross_domestic_product

Cameroon

April 2013 | SatellitePro | 29

SatVertical: Broadcast

“The media sector in Africa is opening up. The deadline of June 2015 by which digital migration is to take place creates a unique opportunity for the market. We can support these changes by creating value for both viewers and broadcasters alike”

30 | SatellitePro | April 2013

viewership experience and eventually it has an impact on cost to the end-user.”

Partnerships with the consumer electronics sector Moving beyond the traditional role of a satellite operator where support stops at the broadcaster level, Guimba-Saidou and his team are establishing partnerships with prominent names in the consumer electronics sector.

Currently, SES and Samsung are promoting free-to-air reception across six African countries (32” screen with integrated MPEG4/DVB-S2 receiver).

“Samsung has developed a TV that is robust enough to withstand dust, rain and most importantly, fluctuations in electricity. The 32” LED TV has an integrated FTA satellite receiver.

It’s the first built-in satellite receiver in a TV made for Africa. The customers purchase the TV knowing that they have access to FTA channels so they don’t have to worry about paying for subscription. In the process, we hope to strengthen the orbital location. ” On the larger objectives, Guimba- Saidou says he wants to offer similar solutions to all the 54 countries in Africa over time.

“Of course, we cannot hope to offer services to all 54 countries on day one and that is why we are focusing on countries such as Nigeria and Ghana and others where the media industry is developed. And to create momentum in other key countries, we have a caravan that delivers workshops on how satellite capacity can support digital migration, free-to-air market development and broadband services. The SES Caravans have visited 13 countries from November 2011 to November 2012.”

The continent ‘offers good surprises’ states Guimba-Saidou when quizzed about the potential in Africa and despite the fact that SES, as a satellite operator, was not packaging content, the operator was playing an enabling role that Guimba-Saidou was keen to underline.

“As broadcasters launch their own bouquets, we put our customers in touch with one another to allow them to leverage each other ‘s content. For instance, we put a customer in Nigeria in touch with a customer in Kenya since they are both Anglophone

Bridging the Digital Divide t 300 million people in Africa find themselves over 50kms from a fibre or cable broadband connection t An additional 400 million people on the continent have no internet access at all t While there are plans to increase fibre connectivity across the African continent by 2013 or 2014, satellite has the advantage of reach, providing an efficient way of connecting the majority of the 700 million unconnected people t Fibre bridges the digital divide between the Western World and Africa, but does not bridge the digital divide within Africa between urban and non-urban areas Source: SES

countries. They can then enhance the value proposition for their respective viewers by exchanging content.”

“As an operator, our core competency lies in ensuring that content that has been produced is put on a satellite in the most cost efficient way. We do offer playout services and in some cases, we help our partners by sharing our market research.”

With offices in Johannesburg, Ghana and a new branch to open in East Africa, GuimbaSaidou is getting closer to where his potential customers are.

With the 2015 deadline looming for the transition to digital broadcasting and as Africa grapples with regulatory and cost-related issues hampering the transition, satellite operators are taking on the role as key enablers for the DTT transition across Africa. PRO

www.itc.sa

ITC, a leading telecom operator in KSA with VSAT, ISP and DSP licenses since 2005, with a stateof-the-art teleport, internet, connectivity and data center solutions over its independent NGN network and 7 international gateways.

ITC VSAT with 3 different VSAT Hubs, Fully Redundant Earth Stations, Different Technologies DVBS2/ECM, DOCSIS & SCPC serving 10,000+ customers with 24/7 SLA driven support.

In 2013, ITC was awarded the best Saudi Telecom Operator (Business Services Provider) by local and international experts.

Capacity

MENA Region

920 000 788

MPLS

Local & International

Connect

Internet & L3VPN

Your professional ICT business partner

SatOperator

PRIVATE EQUITY

SHAPING THE SATELLITE DREAM European-based private equity firm, Permira, has enjoyed unqualified success with investments in the satellite industry and the current investment in Asia Broadcast Satellite (ABS) promises to write a new chapter in lowering satellite launch costs. We ask Nic Volpi, Principal at Permira, why the satellite industry continues to be a sound investment

I

n March 2012, a joint procurement

by Asia Broadcast Satellite (ABS) and Satelites Mexicanos (Satmex) resulted in Boeing’s first order for the 702SP satellite. This was a landmark deal. The agreement that consisted of four satellites, with options for four additional satellites, created economies of scale through the classic ‘bulk buying’ route.

Most significantly for ABS and the industry, the 702SP features all-electric propulsion, which minimises spacecraft launch mass and maximises available payload. Coupled with that, US-based private launch services company, SpaceX, is offering geosynchronous launches for USD 30 million per satellite, that is significantly lower than prevailing launch rates in the market.

When ABS founder Tom Choi grew his business between 2006 and 2010 from 32 | SatellitePro | April 2013

one to four satellites, the plan was to have a number of satellites to ensure a degree of independence and steady cash flow for future expansion. With ABS-2 on the anvil, reportedly Asia’s biggest satellite with 89 active transponders, there was a need for substantial equity investment.

Enter Permira in the year 2010, a European-based private equity firm, with the required USD 240 million in investment funds. The Citi Venture Capital International (CVCI) along with Asia Debt Management Capital, and other small shareholders, that had funded ABS during the initial years, were bought out by Permira and ABS’ management. Permira became the majority shareholder.

In a recent interview with trade magazine Via Satellite, Tom Choi, is quoted as describing the relationship with Permira

Nic Volpi, Principal, Permira

ABS 2

as a “marriage made in heaven”.

“We were so fortunate to have the Permira funds come in during this time to become our majority shareholder. They are the most experienced investor in our industry. In the past, they had owned both Intelsat and Inmarsat, and they exited those investments with a substantial level of returns.”

With the entire Permira-ABS transaction reportedly backed 100% by equity, the financing of ABS-2 was made possible along with securing the landmark deal with Boeing for additional satellites.

Track record in the satellite sector In buying ABS, Permira is focusing on a sector in which it has considerable experience, having previously made lucrative investments in Inmarsat and

“With ABS and its strong entrepreneurial team, we have the opportunity to grow the business by focusing on key emerging markets” Luxembourg-based Intelsat. The Inmarsat and Intelsat deals generated respectively four times and 10 times returns for Permira’s investors.

On the company’s proven track record in the satellite industry, Nic Volpi, Principal at Permira and based in the Menlo Park office, elaborates: “We are a private equity business that has been in the business for more than 25 years now.

We started in Europe and we are now in Asia and the Americas as well. With both a global and local approach, we focus on certain sectors that we have spent substantial amount of time, resources and capital such as the telecom, media and technology sectors (TMT). Within the TMT sector, we find interesting investment opportunities in sub-sectors such as the satellite industry where we believe we can

create significant value.”

The Inmarsat deal in 2003 was valued at USD 1.538bn and Intelsat was sold for USD 3.1bn in January 2005 to four private equity firms including Permira. A year after it was acquired, Intelsat bought rival operator PanAmSat Holding Corp. for USD 3.2 bn to create the world’s No. 1 satellite operator.

The mind-boggling numbers often dominate the headlines – however, Volpi stresses – that people are key to the success of investments.

“Our first parley into satellite was back in 2003. We invested in Inmarsat. There was a point when it was being privatised and The Permira Funds took control of the company and brought in Andrew Sukawaty who is the current Chairman. Basically we invested in his vision to transform the business which was successful and we exited when the company went public. This was in 2005.

“We then also started looking at Intelsat.

It was owned by various government entities around the world and they were going to privatise the business. We came in and brought in new management under the leadership of David McGlade and who is the current CEO of the business and it grew into the largest global FSS in the world. Basically, the size of the business doubled and The Permira Funds exited the company, selling to a group of private equity firms that currently own Intelsat.

“We were lucky to attract Andy who was from outside the satellite industry and he clearly was able to understand the dynamics from his previous experiences and really drive the transformation. Similarly with McGlade.

There is no substitute to having people of the calibre of McGlade and Andy, James Frownfelter and Tom Choi who are all great operators.”

Founded in 2006, ABS is smaller than either Inmarsat or Intelsat, but has plans to expand rapidly through strategic partnerships, acquisitions and by building its own satellites.

On the current investment, Volpi explains the approach: “After Intelsat, we continued to follow the sector. We had keen interest in finding other ways to invest in the April 2013 | SatellitePro | 33

SatOperator

“Ultimately we need to find a way to lower the cost per bit and that is the direction the telecom industry is taking and one of the ways to do that is to lower the Capex requirements to launch a satellite”

34 | SatellitePro | April 2013

sector and basically take advantage of the knowledge, network and capability that we had built in the sector. Each time our strategy has been different depending on the company.

“With Inmarsat, it was to invest behind a significant capital programme and transform the business. With Intelsat, it was an opportunity to invest in a leading operator, merge it with another significant operator (PanAm Sat) and create the largest operator in the world. With ABS and its strong entrepreneurial team, we have the opportunity to grow the business by focusing on key emerging markets.”

From investing in the most advanced mobile communications spacecraft as in the case of Inmarsat, to supporting ABS as it strives to join the ranks of the large global operators, the one-company-ata-time approach has clearly worked for Permira. Volpi cites the twin-mantra of the company: strong local networks and sector expertise, while stating, “Our goal is to invest in a limited number of companies and spend a lot of quality time with the companies helping create value as they achieve their goals.”

With a combination of their own funds and debt to pay for takeovers, firms such as Permira typically seek to expand the companies they buy or to improve their performance before exiting within a period of around five years. The satellite business has been described as “a very stable business from the standpoint of revenue streams, and margins are pretty solid”.

Currently on the board of ABS with two of his colleagues from Permira, Volpi has a ringside view of the industry, its strengths and vulnerabilities.

“The sector is averse to risk. A lot of the technology used on satellites today is technology that has been around for a long time – that has been tried and tested.

Obviously this has a lot to do with the fact that you cannot send a technician to space and fix problems in a satellite.

“A significant amount of Capex goes into the manufacture and launch of satellites and the industry understandably takes a conservative view of what technology risks they are going to undertake.”

Innovative technologies Having said that, ABS, backed by Permira, is now writing the next chapter in making the satellite industry competitive with the allelectric propulsion for the new satellites.

Competitiveness is key for the industry, asserts Volpi.

“Ultimately we need to find a way to lower the cost per bit and that is the direction the telecom industry is taking and one of the ways to do that is to lower the Capex requirements to launch a satellite.“ Experts will tell you that the downside of the “all-electric” telecommunications spacecraft is that it takes longer to put a satellite in its final orbital slot – somewhere between five to six months.

Acknowledging this tradeoff, Volpi explains that by pre-designing certain configurations, the period of manufacture has been reduced from around 30 months to 24 months, thus compensating for the delay in putting the satellite in its final orbital slot.

A self-confessed optimist, Volpi commends the satellite industry for its resilience especially during the recent recession.

“There will be lots of places in the world where terrestrial systems will never be as good and the only way to communicate is through satellite. Among the areas of growth, we see potential in applications ranging from wireless backhaul and video applications to M2M and surveillance.

“Vulnerabilities for the industry stem from the fact that technology on the ground will find ways to improve and to displace satellite-based technology – be it WiMAX or other solutions. However the industry is resilient and I think that the satellite industry will innovate and find new ways to stay competitive.”

Permira along with ABS will be searching for success in emerging markets, echoing the direction the industry at large is taking. With ABS-2 slated to quadruple the amount of spectrum the company has at 75 degrees and revenues poised to double at 80% utilisation levels, according to ABS’ Choi, the exciting combination of organic growth driven by new technologies is already garnering keen attention from the industry. PRO

SatTechnology: Product Reviews

Linwave’s Pallet amplifiers

Linwave is introducing a range of Miniature Pallet Power Amplifiers (MPPA). The amplifiers use GaN device technology to provide maximum operational bandwidth whilst simultaneously providing high output power and efficiency. Linwave utilises house chip and wire technology combined with semiconductor die to produce, the company claims, some of the smallest pallet amplifiers currently available. The assemblies use eutectic die attach to mount the power devices to high thermal conductivity expansion matched heat

spreaders for maximum device cooling and increased reliability. The amplifier modules are assembled in a class 10,000 clean room utilising automated wire bonding. The pallets can be provided as open modules for integration within a customer’s end product or supplied complete in custom housings. Hermetic sealing of packaged amplifiers is provided by laser welding. Product can be environmentally screened in accordance with military standards. www.linwave.co.uk

Peak Communications’ Glowlink enhances RTR50 launched geolocation signal The Peak RTR50 is a next generation, remote mounted, L-Band, Beacon Tracking Receiver which reportedly provides a solution to tracking and measuring of ‘CW’ satellite beacon signals from commercial satellites.

The unit is designed primarily for telemetry and control applications including upLink power and antenna tracking control, typically in earth stations using medium to large antennas.

The RTR50 is a miniaturised version of the popular Peak PRT50 rack-mounted Beacon receiver and is presented in a weatherproof enclosure for external mounting or as an OEM style module for further integration into customer sub-systems.

The RTR50 unit incorporates a digital sideband rejection system to ensure correct signal locking and the primary user interface is via remote control. www.peakcom.co.uk 36 | SatellitePro | April 2013

Glowlink has launched the GS380, a product that reportedly improves the performance and effectiveness of satellite interference geolocation systems. The GS380 preprocesses and extracts signals of interests, the company claims, such that previously impossible-to-geolocate interferers can be readily located. This is of particular importance in cases where interference signals becomes heavily masked by trafficbearing carriers. www.glowlink.com

Satcom solutions from TeleCommunication Systems (TCS)

Snap 1.2m Lite VSAT Terminal The Snap 1.2m Lite VSAT terminal is a pack-inthe-box VSAT solution for military applications.

Field-upgradeable to X-, Ku- or Ka-band with a simple swap of the feed boom assembly, the terminal is reportedly designed for rapid deployment, ease of use and suitability for harsh operating environments. The Snap 1.2m Lite Terminal interfaces with the TCS’ Impact baseband packages, enabling an extension of a common IP operating environment throughout a global network.

Low-cost Terminal Solution TCS, Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin have developed satellite terminals for protected communications on the move and at the halt. This Low-cost Terminal (LCT) solution reportedly addresses the military’s need for lower cost technologies and systems to enable protected and secure communications for tactical warfighters in contested environments and areas of denied communications. It consists of two classes of equipment: a Protected Communications OnThe-Move (P-COTM) terminal and a Protected SIPR/NIPR Access Point (P-SNAP) terminal.

X/Ku Shipboard Antenna The multiband X/Ku Shipboard Antenna is one of many TCS maritime solutions reportedly used by the Norwegian Navy’s NANSEN Frigate Upgrade programme, the Royal Australian Navy and the German Navy’s F125 programme. www.telecomsys.com

Phasor Solutions successfully tests the 1” thick, flat-phased array antenna UK-based Phasor Solutions Ltd, has successfully concluded its first test communicating with a Geostationary satellite, Intelsat 905. Live data streams were transmitted in the Ku satellite bands over a satellite link supported by a Phasor low profile antenna system set up in London.

The patented Phasor antenna reportedly provides travellers on moving vehicles such as trains, airplanes, ships or military vehicles with high bandwidth internet communications wherever they are, including the world’s most remote locations.

Reportedly measuring only 1”, the antenna which can be made to fit any surface, flat or conformal, thus conveniently replacing today’s large moving parabolic dishes with a lowprofile antenna system which electronically locks to any chosen satellite. With no moving parts, the Phasor antenna is nearly invisible and far more reliable than existing systems.

From a technical point of view, the company claims, the gain of the array was shown to be equivalent to that of a conventional parabolic reflector antenna with a similar aperture thus proving the beam forming

capability of the array which is achieved by populating the antennas with thousand of microwave integrated semiconductors, which each contribute to the active electronic autoalignment and tracking of the signal.

Phasor Solutions is reportedly preparing a number of satellite communication products, signing agreements with key suppliers, and entering into business partnerships with several key global communications companies in the commercial and defence markets.

Designs are currently being implemented to address the X, Ku, Ka satcom frequency bands. www.phasorsolutions.com

Eutelsat and OneAccess launch enterprise services on KA-SAT satellite Eutelsat Communications and OneAccess, a manufacturer of multiservice routers and Carrier Ethernet access devices, have joined forces to develop a platform for businesses designed to deliver services operated on Eutelsat’s KA-SAT High Throughput Satellite reportedly in a secure VPN environment.

The service is reportedly available across KA-SAT’s entire footprint, making satellite communications

more affordable, the company claims, for businesses by delivering DSL-like service at DSL-like prices.

OneAccess has worked in collaboration with Eutelsat to develop a dedicated One1520 satellite router that incorporates integrated traffic acceleration, IP

routing and IP-VPN secure transport to deliver 20Mbps download and 6Mbps upload. The resulting new business services based on this innovative platform are ideal, the company claims, for delivering internet access to businesses with dispersed networks of offices where maintaining a high-speed, secure, interbranch communications network is critical. www.eutelsat.com

Megahertz partners with C-Com for portable solution

Megahertz Broadcast Systems (MHz), a systems integrator, has signed a partnership agreement with C-Com Satellite Systems Inc, a provider of mobile auto-deploying satellite antenna systems. The new deal will see MHz using Ku- and Ka-band VSAT satellite equipment from C-Com for digital SNG solutions for broadcast journalists on the move.

Initially, the partnership will focus on C-Com’s 75cm and 98cm iNetVu antenna systems. This will reportedly allow broadcasters to maximise the economic benefits of VSAT through Ka-band, making location reporting an economic proposition for smaller and regional news operations, while delivering immediacy and convenience for the largest broadcasters.

Dr. Leslie Klein, CEO of C-Com Satellite Systems, added, “Our products are popular with users in multiple industry sectors. With over 6000 antennas already deployed on all continents they have proven to be cost effective and reliable. By working with Megahertz we can assist them to create turnkey solutions, which are custom made for the demanding broadcast market. The demand for news from around the world continues to grow, and we are excited to be a part of it.” www.c-comsat.com April 2013 | SatellitePro | 37

SatTechnology: Product Reviews

ThinKom’s new tactical communications for military users

ThinKom Solutions reported that it has successfully demonstrated a low-profile X/ Ka-band satcom-on-the-Move (SOTM) system at the Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG) in Aberdeen, MD. The test was performed in conjunction with The Space and Terrestrial Communications Directorate (S&TCD) of the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center (CERDEC). The system, mounted on a Humvee, reportedly displayed data rates of 3MBps on receive (downlink) and 1.5Mbps on transmit (uplink) on XTAR-LANT while on the move.

The X/Ka-band system is an integrated on-the-move satellite antenna terminal in an low-profile (13-inch-high), 47-inch by

47-inch footprint, with high-end (3+ Mbps) bi-directional data communications capability and reportedly provides efficient use of satellite resources, creating cost savings for government and military customers.

ThinKom’s SOTM antenna technology is based on the Continuous Transverse Stub (CTS) Flatplate antenna technology. CTS offers increased aperture efficiency, broadband performance, enhanced antenna pattern control and high quality polarisation that leads to efficient radiated power spectral density, while remaining compliant with MIL-STD-188165B requirements www.thinkom.com

XipLink releases XipOS Version 4.0 Xiplink has announced the release of XipOS Software Version 4.0, which will reportedly be available to all customers on support programmes at no additional charge. The upgrade includes additions to XipLink’s compression and caching algorithms, and more tools for service providers, the company claims, to manage increasing bandwidth requirements on multiple wide-area networks.

XipOS Version 4.0 38 | SatellitePro | April 2013

reportedly allows for bandwidth reductions of up to 80% with byte catching at the network layer for repeating patterns found in content such as viral videos, common web pages, software updates and office documents. It also features Advanced Cellular Compression (ACC), which reportedly helps Cellular Service Providers in controlling the explosion of voice and data traffic over satellite or wireless access connections.

Additionally, the upgrade includes Intelligent Link Balancing and Bonding, giving service providers, the company claims, with multiple VSAT, MSS or Cellular Links the ability to spread multiple TCP sessions over two links to gain more effective capacity, enable instantaneous cutover without session interruption, and to allow policy-based decisions for bandwidth use. www.xiplink.com

ETL Systems Launches V-series RF Matrix

British-based designer and manufacturer of RF distribution equipment, ETL Systems, is continuing to grow its range of products by launching its latest V-series RF Matrix.

With almost two thirds of sales coming from US-based customers, ETL Systems has opened a regional headquarters in Washington DC. The company has appointed former Intelsat and Harris Caprock satcom specialist, Susan Saadat as Vice President to lead the office.

ETL is launching its new addition to the V-series. The family, designed and built at ETL’s base in the UK, includes the 128x128 Vulcan Matrix Router, the 64x64 Vortex Matrix Router, the new 16x32 Valiant Matrix and the 16x16 Victor Matrix. All are reportedly capable of remote control via serial or Ethernet port with a SNMP and web browser interface.

Also showcased at Satellite 2013 is ETL’s dual redundant amplifier unit which is typically used in the front end of the RF chain, providing cable loss for teleports, TVRO and head-ends. This amplifier unit contains dual redundant hot-swap L-band variable gain amplifier modules and is housed in a 1U high 19” rack mountable shelf. It reportedly operates over the 850-2150MHz frequency range, with up to 36dB gain and up to 8dB positive slope compensation. www.etlsystems.com

ViaSat sets Guinness World Records Title for the highest capacity satellite

The ViaSat-1 satellite that powers Exede internet service has earned a Guinness World Records title as the highest-capacity communications satellite in the world. The record reportedly confirms that ViaSat-1 provides the most total throughput capacity over the U.S. and Canada – 100 times the capacity of a typical Ku-band satellite and 10 times the throughput of any Ka-band satellite launched prior to ViaSat-1.

In addition to powering the 12 Mbps Exede Internet service, ViaSat-1 will provide the bandwidth for a new generation of enterprise

services, including in-flight broadband for commercial aviation.

“The Guinness World Records title is an important recognition of our breakthrough technology and a testament to the work done by our team of innovators,” said Mark Dankberg, Chairman and CEO of ViaSat. “Best of all, it’s allowing us to deliver on our commitment to provide a high quality customer experience for satellite broadband service.” www.viasat.com

LIVE+ VSET Transmitter from Dejero Dejero has announced the launch of the LIVE+ VSET, a 1U vehicle-mount transmitter designed for use in satellite and microwave trucks.

Essentially a rackmount version of Dejero’s portable and rugged LIVE+ 20/20 Transmitter, the LIVE+ VSET is reportedly designed for mounting in transmission trucks to provide a supplement to satellite and microwave links. The LIVE+ VSET features Dejero’s

patent-pending Intelligent Bonding and Connection Management systems, which reportedly make use of all available connection types — cell, satellite, or microwave — to provide maximum throughput and optimal picture quality for each transmission. On startup, the LIVE+ VSET uses Dejero’s patent-pending approach to auto-detect the presence of available streams and the required video formats, with the reported ability to switch

seamlessly between satellite and cellular or a combination of both in order to maintain the quality of the signal.

During a typical satellite transmission, the LIVE+ VSET automatically combines, the company claims, a highlatency satellite connection with multiple low-latency cellular connections resulting in the delivery of high-quality video with latencies of 1.5 seconds or less. www.dejero.com

Norsat launches M2M satellite product line

Norsat International Inc. has launched its new M2M solutions line for the oil and gas industry. Norsat’s product, Sentinel RMC is an all-inclusive equipment and data service package that reportedly provides global, remote site data monitoring and control in real time through flexible communication services and an intuitive, web-based interface that enhances the user’s experience. Sentinel RMC is currently designed for down hole well-monitoring applications in the oil and gas industry; however Norsat’s M2M solutions can reportedly be used for any application requiring real time data monitoring and control, including air and water quality monitoring, early warning weather systems and others.

Sentinel RMC is, the company claims, a fully integrated end-to-end solution that includes a ruggedised remote terminal unit (RTU), communication services, hosting facilities, and an intuitive user interface to access data. The RTU consists of an integrated processor, a data storage unit, and numerous general purpose inputs and outputs capable of providing advanced data management and control. The hardened hosting facility ensures, the company claims, that all customer data is protected while the intuitive web-based customer portal provides an easy way for customers to monitor thresholds and receive alarm notifications from anywhere in the world. www.norsat.com April 2013 | SatellitePro | 39

SatEvents

VOICES AND VIEWS AT MILSATCOM MEA The two-day Milsatcom Middle East & Africa 2013 conference held in Dubai, organised by the SMi Group, featured speakers who explored solutions to the latest security and communications challenges faced by militaries around the world

“Soldiers and officiers need to focus on their missions; communications via satellite is not the mission, it is just the means to make the mission a success” - Nicolas Stephan, General Manager, LSE Space Middle East

“Among the key capabilities required is to deliver voice, messaging, VTC, collaboration and application hosting services to and between fixed, deployed and mobile users” - Commander Andy Rayner Royal Navy, UK Military

“UHF represents the best compromise between minimum atmospheric propagation loss and transmissibility through the ionosphere” - David Cavossa, President, Government Solutions, Harris CapRock Communications

“Satcom enables lower operational cost, with repayment times that are extremely short. Enterprise is already benefitting from the cost savings and increased utility of connected platforms and governments need to assess [satcom] in the same holistic manner” - Andy Start, President, Global Government Business, Inmarsat

“We see a growing need in the UAV market – in fact it is one of the fastest growing sectors in terms of satcom. In some cases, there has been a six-fold increase in bandwidth demand, with end-users demanding fullmotion video in HD” - Tim Deaver, VP, Market, SES

“Government organisations need to take necessary steps to ensure that their emergency centres are fully equipped with working satellite phones and IP terminals” - Samer Halawi, CEO, Thuraya

“An efficient hybrid wireless solution uses leading edge Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), providing a flexible solution that is modular and easily deployed over fixed or satellite networks” - Robert Demers, Vice President, Government Services, Thuraya

“We do not have a standardised, universally recognised curricula for the satellite and space industry. However efforts are being made under the leadership of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs towards defining a standard curricula” - Mohamed Mahmoud of the National Authority for Remote Sensing and Space Sciences

“Terminals for milsatcom need to meet the continuously increasing needs for higher data rates. With terminals deployed down to the tactical level, there is a preference for suitcase terminals and manpacks with increased throughput” - Åke Jönsson, Sales Director, Rockwell Collins

“With regard to interoperability and the coalition environment, multiple short notice missions in a coalition environment drives a requirement for extremely dynamic communications capability” - Andy Hide, Head of Strategy, Middle East, Astrium

40 | SatellitePro | April 2013

Visit www.satelliteprome.com for pictures of the event

connecting people across horizons

info@wiseband.net www.wiseband.net