I reckon some of the CEOs of some of these MSS operators must have been done something wrong in a previous life. They seem to be getting more stick than just about anyone in this industry.

First, Andy Sukawaty, Inmarsat’s CEO said that some rival MSS business plans were “exuberant and irrational”. If Sukawaty’s comments were expected (given he said pretty much the same thing at SATELLITE 2007), the comments from Stephen O’Neill, president at Boeing Satellite Systems International, were perhaps more of a surprise. O’Neill said, “When I look at the MSS market, I am certain 2-3 companies have the wrong strategy. However, I am not sure which ones.” Two ringing endorsements right there !!!

It will be interesting to see if these prophecies of doom will in fact come true, and whether signs will come out later on when some of these operators meet their supposed inevitable demise.

Bonjour from Paris. A wave of unbridled optimism has hit the satellite industry. If the optimism was any brighter, we would have to attend conference sessions wearing shades. All the speakers spoke of new growth markets, existing markets (video) growing, as well as saying there appeared to be no end in sight for this current wave of growth.
However, as I sat there listening to these admittedly buoyant forecasts, I wondered whether it would indeed pan out that way. Years of experience covering the telecoms and satellite industry have taught me that the good growth periods usually end sooner rather than later.