Global systems are the backbone of satellite-enabled communications, and the CEOs who run these businesses establish the pace for expansion of market growth and development of new applications. They set priorities and, ultimately, create opportunities. With existing businesses as the base, and massive resources as the trump card, these CEOs approach the challenge of increasing profitability and managing costs in ways that define how satellite will build its share of the global telecommunications marketplace.

FIND SOUGHT-AFTER SOLUTIONS - Dozens of new products are unveiled during the SATELLITE Exhibition. Whether its voice, video, data, or all three, the SATELLITE Exhibition showcases the products and solutions you need to ensure your communications are cost-effective, mobile, global and secure.

CONNECT WITH COLLEAGUES - With more than 8,000 in attendance, plus 270 exhibiting companies, you'll see old friends and make new during the SATELLITE Conference and Exhibition.

DISCOVER NEW TECHNOLOGY - Get up close and hands on with hundreds of products, new technologies. Comparison shop as you walk the show floor and discover what technology will enhance your business.

Plan your visit to the SATELLITE Exhibition and contact exhibitors before the event here.

WSBR will hold its heralded Flagship Lunch and Silent Auction during SATELLITE 2008. With pleasure, WSBR announces that Secretary-General of ITU Hamadoun Toure will be its Executive guest speaker making this a perfect opportunity to bring colleagues and customers to maximize all that you can learn and experience at SATELLITE 2008.

New in 2008! You may purchase tickets when registering for SATELLITE 2008 or through WSBR at WSBR@erols.com or 703-522-7745.

Since 1995, WTA has presented annual awards to companies and individuals who have dramatically demonstrated excellence in the field of teleport operations, development and technology. Celebrate the winners and network with colleagues during the Awards Luncheon.

WiMAX and other broadband wireless networks present both opportunities and threats to satellite communications. There are competing and complementary aspects; however, the debate and analysis on the interplay of these technologies has largely centered on the controversy on spectrum as a number of countries have reportedly already identified the satellite downlink frequencies in the C- and Extended C-bands for BWA. The Global VSAT Forum (GVF) was likewise quoted as stating that significant in-band and out-of-band interference problems and service interruptions have been identified as having occurred. This session will scrutinize the regulatory and technical issues surrounding these technologies. But equally and just as importantly, the panel will examine demand aspects that present opportunities for satellite platforms to service BWA and WiMAX for services such as backhaul, terrestrial integration and redundancy.

Not only is HD the newest wave in content production, but so are ethnic and specialty channels for a wide variety of audiences. But how many channels are enough? Numerous studies have shown that most people watch the same five or ten channels eighty percent of the time. So why do you need packages with 500 or more channels to choose from? This may be the old cliché that variety is the spice of life run amuck, but where do all these channels come from, how does the content get to the TV screen, and just what is the untapped potential for new channels? Is the “variety” limitless or at one point does the industry reach saturation when every sub-sub-niche has its own specific program. And what is the future of the existing channels? Does everything go HD, or is SD sufficient for the majority of channels? And what of the different grades of broadcast quality? When is HD truly HD or just a spruced up SD channel? This panel will help to define the boundaries of channel growth so as to bring greater understanding to this key segment of the satellite industry, assuming such boundaries even exist.

Last year's panel initiated a discussion among satellite builders, system operators and launch providers illuminating the interdependence of these vital segments of the satellite industry. This year's panel will address the challenges of continued industry consolidation, increasing demand and tightening supply, and the always present uncertainties associated with schedule delays, launch and in-orbit failures. Are things getting better, or are they worsening? Come and hear this panel of industry veterans question each other and field questions from the moderator and the audience.

The satellite ground segment sector is unquestionably on a growth path, as technical advances, emerging markets and new applications have all served to generate increasing sales for satellite ground segment providers. Broadband satellite networks, enterprise applications and government demand have all fostered growth for ground segment solutions in all regions. In addition, advanced coding and modulation, DVB-S2, MPEG-4 and mesh networks are only a sampling of the technical features now fostering growth. With the industry becoming more entrenched in the broader telecom landscape, where then will growth come from in the next 2-3 years. What technical requirements are driving the business, and how do satellite ground segment providers position themselves in an increasingly hybrid world? This panel of ground segment CEOs will answer these questions and more in this far-reaching session.

The Society of Satellite Professionals (SSPI) will host its 25th annual Black Tie Reception and Dinner on Tuesday, February 26, 2008 at the Grand Hyatt, Washington. The Gala is the satellite industry’s preeminent social and networking event of the year. To purchase tickets, or for more information, go to: www.sspigala.com or contact jhoil@sspi.org, 703-534-0885.

MSS operators in 2008 will have to deliver on their promises of innovative new capabilities which can address a much wider market than the niches MSS has served to date. With the launch of ICO and TerreStar’s new satellites, we will see whether ATC really is the magic bullet that has attracted so much attention on Wall Street. Virtually all players need to raise more financing to fund their business plans. Will the markets cooperate, or is the cycle of bankruptcies we saw in late 1990s doomed to repeat itself? Hear what the CEOs have to say about their plans, and why they believe in the future of MSS.

FIND SOUGHT-AFTER SOLUTIONS - Dozens of new products are unveiled during the SATELLITE Exhibition. Whether its voice, video, data, or all three, the SATELLITE Exhibition showcases the products and solutions you need to ensure your communications are cost-effective, mobile, global and secure.

CONNECT WITH COLLEAGUES - With more than 8,000 in attendance, plus 270 exhibiting companies, you'll see old friends and make new during the SATELLITE Conference and Exhibition.

DISCOVER NEW TECHNOLOGY - Get up close and hands on with hundreds of products, new technologies. Comparison shop as you walk the show floor and discover what technology will enhance your business.

Plan your visit to the SATELLITE Exhibition and contact exhibitors before the event here.

Interconnecting satellite with terrestrial networks to provide advanced, uninterruptible services for telco customers is the next step in providing risk mitigation in telecom networks. In non-stop telco networks, the satellite fail-over fully complements the terrestrial network, increasing total network availability and mitigating the risk of outages.

Don’t miss the marquee event of SATELLITE 2008! Via Satellite magazine presents its Satellite Executive of the Year 2007, honoring the top satellite industry executive who made significant business impact in the global satellite arena. Tickets to the event are included with your SATELLITE 2008 conference registration fee.

Satellite business television has been around for awhile, but it is changing and growing. Let's talk about what real corporate satellite users are doing with their networks. Let's ask them about why it is successful in their company and what they see as the real benefits and reasons to deploy corporate satellite networking technologies. Join us for this open discussion with corporate satellite users and together we can learn from their experiences.

This session will present data to show trends for development in satellite communications, including use of transponders, growth of demand for various services, the actual fraction of transponders in revenue producing service, and numbers of subscribers to various MSS systems, DARS, DBS, broadband, and other applications. New data collected specifically for presentation at SATELLITE 2008 will be interpreted, and benchmarks will be set.

The global roster of satellite manufacturers continues to grow even as competition tightens and the marketplace warns of a slow-down beginning after 2010. Chief executives of the leading firms in the United States and Europe, divided by fierce competition, may find themselves united in discrete attempts to fend off the market inroads already evident from Russia, China, India. What does the future hold for the historic industry leaders, and how will they meet external challenges while maintaining product lines that deliver value?

Digital signage is a modern means to broadcast messages for consumer information, safety purposes and public services. However, communicating the right message to the right place has proven to be the most important factor for success across retail, banking and entertainment markets. With many recent network deployments delivered via satellite, what is the current state of the business? What are the effectiveness and success metrics for the business, and how does satellite measure up? Are satellite solutions offering returns all along the value chain? What technology mix is best for each market segment? This panel will look at these and other key questions facing the digital signage via satellite market.