VIA SATELLITE: What levels of revenues are you hoping to generate from this part of the business?
OLMSTEAD: We will grow. There is no question about that, but I would not want to forecast financial metrics at this point. We don’t do that. What I would say is our shareholders are more interested in growing the business than focusing on other financial metrics.
VIA SATELLITE: What do you see as your competitive advantages?
OLMSTEAD: In the more classical areas such as transponder leasing, you have SES, Intelsat and, to a lesser extent, Telesat. It is complicated in that for both SES and Telesat, EchoStar is also one of their largest customers. We are both a customer and are competing, and we do that in a professional fashion. We are looking to grow into new areas, and that is where the mobile satellite investments come into play.
We see the other operators moving a little bit in that direction. You have seen the SES-Eutelsat Solaris [joint venture]. As mobile video develops, the competitive field changes a bit. Our advantage is that firstly, we are video experts, not just in leasing transponders but in providing video services. We are able to bring our heritage to bear in terms of creating innovative services. Secondly, we are also not shackled by the past, so we can be a bit different.
VIA SATELLITE: What does "not shackled by the past" mean?
OLMSTEAD: We have not been through a range of buyouts the way some of our competitors have, leaving them with a whole set of revenue yield constraints they have to operate under. SES has a different set of financial characteristics which they have to operate under and bring to the game. We are entrepreneurial, energetic, and I think that gives us a real freedom to address requirements and create new opportunities in the marketplace.
VIA SATELLITE: What government and enterprise opportunities do you see?
OLMSTEAD: We bring the same mindset I referred to in the broadcast market, which is that we really are historically video players. As we approach the enterprise market, we are trying to look to identify ways we can bring that video knowledge to bear. If you think about corporate networks and enterprises, it is not about doing the same things as everyone else. It is more about what can we bring to the table which provides a new wrinkle with new technologies. Similarly, that applies to the government segment. This does not mean we won’t do straight transponder leases. We will do that. There is a bit of a shortage of Ku-band over the United States, and we can and will provide short-term leases to the U.S. government. But generally, in terms of building the business from a strategic standpoint, we are looking at how we can integrate video services and do something different.
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