Joseph Wright, Former Chairman, Intelsat Ltd.

Via Satellite: What market is satellite not playing in today where it should be?

Wright: Disaster recovery. The fact that we don’t have satellite backup in all cases for our first responders to be able to communicate with the other disaster relief workers at the local, state and federal level is extraordinary after September 11, Katrina, fires, tsunamis, etcetera. That’s been one of my main campaigns while in the satellite industry. I’ve been trying as hard as I can to say ‘You should have a satellite component to back up terrestrial communications when they go down.’ I don’t know how many more disasters we will have to go through with people on the ground trying to help and can’t communicate. That’s the place where satellites are probably underutilized.

Via Satellite: What else can satellite operators do to improve their bottom lines?

Wright: I think the overall approach toward managing a satellite operation is really in pretty good shape with most of the companies right now. I think you’ve had consolidation where consolidation makes sense. There may still be some consolidation opportunities with some of the smaller operators. That doesn’t mean they have to be acquired, but rather they may have to form alliances or cooperate with each other or with the larger operators. Our relationship with JSAT Corp., for example, shows how such alliances can work.
I think the concept of operating for the romance of the satellite industry is gone. I think the management talent of the industry has substantially increased. Now there is new product development and you will find that evolving around mobility. As the industry gets more into the mobile game, I think the operators will actually be participating in some of the terrestrial communications. Intelsat has built a sizable business of hybrid satellite and terrestrial services. That’s going to be the next evolution of products and services, I think. One of the things you learn, particularly in the video business, is that customers don’t care how the signal gets to them. That’s why at PanAmSat we started accessing fiber.

Via Satellite: Will there be more consolidation in the industry?

Wright: It wouldn’t surprise me at all if 10 years from now the next series of ownerships involves some types of mobile/cellular communications along with the satellite fleet. Market trends are driven in part by opportunity. It will be another evolution, but I don’t see it occurring soon. Eventually, opportunities for expansion in our industry will be coming further down to the ground and with terrestrial systems. Some of the larger companies will be limited on their growth simply because of slot availability. There’s only so much real estate out there.
At some point, you could have three or four large corporations providing superb services and at hopefully very good returns for their shareholders. The regulatory regime may not allow consolidation of large companies, so you will have to have them run by very smart managers.
I then see the opportunities of either one of the large telecom companies picking up a satellite company or vice versa. But I would rather be a satellite operator expanding then a terrestrial operator expanding. You can lay fiber anywhere, but with satellite, you’ve only got those slots and that’s it. So there is a much more defensible, proprietary position as a satellite operator.

Via Satellite: What market is satellite not playing in today where it should be?

Via Satellite: What else can satellite operators do to improve their bottom lines?

Via Satellite: Will there be more consolidation in the industry?

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