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Thank You for Making SATELLITE 2009 a Success!

Scott Chase

The confetti hasn’t stopped falling for the SATELLITE 2009 management team and our guests as we celebrate the success of our annual international conference and exhibition, and set our sights on SATELLITE 2010. Against a backdrop of uncertain futures and tottering economies, the durability of the global satellite-enabled marketplace was on full display in Washington D.C., ten days ago.

What makes all of this real is the continuing strength and – let’s say it proudly – the strong leadership of key executives and companies across the spectrum of satellite activities. Without the long-range planning that guarantees uninterrupted service from orbit across multiple frequency bands and hundreds of satellites, we’d be nowhere. Without the commitment of companies to stay the course in the spacecraft manufacturing and launch sectors, the innovation and thoughtfulness of engineers in the ground segment sector, and the creativity of applications experts, designers, and “people people” in areas such as mobile satellite, broadcast, government and military markets, and broadband, among others, there would be very little to bring us all together year after year.

So the real kudos go to the more than 9,300 professionals who made the annual pilgrimage to Washington D.C., to see what’s new and what’s hot in the world of satellite-enabled capabilities. Add to this the just over 300 exhibitors who recognize that, while SATELLITE may have begun as a senior executive leadership summit back in the early 1980s, it has been transformed over its 28 years into a real market for end-users and buyers and sellers of every stripe. Stir in the 300 speakers contributing to more than 50 professional seminars, sessions, and presentations and you have the alchemy that has served satellite professionals so well for so long.

I won’t attempt here in this quick note to convey the lessons learned at SATELLITE 2009. Jason Bates and the Satellite Group at Access Intelligence will do that comprehensively over the next few issues of Via Satellite and Satellite Today. What I will tell you is that the excitement was high, the buzz thrilling. While satellite may not actually be bulletproof, it does seem poised to ride out the current economic downturn with a minimum of collateral damage. Perhaps the most telling raw statistic from SATELLITE 2009 is the exhibit hall space selection rate of about 80 percent for next year when – thanks to the unavailability of suitable dates at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center – SATELLITE 2010 will migrate a few miles downstream on the Potomac River to the Gaylord National Convention Center in National Harbor.

Although many happy memories have been made trudging from event to event and hotel to hotel in the neighborhood of the WCC, I for one am looking forward to taking the 10-minute water taxi across the river to explore the restaurants, bars, and venues of Old Town Alexandria as well as the unexplored enticements of National Harbor itself.

With so many of you already making plans to join us again next year, March 15-18, 2010, at the Gaylord National Convention Center, the SATELLITE 2010 team already has its work cut out for it. We’re committed to making next year’s conference and exhibition as compelling and important as SATELLITE 2009 proved to be. I’m looking forward already to seeing you there!

Thank you to everyone who helped make SATELLITE 2009 a success!

Mark your calendars for SATELLITE 2010 March 15 - 18 at the Gaylord National Convention Center in National Harbor, MD. Click here to be notified when regsitration opens.

Unable to attend SATELLITE 2009? Missed some of the excitement on the show floor? Check out the latest video coverage from SATELLITE 2009! Visit www.SatelliteTODAY.tv to see footage from the AT&T Cruisecast demo, show analysis from Scott Chase, Gerry Oberst, Jason Bates and more!

The SATELLITE 2009 team would like to thank the 300 SATELLITE 2009 exhibiting companies who helped make the event an overwhelming success! The immediate feedback from exhibitors and attendees has been extremely positive - your new products and services displayed on the show floor helped attract record attendance from all major market sectors, reinforcing SATELLITE as the ultimate event linking buyers and sellers in the global satellite-enabled communications marketplace.

Nearly 200 companies have already reserved almost 80% of available exhibit space at SATELLITE 2010 during the on-site space selection process. If you missed your appointment to secure your space for SATELLITE 2010 or you’re interested in exhibiting for the first time, this is your best opportunity to lock in a prime position on the show floor. To view the current SATELLITE 2010 exhibit hall floor plan and reserve your space while great locations are still available, contact Michael Cassinelli at +1-301-354-1691 or by email at mcassinelli@accessintel.com today!

Join the SATELLITE LinkedIn Group!

Just because SATELLITE 2009 is over doesn't mean the networking has to stop! With more than 350 members and counting, the SATELLITE LinkedIn Group will keep you connected with satellite professionals year round! Click here to join!

The SATELLITE 2009 Press Room is the one place where you can gather all the news on SATELLITE 2009 companies. Here's a recent headline:

Global Satellite USA launches MCG-101 - a single channel Iridium PBX

Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA - Thursday, March 26th 2009 - Fort Lauderdale: Global Satellite USA, a leading satellite solutions provider, is pleased to announce the launch of its MCG-101, an intelligent Iridium PBX.
The MCG-101 is a powerful and versatile Iridium communications system for offices, remote locations, military, aircraft, oil and gas, mining and marine applications. The system has an intelligent solution for Iridium satellite phones to operate as a telephone, Internet gateway, GPS device, send/receive SMS and attach to other devices through RS232 or CAN bus. The MCG-101 is daisy chainable so that it can connect with multiple simultaneous communications. Installing the unit only requires power, a SIM card and an external antenna. To connect to the internet is as simple as connecting your computer to the Ethernet Port.
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For the sixth year in a row, SATELLITE Conference and Exhibition partnered with the Department of Commerce's International Buyer Program, which encourages the export of U.S. made products by matching international buyers with domestic firms.

For more information on the International Buyer Program, please visit www.SATELLITE2009.com. Interested in SATELLITE 2010? Visit www.SATELLITE2010.com and sign up to be notified when regsitration opens!

DataPath Acquired by Rockwell Collins
Rockwell Collins Inc., a government and commercial communications solution provider, will acquire DataPath Inc. for about $130 million, DataPath announced April 1.
DataPath and its subsidiary, Swe-Dish AB, a satellite manufacturer based in Stockholm, will operate as wholly owned subsidiaries of Rockwell Collins.
Of the $130 million used to acquire DataPath, about $110 million will be used to pay DataPath's debt and other obligations. The remaining $19.6 million will be distributed to holders of DataPath's common stock, at 42 cents per share, in exchange for all issued and outstanding shares.
The merger is not subject to a financing condition and has been approved by the DataPath board, which has recommended that the merger be approved by DataPath's shareholders. The parties said that they expect the merger to be completed in the second quarter.
DataPath recently received a string of orders from the U.S. Army for Ka- and Ku-band terminals, including various military orders on a Joint Network Node/Warfighter Information Network-Tactical (JNN/WIN-T) program contract, worth a potential $270 million, of which $147 million had already been awarded to the company.

AGI, Integral Systems Look to Capitalize on Space Situational Awareness
Analytical Graphics Inc. (AGI), a commercial space and defense intelligence software provide, has formed a strategic partnership with Integral Systems in an effort to provide space situational awareness products to government customers, the companies announced April 1.
AGI and Integral Systems will allow government customers to leverage off-the-shelf products and practices from both companies in an effort to reduce costs and increase efficiency.
The strategic partnership comes shortly after a collision between an Iridium satellite and a non-functioning Russian military Cosmos spacecraft in February, which sparked a wave of media coverage and interest in space situational awareness.

BB Sat Launches Japanese Satellite Broadband Service
BB Sat officially launched its satellite broadband service in Japan, the company announced April 1.
BB Sat's broadband service, operated with ViaSat's SurfBeam system, will provide speeds of 2.5 megabits per second forward and 512 kilobits per second return via Ka-band capacity provided by SkyPerfect JSAT's Superbird B2 satellite.
The service aims to provide broadband to Japan's rural areas and to ADSL users who, because of their distance from provisioning facilities, receive a diminishing quality of service. Customers will pay 5,000 yen ($51) monthly for BB Sat broadband plus a terminal rental fee.
"BB Sat is a key part of the plan to make universal broadband a reality in Japan," James Beitchman, president of BB Sat, said in a statement.

Gulfcom Leases SES Capacity to Fill Caribbean Cable Programming Gaps
Gulfcom signed a five-year distribution agreement with SES New Skies to leverage a full transponder of capacity aboard SES' AMC-3 satellite, which will service the Caribbean region and fill in programming niches, SES announced April 1.
"The satellite coverage allows us to provide super station programming as well as top sports, weather and entertainment cable fare to large and small network operators who are offering a great viewing experience to homegrown audiences and vacationers alike from Bermuda and Trinidad to the Bahamas and Jamaica," Larry Corke, president of Gulfcom, said in a statement.
Gulfcom's Caribbean platform originates from the United States and Canada as well as within the region.

Infineon, SkyTerra, TerreStar Unveil Mobile SDR Platform
Infineon Technologies, SkyTerra, and TerreStar have unveiled a multi-standard mobile platform based on Infineon's software-defined-radio (SDR) technology, the companies announced April 1.
The SDR technology, the product of a cooperative development effort between the three companies, aims to enable ubiquitous mobile communications coverage from anywhere in North America using mass-market devices with similar prices compared to terrestrial cellular-only devices. The SDR technology allows software upgrades to handsets.
"We anticipate that this SDR chipset agreement will expand our market opportunities as well as the range of technologies and potential devices that will be satellite-terrestrial capable," Drew Caplan, CNO for SkyTerra, said in a statement.
Infineon said that the chipset platform will undergo additional handset trials for performance on a 4G network.