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Take Control in the New Year with SATELLITE 2009

Scott Chase

Tis the season to be . . . fully informed . . .

As 2008 draws to a close, the world’s satellite-enabled communications community can look back on 12 months filled with achievement. Of course, these days there’s more than a whiff of uncertainty informing key business decisions as the focus changes to 2009. Where is the global economy going, and how will developments “beyond our control” over the next twelve months affect me and my business?

These questions have to be asked. Years ago, during an economic downturn in the very early 1980s, an old but wise executive at Communications Satellite Corp. (fondly remembered as COMSAT) calmed our fears with the following observation: How often do you call your broker when things are going your way? His point then – and mine now – is that communications are more important, more in demand, more critical during moments of fear and stress than they are during times of prosperity.

A quick glance at the trade press on any given day suggests that the satellite-enabled marketplace is going about its business as usual. Satellite Today notes a handful of key contracts, some personnel moves, the rescheduling of a commercial satellite launch. Behind the news, though, lies the specter of layoffs, dislocation, consolidation, even bankruptcy. It’s going to get worse before it gets better, pundits predict.

Even an informal poll that we’ve been carrying on the SATELLITE 2009 homepage shows a bit of queasy fluctuation. The question is simple: How will an Obama presidency affect the satellite industry? Since the election just over a month ago, about half of our respondents have said that Obama will be good for satellite; slightly more than a quarter have said not so good, and the remainder is not persuaded that the incoming president – any president – has a measurable impact on the industry. The numbers seem to inch up and down in response to developments on the global economic front.

So now is the time to assess the real meaning of “beyond our control.” Those of you reading this Downlink have a real opportunity to take charge of your information flow, your direct reading of the pulse of the marketplace, by attending SATELLITE 2009. The top end of commitment is a decision to register for the entire conference and spend three or four days arming yourself with actionable intelligence. Or you can elect to prowl the exhibition hall, picking up the latest scoop on new products, services, applications, and technologies.

Either way, this is within your control. Make your New Year’s Resolution a pledge to get to Washington, D.C., in late March for SATELLITE 2009.

Happy holidays and all best wishes for a productive and safe New Year!

EARLY BIRD DISCOUNTS END THIS WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 17!
REGISTER TODAY!

SATELLITE Wednesday, March 25 - Thursday, March 26
View session descriptions and speakers for the Broadcast Forum.

SATELLITE 2009; Jason Bates, Editor, Access Intelligence, LLC, Satellite Group
& CEO, SES; Giuliano Berretta, CEO, Eutelsat; Dan Goldberg, CEO, Telesat; David McGlade, CEO, Intelsat
Limited Resources – Is There a Problem?
Hogan & Hartson LLP
Space Development, SES NEW SKIES; Kalpak Gude, Vice President & Deputy General Counsel, Intelsat; Yvon Henri, Head, Space Services Department, International Telecommunication Union; Jeremy Rose, Principal Consultant, Communication Systems Limited; Kumar Singarajah, Manager, Satellite Regulatory Affairs, Avanti Communications Ltd.
Revenue Stream
Wiley Rein LLP
of Technology, Compression Systems, TANDBERG Television; Tim Jackson, VP Media Product Services, Intelsat; Brent Stranathan, Vice President, Broadcast Distribution, CBS

Satellite Communications, NSR
Mobile; Tom Pollard, Director Product Management, Verimatrix; Jerry Power, Director of Strategic Marketing Activities, Alcatel Lucent; Stefan Raab, Director of Network Systems, ICO; Didier Tymen, Business Development Director: Digital Terrestrial TV & Mobile TV, Newtec

MSUA and President TMF Associates,
J. Timothy Bryan, CEO, ICO; Matt Desch, CEO, Iridium Satellite; Marc Eisenberg, CEO, Orcomm; Jeffrey Epstein, President, TerreStar Networks; Jay Monroe III, CEO, Globalstar; Andrew Sukawaty, CEO, Inmarsat
Editor, Access Intelligence Satellite Group
Satellite and New Media Solutions, Harmonic, Inc.; Kevin Wirick, Vice President, Marketing, IP Video Solutions & Networks Mobility, Motorola, Inc.
Editor, Access Intelligence Satellite Group
Development, Open TV; Jesper Knutsson, Vice President and General Manager of Sales, NDS Americas; Romulo Pontual, Chief Technology Officer, DIRECT TV, Inc.; Tom Pratt, VP, Programming & Product Development, The Weather Channel
a Laptop?
Systems and New Technology, CNN News Group
Director of Newsgathering Operations, ABC News; Ron N. Rosenthal, Regional VP, N. America Broadcast Solutions, Intelsat; John Stoltz, Director, Commercial Sales, GMPCS; Martin Turner, Head or Operations, BBC Newsgathering

Less than 20 booths remain on the SATELLITE 2009 exhibit hall show floor! With fourteen weeks to go until the 28th annual SATELLITE Conference & Exhibition, the show floor is packed to near capacity with cutting edge products and services from the world’s leading suppliers of satellite-enabled communications technology.

If your company markets and sells products and services to the satellite end-user and you’ve waited to secure your position on the SATELLITE 2009 show floor, you are missing the most important and valuable sales and marketing opportunity of the year! Thousands of end-users from the military/government, broadcast, enterprise, telecommunications, emergency response and commercial satellite markets will be on hand to meet with exhibitors to experience, up close and personal, the new technologies that will shape their businesses for years to come.

Don’t miss out on your once-a-year opportunity to gain unparalleled access to the world’s leading buyers and decision-makers in the satellite-enabled communications marketplace!

To learn more about this unique opportunity and reserve one of one of less than 20 remaining booths on the show floor, contact Michael Cassinelli, Exhibit Sales Manager today at +1 (301) 354-1691 or mcassinelli@accessintel.com.

SATELLITE 2009 is the premier event for networking in the satellite-enabled communications marketplace. With more than 14 hours of networking, you'll get a chance to connect with the entire spectrum of the satellite community.

The WTA 2008 Teleport Awards Luncheon
11:45 a.m. – 1:15 p.m. Wednesday, March 25

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.
You may purchase tickets when registering for SATELLITE 2009.

For the latest news on exhibiting companies, product launches and the satellite community, visit the SATELLITE 2009 Press Room. Here's a recent headline:

Vizada and Eclipse join forces to provide superior mobile satellite service to aero community
French Navy first to sign up for Inmarsat SwiftBroadband service
Paris, Washington - December 2, 2008 – Vizada, the world's leading provider of global satellite communications, and Eclipse, an IT & telecoms solutions provider to civil and military aeronautical organizations, have signed an agreement to jointly cater for the mobile satellite communications needs of the aeronautical community. The two partners have begun providing services to the French Navy, including the activation of the SwiftBroadband service on its Dassault Falcon 50M maritime surveillance aircraft. Read More

Read all press releases

SATELLITE 2009 is a proud participant of the Department of Commerce's International Buyer Program. The International Buyer Program matches buyers with companies currently exporting goods and arranges for delegations to attend SATELLITE 2009 at a discounted rate. Please contact your local U.S. Embassy for more information on attending with an official delegation from your country.

As an international delegate, you will enjoy the following benefits:

- Friendly, local language support
- Free assistance scheduling appointments with SATELLITE exhibitors before and during the show
- Free Matchmaking Service to ensure you meet with the companies who fit your needs
- Access to The Center for Global Commerce, located on the SATELLITE 2009 Exhibit Show Floor
- Free assistance with visa application
- Discounted Conference registration
- Invitation to the Welcome Reception

Click here for more information on the International Buyer Program, to request an official letter of invitation and tips on obtaining a visa.

Arrowhead Introduces X-Band Managed Services
Arrowhead Global Solutions, the government services division of CapRock Communications, has launched a managed network services based on commercial X-band satellites, Arrowhead announced Dec. 5.
To operate the service, which is targeted at the military and intelligence community, Arrowhead is making investments in X-band teleport infrastructure and satellite capacity, including signing a multi-year, multi-transponder agreement with Xtar LLC for X-band capacity on the Xtar-Eur and Xtar-Lant satellites.
Arrowhead also will provide a variety of remote site equipment packages in fixed and rapid deployment configurations, field services, teleport services and terrestrial interconnects to public, private and government network gateways. The first master earth station is in development at a teleport in Europe and will be online and available for service early in the first quarter of 2009.
Arrowhead's commercial X-band satellite services will be made available through multiple contract vehicles including the company's GSA Schedule and through the DISN Satellite Transmission Services-Global contract, for which Arrowhead has been a prime contractor since 2001. The service will provide coverage over key regions including Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Southwest Asia.

BSkyB Launches Sky Player TV
BSkyB has launched Sky Player TV in the United Kingdom, the company announced Dec.4.
Sky Player TV is an online only subscription TV service offering live TV and video on demand. For the first time, consumers can access Sky's pay TV content online without the need to subscribe to an existing TV-based service. The new service builds on the back of the Sky Player service, which launched in January 2006 as an online movie download service.
The service can be accessed through any broadband enabled PC or Mac and was developed with the support of Microsoft with its Silverlight and PlayReady technologies supporting the introduction of live streamed channels.

RSCC Expands Capabilities to Monitor New Satellites
The Russian Satellite Communications Co. (RSCC) has expanded the capabilities of its ground satellite control and monitoring system in an effort to deliver the new Express-AM44 and Express-MD1 telecommunications satellites into orbit, RSCC announced Dec. 4.
The Dubna Satellite Control Center, located in Moscow, has built additional telemetric information receiver stations, allowing the company's specialists to check and control all stages of launching and operating the spacecraft.
The Express-AM44 and Express-MD1 satellites, scheduled to be launched Feb. 11, will be placed at the 11 degrees West and 80 degrees East, respectively.

Vizada Banks on Telenor for Long-Term Deal
Telenor Satellite Broadcasting (TSB) signed a 10-year deal with Vizada Networks to provide antenna, hosting and network management services from TSB's largest teleport, Nittedal, the companies announced Dec. 3.
The agreement will provide Vizada Networks with C- and Ku-band ground segment services to support customers, including NATO and the World Health Organisation, in Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
From the Nittedal teleport, TSB can operate satellites in the viewable arc from 45 degrees West to 66 degrees East. As part of the agreement, TSB has acquired responsibility and ownership for the previous Vizada-owned antennas located at the Nittedal teleport.

Thaicom Signs Vietnamese IPStar Deal
Thaicom signed a contract with Vietnam Telecom International (VTI) for capacity on the IPStar satellite, Thaicom announced Dec. 3.
The three-year agreement, valued at nearly $3.5 million, will allow VTI, a subsidiary of Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications, to expand its IPStar services to serve applications such as broadband Internet access, mobile trunking, rural voice services and virtual private networks.
IPStar launched broadband satellite services in Vietnam through VTI's VSAT-IP service brand.

IMS: Pay-TV Competition Sparks DVR Market Gains
The digital video recorder (DVR) market is seeing significant growth as satellite pay-TV operators face stiffer competition from terrestrial alternatives, according to IMS Research.
The DVR market in Europe grew by 87 percent, reaching 6 million units shipped in 2007, according to "Worldwide Market for DVRs," released Dec. 3.
The Asia-Pacific region accounted for an estimated 1.4 million units in 2007 and is forecast to see the strongest compounded annual growth over the next five years. The United States remains the biggest market for DVRs with 12 million shipments in 2007.
"One of the key drivers behind DVR rollouts in Europe has been satellite's response to competition from digital cable and IPTV," Anna Hunt, research director at IMS and author of the report, said in a statement. "Now that many European consumers know what a DVR is, we can expect word-of-mouth to propel significant growth over the next five years."
IMS Research forecasts the worldwide DVR market at 95.6 million units shipped in 2013, of which Europe is expected to account for 34 percent.
Shipments in North America are forecast to make up a similar share that year.

There’s Still Time to Register for Tomorrow’s Webinar! Digital Switchover: What It Means for Broadcasting
Tuesday, December 16th, 1:00 ET
Join Via Satellite and a panel of experts as they tackle this important and timely topic. This live one-hour webcast will address how this government-mandated move will affect satellite service providers, satellite operators and hardware manufactures. Discover lessons learned from other countries who have made the transition as well as what opportunities will be created post-switch. No travel required. Register Now!

Satellite Industry Directory
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