February 13, 2012 - Volume 8, No. 13

Yahsat CEO Discusses the Future of Satellite Communications

Tareq Al Hosani CEO, Yahsat

SATELLITE 2012 chairman Scott Chase recently spoke with Yahsat CEO Tareq Al Hosani to discuss Yahsat's presence in the satellite communications universe.

Scott Chase: The Yahsat 1A has been up and operating for more than half a year now. How has Yahsat changed the communications satellite marketplace across its footprint?

Tareq Al Hosani: Y1A has introduced a number of new dimensions to the marketplace. YahSecure (Secure Military Ka-band services) offers reliable, secure connectivity service for military, government agencies and mission critical commercial applications. Yahsat is the first satellite operator in the region to provide this highly secure satellite service on Ka-band. Y1A, via its joint venture “YahLive,” offers a new opportunity for broadcasters to join a new DTH hotspot dedicated to HD services. HD is the most significant trend in this part of the industry and the demand for such services with a high power beam and smaller consumer dish sizes is very high. And our C-band services and footprint are unique in terms of coverage and quality. This is evident in the high uptake we have witnessed already in this service. In fact, the coverage is something that others are now emulating in their own new satellites.

Scott Chase: How are plans for Yahsat 1B progressing?

Tareq Al Hosani: Y1B is progressing well. The satellite has been constructed and is awaiting a launch in the coming weeks. We are confident that our launch partner for Y1B, ILS, will do its best to ensure a successful launch as soon as possible. 

Scott Chase: Regarding your Ka-band government capacity, what advice would you give to other commercial operators contemplating a similar hosted payload arrangement?

Tareq Al Hosani: The hybrid approach adopted by Yahsat to provide the UAE Armed Forces with secure military Ka-band services upon a commercial satellite is a very powerful one. It allows both commercial and government customers to benefit from various synergies. It does, however, require a very well thought through operating model by the operator wanting to provide such services should it also want to take on various O&M components as opposed to just simply “hosting” a payload, something Yahsat has managed to deploy very successfully to date.

Scott Chase: What can you tell about your planned commercial Ka-band service, YahClick?

Tareq Al Hosani: YahClick brings a whole new dimension in terms of commercial Ka-band services which will make high quality and bandwidth satellite broadband services available and affordable to consumers and businesses across 27 countries in Africa, ME and SW Asia. The pre-launch demand for the YahClick service has been phenomenal and we expect to see commercial launches in most countries in the second half of this year.

Register for SATELLITE 2012 to be at the center of the satellite communications universe!

Conference Update

The SATELLITE 2012 Conference is led by a panel of experts and focuses on cutting-edge topics. Each session is presented in an open forum format to give attendees the opportunity to join in the dialogue. Take a sneak peek at one of the sessions you'll experience at SATELLITE 2012:

3-D TV: After the Hype Comes the Reality
Tuesday, March 13
3:00 p.m. - 4:15 p.m.

The onset of 3-D TV has created a great deal of excitement among broadcasters and customers alike. However, with difficult economic conditions in place, customers are being savvy with their next technology purchases, and often have to make decisions between buying a tablet or a next-generation TV, for example. Where does this leave the current state of 3-D TV, and how optimistic should the satellite industry be that this represents a good revenue stream going forward? The panel will separate the myth from the reality.

Admission to 3-D TV: After the Hype Comes the Reality is included with your Conference registration.

Exhibition Update

Only 4 Booths Left at SATELLITE 2012!

Networking

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Access the mobile app by clicking here, or type eventmobi.com/sat2012 into your smart phone's browser.  The mobile app is web based, so no need to purchase or download any software.

Test your knowledge of ILS/Proton by taking the ILS/Proton Quiz on the mobile app and correctly answer as many questions as you can! Enter your email address at the end of the quiz to be eligible to win a Proton rocket model. The drawing will be held at SATELLITE 2012 on Wednesday, March 14 in the ILS booth #523.

Press Room

The SATELLITE Press Room is your one-stop-shop for the latest news and updates on exhibiting companies at SATELLITE 2012.  Here's a recent headline: 

Romantis Provides Turnkey Satellite Telemedicine Network to All-Russian Center for Disaster Medicine

Montreal, QC, Canada - February 9, 2012 – Romantis, a global provider of satellite capacity and satellite networking equipment, has announced the successful implementation of the state project on delivery of communication, management and interaction systems to connect the Regional Centers for Disaster Medicine (RCDM) of the Russian Federation with the unified national system of prevention and liquidation of emergency situations. Read More

Read all Exhibitor Press Releases

Satellite News Feed

Industry Canada Approves TerreStar Spectrum License Transfer to Dish Network

Canadian economic development, investment, and innovation regulatory agency Industry Canada has approved Dish Network’s license transfer request for spectrum previously held by TerreStar, the U.S. pay-TV operator announced Feb. 7.

U.S. bankruptcy courts approved Dish Network’s acquisition of the spectrum licenses held by TerreStar and DBSD in the middle of 2011. The company said it is prepared to immediately close both transactions upon receiving approval from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and associated waiver requests, which will enable the company to move forward with its planned wireless initiatives.

“In granting its approval, Industry Canada reached the conclusion that the transfer would be in the public interest in light of ‘the capacity that would be available in Canada,’ among other reasons … Dish believes that immediate Commission approval will be a win for consumers, competition, infrastructure investment, and American jobs,” Dish Network said in a company statement.

SES-4 to Launch Feb. 15

International Launch Services (ILS) has re-scheduled the launch of the SES-4 satellite for Feb. 15, the satellite’s operator SES confirmed Feb. 7.

The satellite, originally scheduled to launch this past December, will be sent into orbit on board an ILS Proton Breeze M rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. SES-4 was built by Space Systems/Loral and equipped with 52 C-band and 72 Ku-band transponders to provide service over Europe, the Middle East and West Africa, as well as North and South America

When placed in orbit, SES-4 will be the largest, most powerful satellite in SES’ fleet, replacing SES’ NSS-7 spacecraft at the 338 degrees East longitude orbital slot.

Avanti Chairman: Hylas 3 Fully Financed Through ESA Partnership

U.K. operator Avanti Communications has raised 75 million British pounds ($118.6 million) through a partnership with the European Space Agency (ESA) to fully finance its upcoming Hylas 3 satellite, the company confirmed in its financial results issued Feb. 6.

“Avanti is well positioned to benefit from demand growth and market adoption of new satellite technology,” Avanti Chairman John Brackenbury said in a statement. “We are particularly fortunate that, following the launch of Hylas 2, more than 70 percent of our fleet capacity will be dedicated to emerging markets which are experiencing high underlying economic growth. With the launch of Hylas 3, this will increase to more than 80 percent.”

Avanti said that its Hylas 2 satellite is on track for delivery in June 2012 and that the satellite is generating strong demand from emerging markets. Brackenbury added that Avanti also has received an increasing amount of orders and enquiries for Ka-band capacity from large and small customers. “

The typical order size for Hylas 2 is far larger than on Hylas 1,” said Brackenbury. “Our confidence in the strength of demand is illustrated by our reduction in the target period in which we will sell-out the capacity on Hylas 2 from five years after service launch to four years. We maintain our expectation for full sell-out within three years for Hylas 1.”

Gilat Satcom Unveils SuricatePRO Iridium Enterprise Connection Solution

Gilat Satcom has released its new SuricatePRO communication solution, which aims to provide users in underground and other closed facilities with the ability to communicate over Iridium satellite phones, the company announced Feb. 6.

The product is being targeted to satellite phone users in mines, secure military installations, underground facilities and remote locations. Gilat Satcom said the SuricatePRO was designed to extend telephony services throughout a facility without loss of signal quality.

“With SuricatePRO, we deliver telephone communication to formerly impossible-to-reach locations and secure facilities. Now, after only a very simple installation of small, lightweight equipment, Iridium subscribers can gain reliable access to the Iridium network,” Gilat Satcom Mobile Satellite Director Ami Schneider said in a statement.

Elbit Systems Releases New Hermes Hyper-spectral Payload

Elbit Systems expanded its payload portfolio by launching its Hermes 450 and Hermes 900 unmanned air system (UAS) hyper-spectral payload with new intelligence capabilities, the company confirmed Feb. 6.

Elbit Systems completed development on the system and has recently conducted a series of successful test flights, the company said.

The hyperspectral imaging technology is based on Elbit Systems’ Electro-Optics Elop’s proprietary research. The design aims to enable simultaneous imaging of a region of interest at different wavelengths. The company said the payload also is capable of imaging the spectral signature of the imaged materials.

“In addition to military applications, the new Hermes hyperspectral technology is applicable for commercial and scientific use, such as pollution detection, water sampling, mineral deposits location, as well as agricultural applications like vegetation tracking and projection of crop yields, soil identification and more,” Elbit Systems said in a company statement.

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Via Satellite Presents a New Quiz
How well do you know the Nominees for this Year’s Satellite Executive of the Year Award? Take the quiz and find out!

Each year at the SATELLITE Conference and Exhibition, the staff of Via Satellite magazine and the Access Intelligence Satellite Group honors the most outstanding industry executive of the prior year as its Satellite Executive of the Year. PanAmSat Founder Rene Anselmo was the first Via Satellite Satellite Executive of the Year in 1988. Since then, many industry visionaries have been honored. Last year, Petra Mateos-Aparicio of Hispasat was honored. The winner of this year’s Award will be revealed on February 15th and will be honored at SATELLITE 2012, in Washington DC, March 12 – 15, 2012.

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