Broadcasting And Regulation: Navigating The Red Tape
From its inception satellite broadcasting brought with it the consequent need for regulation on domestic regional and international levels making it one of the most heavily regulated telecom services in the world. On the international front satellite orbital slot regulations and maneuvering can impact the success of DBS and cable/broadcast distribution. On the national front in the United States the FCC is involved in a wide array of proceedings from indecency on DBS/DARS services the provision of localized content the fallout of court decisions affecting satellite frequency auctions to decision to allow transborder services to name just a few. Regulators and experts discussed the present and future impact of important regulatory decisions under consideration.
Cable Programmers' Roundtable: Broadcasting Enhancements And Transmission Protocols
Cable service providers are enhancing their broadcast offerings seeking to deliver richer content. This panel of cable executives discussed the content trends they see as most profitable and the transmission and equipment requirements they will need to successfully deliver tomorrow's programming today.
Capacity Crunch: Delivering Services with Limited Resources - Is There a Problem?
Satellite industry watchers say that C-band growth is slowing as Ku-band remains strong across all global regions. Ka-band continues to be a darling of the marketplace, with new spacecraft on order and new applications on the drawing boards. Regional operators continue to emerge and expand, and the FSS giants all agree that serving the legacy businesses will drive new capacity on orbit through the next decade. Where are the current supply-demand imbalances? Will the relentless growth of DTH strain some operators, in space or on the ground? And what role will evolving government and military applications play in the availability of commercial satellite capacity for world and regional markets?
Europe: Growing Broadcasting and Broadband Opportunities
From regional broadcasting to specialized programming, Direct-to-Home and Pay-TV operators are increasing their business initiatives. Likewise, broadband developments, particularly in Eastern Europe, are making significant headway. This panel will share insights regarding the communication applications that are in demand, where the new business is and what is needed to capitalize on this expanding market.
Europe continues to set the pace for innovation across a continent while increasingly becoming a true global player. Service providers are populating the region with new broadband, direct broadcast, pay TV, and other offerings while expanding core applications at a rapid pace. What role will European pacesetters play in the globalization of satellite services, which companies and services will increase their market shares in region as well as around the world, and what are the opportunities for participation across the board?
IPTV via Satellite: Identifying the Impact to Satcom Providers
As a likely competing platform to Direct-to-Home and cable-TV services, IPTV is touted as a revolutionary delivery system that can incorporate interactivity and other value-added applications on top of an existing broadband IP link. Satellite technology's ability to provide cost-effective broadcast services can be positioned as a natural broadcast enabler and would seem a perfect fit to distribute and deliver TV programming to IPTV providers. However, despite an apparent opportunity for satellites to enable IPTV on a global scale, true demand and opportunity for satellite-delivered IPTV is not entirely clear. This session will examine the critical issues surrounding the satellite IPTV play and discuss if this application is poised for a breakout.
IPTV operators have many, many options when it comes to delivering their content. What are the standards for IPTV networks and what do equipment manufacturers need to provide to meet the market demand?
Service diversification pressures have prompted telephone companies to bet on IP television, and satellite broadcast economics combined with the virtualization advantage of IP has given birth to new satellite-IPTV distribution models. There is, however, concern that despite satellites' natural virtues for video distribution, demand for satellite-based services could be challenged by a wide range of factors. This panel will provide insight into real world satellite-IPTV cases and determine if satellite-IPTV is ready for primetime. Is the B2B U.S. model transferable to other regions? Are there niche-market opportunities for satellite service providers? Can satellite players better enable small telcos to capitalize on the IPTV differentiation promise, and is IP distribution also applicable to cable operators? Hear from the leading players about their experiences and expectations for the satellite IPTV play.
As consumer telecom and entertainment applications continue being adopted indistinctively in fixed-mobile contexts, television is considered "the next killer app" in mobile. Satellite broadcast can complement and expand terrestrial mobile TV by distributing entertainment to transmission towers and directly to handsets, media players and navigation systems outside urban areas. However, the audience-building success stories of free terrestrial services in Japan and Korea point to less emphasis on "the mobility premium", challenging subscription offerings and increasing monetization pressures via advertisement and differentiation. This session will explore the latest experiences and trends and evaluate the way forward for the satellite play in this exciting, yet challenging consumer application.
Mobile TV is the latest-hyped telecom opportunity, as the new service merges the two most successful consumer electronics products of all time: the TV and the mobile phone. Billed as the next significant revenue generator for carriers and content owners, mobile TV includes television and video content adapted for the small screen of mobile phones, PDAs and any other wireless devices. The satellite play for mobile TV will be explored in this session, as well as new mobile TV technologies, such as DMB, DVB-H and MediaFLO.
Mobile TV: The Role for Satellites in an Increasingly Hybrid, Multimedia World
Through initial success of S-DMB services in Korea and usage of satellite capacity to distribute mobile content, satellite players are turning their attention to emerging mobile multimedia distribution models. Now, the pending launch of S-band capacity in Europe, recent ratification of DVB-SH, trials between broadband wireless providers and ATC players, and a greater volume of satellite deals to backhaul mobile video content all point to an industry poised to break away from hype and show real revenue. This panel will explore the growth opportunities for mobile video via satellite, in all distribution models, and identify how satellite companies will benefit from this multimedia application.
With higher demands on broadcasters to get the news and instantly deliver it, today's SNG operators are operating smaller, multi-channel trucks and are streaming much more than mere video. Likewise, with the growth of DVB-S2, technological expertise and advanced business savvy is becoming center stage for this industry sector. This panel will discuss the developments, both from the equipment and operational side, surrounding the SNG community.
The SATELLITE 2006 Conference Proceedings CD-Rom includes the audio and PowerPoint presentations from every session in the conference. It also includes a complete exhibitor list with links so you can contact the 240 exhibitors of SATELLITE 2006 directly.
The SATELLITE 2007 Conference Proceedings CD-Rom includes the audio and PowerPoint presentations from every session in the conference. It also includes a complete exhibitor list with links so you can contact the 270 exhibitors of SATELLITE 2007 directly.
The SATELLITE 2008 Conference Proceedings CD-Rom includes the audio and PowerPoint presentations from every session in the conference. It also includes a complete exhibitor list with links so you can contact the 270 exhibitors of SATELLITE 2008 directly.
Satellite Newsgathering: Send a Truck or Send a Laptop?
The satellite newsgathering marketplace has evolved from an interesting concept not too many years ago into a global phenomenon that embraces everything from broadcast-quality HD video to citizen journalists armed with high-tech cameras, instant access, and a sense of mission. What SNG role will satellite continue to play in an increasingly connected and IP-driven landscape? Is the satellite solution still the best and most versatile approach? Will lower cost access technologies and equipment relegate SNG to a niche position in the arsenal of broadcast journalism? What's the future for satellite-based SNG on mobile platforms and even remotely-controlled robots?
Satellites, Broadcasting & Cable TV: Still the Ones
Broadcast and Cable TV contribution and distribution services are the backbone of the satellite industry, representing the largest users of capacity worldwide. How will changing technologies such as IPTV, HD and MPEG-4 change this business? What are the broadcasters and satellite operators doing to plan for these changes? What are the equipment vendors doing to help them with the process?
Broadcasters and cable TV operators rely upon satellites for everything from breaking news coverage to video backhaul to cable head ends. The integrity of satellite spectrum used to provide these services has been threatened in recent years by the tremendous growth of terrestrial wireless services in or near these traditional satellite bands. This session addresses these and other important issues to the broadcast and cable TV industries.
The chief executives at the top of the global satellite-enabled marketplace set the pace for industry innovation, new services, complex orbital architectures, and day-to-day operations. As 2009 approaches, some key bets have to be made. How much will rising spacecraft and launch costs affect the business case? Has HDTV really, finally, arrived, and what does it mean? What are the demand factors for satellite communications as fill rates in many locations and on many spacecraft reach or exceed 80 percent? And is there a danger that the exuberance many in the industry feel will not be sustained in this climate of economic uncertainty and restraint?
Video on demand is becoming a major driver of TV revenues, potentially putting direct-to-home satellite players at a disadvantage in the market. How will satellite operators respond to the challenge, or can they even provide a competitive option to other broadcasting options?
In the wake of the XM-Sirius merger, attention has now turned to the possibility of consolidation in the MSS sector. At last year's MSS CEO panel, only Robert Brumley of TerreStar was prepared to venture that there might be less CEOs participating in the session next year. However, we have already seen the announcement of a possible attempt to combine SkyTerra and Inmarsat this year, and meanwhile Inmarsat has applied to the FCC for permission to take over Stratos in April 2009. However, MSS operators have continued to raise additional funding through 2008 despite extraordinarily difficult financial market conditions. Will this be enough to see them through the challenges and costs of launching new services, or will additional mergers prove to be the best way forward in 2009 and beyond? Hear from the industry's CEOs as they talk about what's gone right and what hasn't for MSS over the last year and what changes they expect in 2009.
When Does HD Become SD? Advent of Growing Revenue Stream
The promise of high-definition broadcasting has kicked into high gear for the satellite-enabled communications marketplace. Some estimates of HD carriage via satellite project 1,000 channels in the near future, with more than 22,000 SD channels also in play. Requirements for HD delivery from programmers across the board, from military and government users, and from other customers, make HD a fast-growing segment of the revenue mix. Can satellite keep up with demand? What features of the satellite solution position it as the carrier of choice for HD? What innovations are needed? Are there non-traditional users as well who will help propel the evolution of HD into SD and feed into the satellite services success story?
World Radio Conference Results: Impact and Prophecy
The World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-07) in Geneva in late 2007 tackled issues of progress in the provision of telecom services worldwide, and the concurrent demands on limited radio frequency spectrum. How did satellite fare, and what are the dimensions of future battles over spectrum and allocations? What can be done now to maximize the progress made by advocates of satellite, and how can the industry maximize positive impacts of the decisions made in Geneva?
