Disaster Recovery: Where Does The Market For Satellite Services Stand?

 

Interest in satellite communication services jumped in the wake of the 2005 hurricane season in the United States. In many ways, that interest phased out in 2006 due to a much quieter storm season. However, the deeper appreciation for satellite communication services has not waned, and the satellite industry must find ways to capitalize on the opportunity.

The damage inflicted upon terrestrial communications systems throughout the U.S. Gulf Coast by Hurricane Katrina was widespread. Nearly 3 million customer telephone lines and more than 1,000 cell sites were knocked out of service across Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Nearly three weeks after the storm, only 60 percent of the cell phone networks in New Orleans were working properly, and roughly 2 million calls were failing.
In stark contrast to the problems with the terrestrial networks, Mobile Satellite Services (MSS) were available during and in the immediate aftermath of Katrina, and Fixed Satellites Services (FSS) helped provide infrastructure and emergency voice, video, and data communications in the affected areas. As the hurricane reached land, CNN and Fox News used an Inmarsat mobile satellite terminal to provide live video reporting. More than 20,000 Globalstar, Iridium and Mobile Satellite Ventures satellite phone and terminals were deployed to the Gulf Coast in the days immediately following Katrina. Both XM Satellite Radio and DirecTV provided FEMA and the Red Cross with a dedicated broadcast station for disseminating hurricane-related information.
Satellite-enabled technologies provided everything from transportable ATM machines to high-speed Internet access that allowed families to stay connected. The organizations using these satellite communications ranged from federal, state and local government agencies; schools, churches and local relief organizations; and large and small businesses.
The availability and efficiency of satellite systems in the wake of Katrina and other disasters in 2005 led to increased interest in these products from a host of established and new satellite customers. Spurred by the rollout of new  disaster preparedness offerings, customers eager not to suffer through another season of prolonged communications outages eagerly signed up for satellite services.
Now a relatively light 2006 hurricane season seems to have softened the demand for those products, according to industry executives. “I think the hurricanes definitely led to an increased focused on emergency planning, but the surge of interest has definitely started to fade,” says Morris Shawn, president and CEO of Canada-based Roadpost Inc. “It’s always difficult for corporations to spend when the best-cost scenario ends up being a waste of dollars. There are only so many events like Katrina.”
Martin Fierstone, CEO of Global Satellite USA of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., has had a similar experience. “As far as investing in satellite communications, we certainly saw a substantial amount of business out of southern Florida, which is susceptible to hurricanes,” he says. “But since this past season we haven’t had a hurricane, [and] interest has been fading through the season. People have short memories.”

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