[Satellite News 03-11-11] During the weeks leading up to the SATELLITE 2011 conference in Washington D.C., manufacturers, service providers and operators have announced numerous contracts, product releases and initiatives to establish a long-term position in the global satellite broadband market.
    With all eyes focused on the role Ka-band will play in the next five years, several executives told Satellite News that the show provides a timely forum for providers to sell the future of satellite broadband to customers.
    Boeing recently completed the preliminary design review (PDR) of the first of three Inmarsat-5 Ka-band constellation satellites it is manufacturing for Inmarsat. The spacecraft, based on the Boeing 702HP satellite bus, features a total of 89 transponders dedicated to Ka-band, forming the backbone of Inmarsat’s Global Xpress network and its advertised broadband speeds of 50 Mbps.
    “The PDR will be followed this fall by critical design review before construction starts,” Inmarsat Global Xpress Managing Director Leo Mondale told Satellite News. “The only major component of the GlobalXpress system not yet under contract is for the launch of the satellites and the associated insurance and risk management. We are in active discussions with all of the qualified providers of launch services and expect to conclude a contract based on a competitive process later this year.”
    Mondale outlined the challenges for Inmarsat’s Ka-band strategy to Satellite News in February. “The selection processes for space and ground segment vendors confirmed our view that Ka-band technology is ready for deployment into our target markets, and we are very comfortable with our choice of suppliers and partners thus far, which cover most of the technical and deployment aspects of the program. The execution of our satellite, ground segment, user terminal, regulatory and commercial plans is now the main challenge.”
    MTN Government Services President Jim Ramsey will participate in a session about the impact of the Ka-band service and the relationship between the satellite industry and the government for disaster relief and humanitarian aid.
    “We’re looking to promote an offering that includes complete VSAT managed service solutions — C-band, Ku-band, X-band and Ka-band systems with data rates from 56 Kbps to 4 Mbps. Our network architecture allows us to provide dedicated bandwidth for each VSAT user with a guaranteed 1:1 contention ratio, plus automatic on-demand burstability to higher bandwidth when needed — for instance, when uploading or downloading large data files such as imagery. This is essential when it comes to supporting mission-critical communications for operators in the field,” Ramsey told Satellite News.
    Another growing opportunity for satellite broadband is the in-flight market. In early March, Aircell announced plans to migrate its Gogo in-flight Wi-Fi service on international flights and increase the performance of its domestic services. To do this, Aircell said it would migrate to EV-DO Rev A in 2012 and then to Ka-band wireless backhauls in 2013. “The Ka-band technology will be used within the continental U.S. in 2013 and expand to worldwide coverage in 2015,” a spokesman told Satellite News. “We’ll be at the show to see what new developments will be available in the next four years.”
    ViaSat has invested heavily in expanding Ka-band in key international markets with its Yonder mobile broadband service. The network serves business jets, maritime vessels and government and defense customers around the globe. In a March Via Satellite interview, ViaSat CEO Mark Dankberg highlighted the importance of his company’s breakthrough in the North American in-flight market while its rival Hughes focuses on emerging markets abroad.
    “We feel that in-flight broadband is a very strong market right now, specifically because it follows that macro-trend I mentioned earlier. Again, the key is higher speeds and more bandwidth. This year, you will see the migration from the older L-band solutions move faster than ever to the Ku- and Ka-band solutions we’re providing,” said Dankberg. “The move we made last year in in-flight connectivity was our deal with JetBlue to install Ka-band satellite broadband connectivity on its entire 160-aircraft fleet in 2012 was significant. We’re taking the market way beyond what past services have offered in this market. Bringing in high-capacity Ka-band is what customers and our partners at JetBlue have responded to.”
    Hughes received March 3 a Middle Eastern satellite consumer broadband contract with Yahsat, which Raymond James analyst Chris Quilty said was surprising considering that ViaSat won a $46 million contract with Yahsat in 2009 for consumer terminals. “Satellite broadband is a fiercely competitive market right now for North American players. The impact of Hughes’ acquisition by EchoStar on ViaSat still has to be determined now that there is an increased possibility that Dish Network might choose to align itself with Hughes. If so, ViaSat experience a slower-than-expected ramp in it subscriber count. All in all, I think you’ll see a lot of aggressive positioning at the SATELLITE 2011 show.”