Satellite executives are at a critical juncture in many ways in terms of determining how they will move forward with so much recent development with Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) services. To be precise, 11 new Ku- and Ka-band Non-Geosynchronous Orbit (NGSO) systems have been filed at the FCC.
Much of the discussion at Wednesday’s SATELLITE 2017 “LEO and MEO Focus” panel was focused on how different companies can sometimes collaborate or differentiate themselves within the field.
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O3b Networks CEO Steve Collar said: “The challenge with LEO is business-based. Everybody knows [that]. And all of these guys have got different solutions, so I think it’s hard to speak generically about LEO. I think having hybrid infrastructure that you can leverage the right kind of traffic and for the right kind of customers is very important.”
Telesat Senior Vice President Michael Schwartz said: “If you step back and see what’s driving us, it’s what’s happening with data. The explosion of data … has been fundamental over the last 20 years. There’s going to be no one modality to solve everything. LEO plays an important role.”
OneWeb General Manager Scott Sprague said: “I think [we] all have a different approach to how we’re looking at markets … but one thing is clear, the growth of the data market is driving this demand. There are still plenty of underserved markets in the world … We are not looking to replace what folks are doing today, we’re looking to complement it in certain market segments.”
LeoSat CEO Mark Rigolle also spoke of how companies could differentiate themselves, focusing on offering premium products.
Iridium Communications CEO Matt Desch emphasized differentiating: “My strategy has been to avoid commoditization at all costs. I see everybody trying to focus on different segments, and I think that’s smart.” VS
