Dozens of attendees at the SATELLITE 2017 Show packed a mid-Tuesday afternoon session, “Can Flatter Antennas Bring Fatter Profits?” in the hopes that flat-antenna innovators — including executives from Phasor, Kymeta, EchoStar subsidiary Hughes, and Integrasys — could answer that exact question.
Nathan Kundtz, CEO of Kymeta, said: “The most important feature is that they actually have to exist. To really make it happen, you [have to offer] more than an antenna. People don’t buy antennas — people buy solutions. You’ve got to be able to bring data, and you’ve got to be able to bring data at a price point that makes sense.”
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David Rehbehm, vice president of the international division of Hughes Network Systems, said: “As we look at new antennas, we look very carefully at performance [and] there’s no question mobility is a key driver for the market. We’re very optimistic about electronically steered flat-panel antennas, but it doesn’t seem like we’re quite there yet.”
Alvaro Sanchez, sales director of Integrasys, agreed that antenna performance will drive interest, so long as stakeholders address today’s biggest challenges: making activation simpler, automating processes, mitigating interference, and providing remote maintenance.
David Helfgott, CEO of antenna developer Phasor, said: “The promise of electronically steered antenna in wide band — the promise is you can dynamically manage a beam in an environment that is changing rapidly … If you can do it in a reliable way, that’s economical … then you really have something.”
“We all know the market is building momentum. We think the ability to provide reliable and robust broadband services … is how you expand markets.” VS
