by Katie McConnell
With more companies merging and expanding business to various regions of the world, getting together is becoming problematic. With the economics of flying people to a central location coupled with the task of juggling schedules, the group get-together is becoming a thing of the past. In its place is business television.
Business television (BTV) allows corporations to collect employees easily by videoconference for such action items as the annual chairman’s speech, training, internal news updates, etc. And with the price of hardware, software and satellite time often on the decrease, more and more companies are adopting satellite-based BTV networks to connect employees.
Where We Are Now
The first satellite-based BTV networks were installed around 1983, according to Susan Irwin, president and founder of the Irwin Communications consultancy. These networks all used Ku-band satellites to transmit analog signals, and they averaged 50 to 300 sites. Federal Express, J.C. Penney, Merrill Lynch, Aetna and Domino’s Pizza were the first to jump on the BTV bandwagon.
Today, there are more than 200 private satellite networks in the United States alone. According to Irwin, most of these networks are in five industry sectors: IT/telecommunications; manufacturing/automotive; retail; insurance/financial services; and the federal government.
She adds that major providers for private networks in the United States include Hughes Network Systems, Spacenet Inc., Digitalxpress, Microspace and Globecast.
Hughes Network Systems
Not surprising, Hughes Network Systems (HNS) is the largest installer of satellite-based television networks. With most business television networks based on VSAT technology, and Hughes the current market leader in VSAT installations, according to the Comsys’ VSAT Report, HNS is leading the way into the BTV arena.
The very first customer to implement a BTV network from HNS was none other than Wal-Mart, one of the largest retail chains in the United States. The network was VSAT based, and it was installed in 1986, according to Mike Gorsuch, assistant vice president of HNS’ satellite network division.
"Wal-Mart is still a customer of HNS, and in early 1998, the retail chain deployed a new HNS video system, which converted a lot of the analog information to new digital video," says Gorsuch. That system was based on HNS’ DirecPC Enterprise Edition, which allows customers to receive video over TCP/IP.
For businesses that want an interactive network, HNS provides the One Touch Systems interactive distance learning system, which is particularly suitable for training applications over BTV networks. One Touch is basically a keypad that allows students to raise their hands virtually to ask questions, answer multiple choice questions and register. Companies such as Ford and General Motors, HNS’ parent company, employ distance learning networks that utilize One Touch technology.
The restaurant arena is among the new markets HNS is targeting. Currently, Cracker Barrel is a customer, and they are looking to add a digital training application, says Gorsuch. "Their approach employs browser access from remote locations to a centralized training host," he adds.
Cracker Barrel uses its VSAT network for faster payment authorizations, training and to demonstrate special preparation procedures for new menu items. The company plans to expand its use of video in the future to combat the high turnover in the restaurant and retail industry with an increased interactive training program.
Through business television, Cracker Barrel is able to bring together all of its 40,000 employees from its 365 stores and corporate headquarters in Lebanon, TN.
Spacenet
Spacenet Inc., a subsidiary of Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd., has been providing satellite-based BTV networks since its inception in the mid-’80s. One of the company’s earliest BTV projects was for J.C. Penney, a 1,600-site network that was used for buyers and nationwide merchandising.
When a company invests in a Spacenet BTV network, that customer gets "a fully outsourced" network, says Dianne VanBeber, vice president of investor relations with Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. "The customer focuses on content, we focus on getting to the audience flawlessly." In addition to technology, the company has interactive distance learning professionals on its staff, which can provide assistance to customers in course conversion, instructional strategies and teaching techniques using the technology.
Customers employ Spacenet BTV networks, such as the company’s Vistacast product, for training employees, customers and vendors; merchandising; core corporate messaging; new product introductions and executive announcements.
According to VanBeber, training and education courses encompass lecture-based material, as well as cognitive skills development. Topics include contracting/acquisition management, environmental, hazardous waste management, aircraft maintenance, government ethics and more.
To ensure reliable service, Spacenet is "investing millions in an ERP (enterprise resource planning) system," she says, "and an employee VSAT network, which will give employees the ability to view our customers’ networks down to the component level on a 24-hour-a-day basis. We intend to live with our customers."
Recently, Spacenet announced that it was selected by Peoplesoft Inc. to provide a satellite-based network to enable Peoplesoft Knowledge Broadcasts, an interactive distance learning program designed to train customers on Peoplesoft’s products. With 1998 revenues of $1.3 billion, Peoplesoft is one of the world’s largest suppliers of enterprise applications software and e-business solutions.
The network integrates Gilat’s Skystar Advantage VSAT network with specialized distance learning software to create an interactive training environment. The training software, TrainNetPro, a product of Gilat Communications, is a PC-based training system, combining live video and student/instructor interaction with Internet, e-mail and online testing capabilities. Under the contract with Peoplesoft, Spacenet will operate and maintain the VSAT network from its shared hub facilities.
Most recently, the company has been contracted to implement a 9,000-site broadband VSAT network for Accenthealth Inc., a U.S.-based health information services company. The VSAT product being used for this network is Gilat’s Skyblaster, which delivers broadband video and data directly to the LAN or desktop, with a high-speed satellite return channel. Accenthealth is using Skyblaster to transmit video programming to more than 9,000 health care facilities throughout the United States and will use the network to offer a wide range of interactive data, video and Internet applications to doctors’ offices. "The entire market for business television is transforming into a market for PC-based broadband networking over IP," says VanBeber.
Future plans for Spacenet, she adds, include "going global, going IP, and bringing value to our customers by efficiently distributing their business knowledge to their ‘customer’-be it internal or external."
Digitalxpress
Formed in 1995, Digitalxpress is a satellite-based service provider of information and communications solutions for the corporate market. It was founded in 1995 through the joint efforts of three companies: the Boeing Co., Conus Communications and Ceridian.
Joel Wright, president of Digitalxpress, says, "We are satellite-centric because satellites are naturally multicast-enabled. They currently provide the most cost-effective way to provide multimedia distribution." Wright illustrates this point by noting that with a satellite’s footprint, Digitalxpress can cover the entire continental United States with a single transmission. "The client pays for just that single transmission even though they may be going to 1,000 locations," he adds. "Whereas terrestrially, the client is typically paying for the various links it has."
Furthermore, Wright says the company uses satellite to bring business television to its clients because it is a "highly secured transmission," which gives Digitalxpress more ability to control the quality of service.
Basically, Digitalxpress employs a system similar to the direct broadcast services that are so prevalent in consumer homes today. One happy client using Digitalxpress’s system is New England Financial.
"Like many other companies that have diverse populations, it’s almost impossible to fly people from the home office to visit," says Scott Nussey, assistant vice president of New England Financial. "Right now we have 75 sales offices around the country, and to communicate with these folks is a great challenge and an expensive challenge." To solve this problem, New England Financial installed a satellite network in 1992.
In 1995, the company switched vendors and signed up with Digitalxpress because "we were looking for a long-term contract that could provide us with an opportunity to grow into other areas of communication, such as distance learning via the Internet."
Future plans for Digitalxpress include expanding its service offerings into other countries. "Our clients at this point have all been U.S.-based companies," Wright says. "Our focus has been to start in the United States and grow outwards as our customer base takes us there."
One Digitalxpress client that is expanding internationally is Air Products and Chemical. "We provide them with an international capability to broadcast their distance learning classes, as well as their corporate communications events, to a dozen or so locations in Europe," Wright says. "So in addition to what we do domestically for them, we’ve added that on."
Although a young company, with its well-known partners and formidable client list, Digitalxpress is already one of the leading providers of satellite-based business television services and will most likely continue to be a leader as this market expands.
Microspace
In the business of providing satellite-based business television networks since the ’80s, Microspace’s unveiling of its Velocity product in 1995 put the company on the BTV map. Velocity began as a digital service that transmitted video, audio and data via GE 1 when it went online in 1996. "Since then, we’ve been selling full-time digital channels for business television, data and Internet applications," says Greg Hurt, sales and marketing manager for Microspace.
"The Velocity product is our marketing name for the service, and the service is exclusively satellite based," he adds. "It is MPEG 2 compliant and utilizes a DVB transport structure, which is an open systems architecture."
Like most satellite-based BTV networks, the monthly fee for Microspace’s service is independent of how many sites are on the network. The more sites a network has, the more cost effective the system becomes.
"If a business wants to get their content from a single point to multiple points, we believe satellites are ideal," adds Hurt. Among Micropsace’s clients are the National Pharmacy TV Network, the America Law Network and Dean Witter/Morgan Stanley. And Hurt expects the client list to expand.
Satellite-based business television is growing, he says. He attributes this to the fact that more companies are consolidating and expanding internationally, making it more difficult for management to bring employees together. With prices coming down on hardware, software and satellite time, Hurt believes that companies that adopt satellite-based BTV will have a clear competitive advantage over their competitors that do not.
Globecast
In the United States, Globecast, a subsidiary of France Telecom, has been delivering business television programming for major domestic and international corporations since 1981. With a dedicated operations center in Salt Lake City, members of Globecast’s BTV team possess an average of 10 years of experience in implementing and managing corporate private networks.
"The LDS Church (the Church of Latter Day Saints) was our first customer," says Robert Behar, president and CEO of Globecast America. "At that time, religious organizations were among the first users of private satellite networks. The LDS network started out with a few hundred domestic sites connecting churches nationwide. The network consisted of weekly spiritual programming delivered from its world headquarters in Salt Lake City."
From the beginning, Globecast’s offer consisted of transmission, satellite space and antenna installation services. Globecast continues to service the LDS network, which today includes 4,200 sites worldwide. This year the company expects to introduce IP-based multicast services to the BTV and private network market.
"Technology is changing daily, and there are a lot of buzzwords being thrown at the customers today, such as video streaming, Webcasting, video-on-demand/file servers, IP multicasting, FTP, caching, etc.," Behar says. "The challenge here lies with educating customers about new video technologies that enable the delivery of video programming for viewing live or on a delayed basis, and the delivery of video and/or data to the desktop."
Globecast is taking the rise of the Internet to heart internally as well. Globecast provides its customers with a proprietary, online network management service. This Web-based network database provides customers with secure access to their specific network information, which includes real-time monitoring of transmissions, site drawings, status reports, equipment inventory and updated maintenance records, among other services.
Globecast clients include the American Red Cross, Apple Computer and Hewlett Packard, among others. Looking to the future, Behar is most excited about what is happening in the IP arena with regard to business television. In this new environment, he says, clients have the ability to deliver video to the desktop in a secure environment and to provide true video-on-demand and high-speed Internet access. "The development in this area and the impact on true interactivity between users, or teacher and student, is really exciting," he says. "This will expand the meaning of business television to non-traditional business markets and more heavily into areas like distance learning. The industry of the future will encompass the traditional business television market, plus education, retail, banking, advertising and health care."
BTV At A Glance
In 1998, private networks used approximately 32,000 hours of occasional use time. Occasional broadcast hours for private networks decreased 10 percent from 1997 to 1998, according to Irwin. At the same time, there has been an increase in the use of full-time channels due to increasing distance learning activity and video conferencing services.
And recent trends for private satellite networks indicate a marketplace in transition, Irwin says. Virtually every industry is moving toward the Internet and/or Intranets to reach employees. In recent years, this had caused a slowdown in the growth of the private satellite network, but several developments are moving the private network industry forward.
"There has been a move to DBS systems and consumer equipment. DBS systems and small-size dishes have brought down the cost of hardware, if not the cost of space segment," she says. "In addition, several manufacturers have modified DBS equipment to be used with medium-powered Ku-band satellites, making it possible to provide video and data to the corporate user who is interested in the lower cost consumer-type equipment in addition to lower cost satellite time."
Moreover, the growth of interactive distance learning (IDL) is driving the use of private networks for training. "Distance learning is the driving application for private networks, and uses an average of 65 percent of total broadcast time," notes Irwin. "Companies such as Ford broadcast 1,000+ hours per month of training to dealerships in the U.S."
Finally, the private network marketplace is currently in the process of reinventing itself with the advent of IP-based multimedia capability. A growing number of private satellite networks are implementing broadband capability and IP-based multimedia systems. The need to tailor training to individuals, update training frequently and make it available on demand is focusing considerable interest in server-driven applications and delivery to the desktop. Many networks are considering broadband data delivery and IP-based solutions for the next generation.
With these trends, the equipment will to some extent change. Today VSATs reign supreme in the business television world, but as prices come down and videoconferencing applications move to the desktop, one can expect more DBS dishes moving into this territory. With that said, however, the promise of smaller and cheaper VSATs coupled with their two-way capability ensures that VSATs will remain a formidable force in the business television arena.
Katie McConnell is Senior Editor of Via Satellite.
