Major satellite operators are increasingly turning to fiber optic networks to speed their growth strategies.
Once the enemy, fiber is now becoming the friend of satellite executives looking to cut the cost of delivering services to certain customers. Two of the leading proponents of the new attitude toward fiber are PanAmSat [SPOT] and Intelsat.
For PanAmSat, using fiber to support its satellite services is less risky than investing in something unproven, officials say. The Wilton, Conn.-based satellite operator wants to leverage its global fleet of spacecraft through joint ventures, strategic alliances and partnerships.
Part of that PanAmSat strategy also includes the development of emerging-market segments, such as hybrid satellite and fiber networks.
PanAmSat became the world’s first satellite operator to incorporate a fiber link into its satellite network, COO Jim Frownfelter told listeners during an April 27 Webinar sponsored by PBI Media. The initiative has worked well so far, he added.
The company’s “virtual teleport” hybrid satellite/fiber program provides customers with access to PanAmSat’s global network from anywhere in the United States, Frownfelter said. The virtual teleport program gives customers a more reliable and efficient, lower-cost distribution platform, he explained.
Intelsat also is developing a hybrid satellite/terrestrial program, said COO Ramu Potarazu, who also participated in the Webinar.
People want a hybrid solution for corporate network services, Potarazu said. With corporate network services composing 25 percent of Intelsat’s 2002 revenues, the incentive to respond favorably to customer preferences is high.
Intelsat’s hybrid network consists of seven new high-powered satellites that are supported by ground assets that include teleports, fiber connections and points of presence (PoPs) around the globe, Potarazu said. The company has named its portfolio Intelsat GlobalConnex.
The Intelsat hybrid services feature broadband, cellular and video. Included as part of the services are international private lines (IPL), Internet trunking services and integrated video.
Without question, managed hybrid services are a growing part of Intelsat’s business, Potarazu said.
The costly build-out of fiber in national networks during recent years has led to an unprecedented opportunity for the creation of hybrid networks, he added.
“The century-long history of telecommunication is really that of interconnections between different media,” said D.K. Sachdev, president of the Vienna, Va.-based SpaceTel Consultancy. “When Intelsat was owned by signatories, its role was largely that of interconnecting national nodes. Such nodes in turn routed traffic on other media, be it twisted pairs, copper or fiber cables, microwave or wireless.”
PanAmSat started with the same model, but it had less institutional constraints on providing end-to-end service, Sachdev said.
Today, global satellite companies use the most efficient means to route traffic to the customer, or as close to the customer as possible, he added.
Roger Rusch, the head of the Palos Verdes, Calif.-based TelAstra consultancy, observed that it has always been a good idea to offer a range of services to clients that could provide the best features of all technologies. However, challenges exist in delivering hybrid services.
One problem is how operators price hybrid services, Rusch said. “No doubt satellite transmission companies will be better able to survive if they think of themselves as transmission companies and not just satellite operators,” he said. “Nevertheless, it is important to keep a strong emphasis on the satellite solution.”
In Rush’s view, satellites offer a cost-effective way to distribute programming to multiple destinations. Satellites are especially valuable due to their point-to-multipoint method of operation that allows the technology to provide universal service. At the same time, fiber offers reliable and efficient transmission capabilities from one location to another.
–Paul Dykewicz
(Jim Frownfelter, PanAmSat, 203/210-8645; Ramu Potarazu, Intelsat, 202/944-7656; D.K. Sachdev, SpaceTel Consultancy, 703/757-5880; Roger Ruxch, TelAstra, 310/373-1925)
