While most satellite operators are showing declines in revenues, all of them appear to be working behind the scenes in terms of repositioning their operations for growth. Whether it is investments in Ka-band, or looking to develop hybrid fiber/satellite solutions, it is clear that most satellite operators are in the middle of an evolutionary process right now. That was the main message to come out of PBI Media’s April 29 Webinar: “From Broadcast To Broadband: Seizing The Next Satellite Business Opportunity.”

PanAmSat [NYSE: SPOT] has been in evolutionary mode. It now is making an aggressive pitch for government services (see Interspace issue 767). It has also been one the leaders in terms of deploying hybrid satellite/fiber solutions. Its recent agreement with Level 3 Communications [NYSE: LVLT], a fiber optic network provider, is a strong indication of the direction the company is going.

Yet, the operator is still hedging its bets in terms of broadband services, and there is still an underlying caution towards new investments. Jim Frownfelter, PanAmSat’s COO, told Webinar participants: “We are not interested in speculative deployments to open markets. We are not making significant investments in greenfield opportunities. We are not planning to invest in Ka-band satellites just yet and we have no plans to offer a retail broadband service.”

Intelsat has also been working hard to evolve its service model. Ramu Potarazu, president and COO of Intelsat, summed up the new approach by saying; “We want to evolve and we need to be more flexible offering network-centric satellite solutions. Ka-band will be important. We have changed quite a lot and become more solutions based.” Intelsat has been particularly aggressive in developing new markets. Its creation of a video services unit last year, as well as investments ranging from pay-TV in Hong Kong and North American broadband (see related story, this issue) indicate the operator is working hard to diversify its revenue base and build strong sustainable revenues for the future. Like PanAmSat, the operator is also developing hybrid satellite/fiber solutions and Potarazu called these “a growing part of the business.”

New Skies Satellites [NYSE: NSK] does not have the financial power of an Intelsat or a PanAmSat, but it too is adapting to changes in the market. Chris Schram, vice president of network engineering & operations at New Skies, said the operator’s revenues “were well balanced among services and regions” and that it was important for the operator to have a balanced portfolio in this respect. It also had to be cautious in terms of its own evolution. Schram told the Webinar: “We are smaller and not prepared to gamble. We cannot be a technological innovator. We are an open network company. We want to develop a network of global mediaports in areas of established or expected market potential. We want to develop terrestrial relationships. We need to be smart in how we use our capacity. We want to be leading edge, not bleeding edge.”

–Mark Holmes