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The launch last Friday night of an Ariane 5 booster with two commercial communications satellites weighing nearly 10,000 pounds onboard put me in an anniversary frame of mind. Hard to imagine that the 180-pound Sputnik was launched 50 years ago last Thursday (I was a wee lad at the time!) and that just ten years later there was in place the solid and irreversible beginnings of a robust global satellite system.
Last week’s satellites were Intelsat 11 and Optus D2. Back in the day, when I first got involved with the commercial satellite industry, there was no Optus, and Intelsat was excited about its new Intelsat V series of satellites. On the conference side, SATELLITE was a small but growing gathering of key executives in Washington, D.C., convened to discuss the future of communications via satellite.
How far we’ve come . . .
At SATELLITE 2008, more than 8,500 industry leaders, executives, technicians, and market makers will convene to discuss what the future looks like in the 21st century. As we enter The Sixth Decade, it’s amazing to the old-timers to note that many of the regional systems we’ll discuss come online with more capacity and much more flexibility than the constellations of just a decade or two ago. The vision of a global village interconnected by orbital messengers and other media, popularized by Lewis, McLuhan, and Clarke, is taken for granted today.
In The Sixth Decade, the road ahead for communications via satellite is brighter than it’s ever been. The opportunity to innovate, to expand, to develop, and to prosper has never been stronger. But to get “from here to there” takes solid understanding of market dynamics, and a keen grasp of where opportunity resides. This knowledge – and the relationships and networking and sense of belonging that comes with it – is the key deliverable of SATELLITE 2008.
You have to be there, for yourself, for your company, and for your future. By that time, another key milestone will have passed, the 50th anniversary of the launch on January 31, 1958, of the USA’s first satellite, Explorer-1 (I was five years old that very day). Come to Washington, DC, and help set the stage for the next half-century of communications via satellite. It’s a chance to create new chapters in a story which we all can share and can celebrate together.
SATELLITE 2008:The Sixth Decade Conference Program Announced!
The SATELLITE 2008 Conference not only focuses on opportunities in vertical markets, but also digs deeper than ever before, providing fresh data, keen market intelligence and the strategies you need to achieve new levels of excellence and business development.
New for SATELLITE 2008! Search the conference sessions by keyword, focused forum or the days you'll be in attendance. Plus, you can plan your personalized conference agenda by adding sessions and networking events right to your Outlook calendar. Check it out.
Via Satellite Accepts Nominations for 2007 Satellite Executive of the Year
Each year at the SATELLITE Conference and Exhibition, the staff of Via Satellite magazine and the Access Intelligence Satellite Group honors the most outstanding industry executive of the prior year as its Satellite Executive of the Year.
The honoree is chosen for durable contributions to the global satellite markets, technologies, business practices, services innovations or any combination of the aforementioned.
PanAmSat Founder Rene Anselmo was the first Satellite Executive of the Year in 1988. Since then, more than a dozen industry visionaries have been honored. Some honorees have been controversial; others have been obvious. In any case, it's always been invigorating to debate the merits of the nominees and to share conclusions with the global satellite community in Via Satellite and during the SATELLITE Conference and Exhibition.
Submission deadline is Nov. 15, 2007 - Submit your nomination today!
The SATELLITE 2008 Conference Program has been finalized – exhibitors now have the unique opportunity to attach their brand to the session of their choice! If your marketing plan is focused on a specific segment or region of the satellite-enabled communications market, a session sponsorship is the most targeted way to enhance your brand to buyers of your company’s technology, products, and services. View the conference program here.
For details and ideas of how you can maximize your marketing message at SATELLITE 2008, contact Michael Cassinelli today at +1-301-354-1691 or mcassinelli@accessintel.com!
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The SATELLITE 2008 Press Room is the one-stop shop for the latest news, product launches and trends in satellite-enabled communications. Here’s just one of the recent headlines:
Frontline Introduces the World's First C-Band HD Sprinter
Frontline is pleased to team with Arctek once again in the development of a new broadcast vehicle platform- The Frontline C-Band HD Sprinter utilizing a Vertex 2.4m antenna and an HD transmission and video system. Read the entire press release.
See all the SATELLITE 2008 Exhibitor Press Releases
International Delegates Encouraged to Register Early(1).jpeg)
SATELLITE 2008 encourages all international attendees to register for the event and request a letter of invitation by October 15, 2007 to ensure ample time for visa processing.
New for SATELLITE 2008! With the support of the U.S. Department of Commerce's International Buyer Program, SATELLITE 2008 has compiled a list of tips for a successful visa interview. International delegates who need registration of letter of invitation assistance should email register@satellite2008.com
On Demand – How Serious Is The Threat To Satellite’s C-band Spectrum?
October 16 – What Steps Can The Industry Take As WRC-07 Gets Underway?
December 4 – What Should The Satellite Industry Do In The Aftermath Of The Decision Made By WRC-07?
Satellite operators use C-band to provide essential services such as TV transmissions, distance learning, telemedicine and disaster recovery, and in some countries C-band spectrum serves as the core communications network.
More than 160 satellites that use C-band are in orbit, representing an investment of more than $40 billion by the satellite industry.
Satellite operators have faced spectrum battles in the past, but with huge telecommunications firms lobbying to gain more access to C-band for their next-generation wireless services, satellite players may face their toughest spectrum fight yet.
This is a key issue on the agenda for the ITU’s World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-07) and satellite operators and their customers need to know how serious the threat to their C-band spectrum is and what the industry can do to protect its investment and revenue stream.
Register Now for this Webinar Series - just $299 per Webinar. Participate from your desk or from a conference room with your entire team for one fee!
Register Today!
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SeaMobile Wins Two NOAA Contracts
SeaMobile Enterprises has been awarded two contracts to provide global VSAT services to the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the company announced Oct. 3.
SeaMobile will provide voice and data access to up to 21 ships in the NOAA fleet. The network enables broadband connectivity between the ships and NOAA headquarters so that environmental scientists can interact in real-time with ships at sea. NOAA will be able to conduct voice calls, large data transfers and video conferencing simultaneously while operating in the northern Alaska, Pacific and Atlantic Ocean regions.
The company also won a contract to integrate, install, operate and provide maintenance for a 3.7-meter VSAT terminal system for a new NOAA ship, Okeano Explorer. The ship is the first U.S. government ship dedicated to exploring unknown parts of the ocean. The VSAT terminal will be able to transmit HDTV and high-speed data from any ocean region in the world.
Loral, PSP Acquisition Of Telesat Gains FCC Approval
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has approved Loral Space and Communications and its partner’s acquisition of Telesat Canada, Loral announced Oct. 5.
Loral and the Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments) remain on schedule to close the transaction later this month. The joint venture company agreed to acquire 100 percent of Telesat’s stock for CAD 3.25 billion. ($2.8 billion) in December 2006. The Canadian regulatory board, Industry Canada, approved the deal last month.
Comtech Receives DOD Contract
Comtech EF Data Corp. received an order to provide the U.S. Department of Defense with satellite communications infrastructure equipment, the company announced Oct. 3.
The equipment, which consists of the TurboIP-45 Performance Enhancement Proxy, the SLM-5650 Satellite Modem and the Vipersat Management System, will be deployed to support a managed satellite–based communications network.
The order is valued at $1.2 million.
Orbital Wins Nustar Contract
Orbital Sciences Corp. has been selected by the California Institute of Technology and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to design, manufacture, integrate and test the Nuclear Spectroscopic Array (Nustar) scientific satellite, the company announced Oct. 2.
Nustar, which will be based on Orbital’s LEOStar-2 bus, is part of NASA’s Small Explorer series of spacecraft, will use high-energy X-rays to detect black holes and other energetic phenomena, as well as answer questions about the universe.
The satellite will be launched in 2011 and is intended to bridge the gap in astrophysics missions between the 2009 launch of the Wide-field Infrared Surveyor Explorer and the 2013 launch of the James Webb Space Telescope.
Spacenet To Create Network For USPS
Spacenet Inc. is working with Verizon Business to deploy a satellite network for the U.S. Postal Service, Spacenet parent Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. announced Oct. 1.
The network will provide broadcast communications based on the SkyEdge VSAT platform for more than 5,000 postal service sites in the continental United States, Hawaii, Alaska and Puerto Rico. The network will support applications such as a video relay service for deaf and hard of hearing employees, multicast content delivery, real-time video broadcasting, Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP)-based digital telephone services, routine data transport and point-of-sale transactions. The network also will support back-up communications for several facilities, as well as portable communications for the U.S. Postal Inspection Service fleet.
"This contract demonstrates that a team composed of a leading satellite services provider and a major telecom operator, such as Spacenet and Verizon Business, can provide customers with the best of all worlds — cost effective communications with high availability and world class service,”Andreas Georghiou, CEO of Spacenet, said in a statement.
All sites are expected to be operational later this fall.
Raytheon Retains NMT Contract
Raytheon Co. will be allowed to continue with development of the Navy Multiband Terminal, the Navy has directed following a review of the original decision.
The contract for the three-year, $960 million system was awarded May to Raytheon in May, and losing bidder Harris Corp. filed a protest. The Navy reviewed the award and reaffirmed that Raytheon offered the best value solution, the company announced.
Raytheon Network Centric Systems will develop, deliver and support an advanced satellite communication system consisting of shipboard and shore-based communication terminals for the transformational communications component of the Navy's FORCEnet architecture.
The Navy expects to field the terminals for operational test and evaluation in late 2009, pursuant to U.S. Department of Defense plans for its advanced extremely high frequency satellite constellation to be operational in 2010.
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