By James Careless

Private satellite networks. The name conjures up visions of Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) antennas perched atop banks, retailers and gas stations, all sending the most basic of data files into space.Times, however, have changed. Although credit card validation remains an important part of private satellite traffic–as do corporate communications–today’s private networks are branching into new and different markets. These cover everything from customized TV network feeds to retailers–in which they can sell and insert commercials–to fast-deploy voter validation programs in the remote regions of Venezuela.

Why Private Networks Are Changing

Two trends are transforming private network satellite traffic. One is the Internet; the other is digital technology.

Actually, it is not the Internet that is driving change, but rather it is the Internet Protocol (IP) data standard by which all Internet traffic is defined and encoded. In the IP world, all manner of applications can be reduced to common file formats, whether they are based on data, voice or video. Better yet, a satellite network based on the IP standard can carry all these files, thus providing VSAT operators with unprecedented flexibility.

"In the old world of satellite networks, each user had a specific kind of network that supported one kind of application, either credit card-style data, voice or video," says David Hershberg, president and CEO of Globecomm Systems. "Today, IP networks are capable of carrying all of these applications and more. In fact, if you are running your network on the IP data standard, you can move data, video, VoIP, or pretty much anything you want to."

But business is becoming more diverse, technology is becoming more complex and information is moving away from stagnant literature to rich media. This evolution alchemy is requiring a mature carrier and satellite-enabled solutions are gaining profits from these developments.

"IP makes it easy for your network to support a full range of broadband applications," says Emil Regard, vice president of marketing for Hughes Network Systems. "Again, this future-proofs your network. It now has the ability to carry whatever new applications are coming down the pipe."

Hand-in-hand with IP is digital technology, which has changed the very nature of satellite transmission. In the digital world, satellites can now carry much more data than before due to the advent of compression software and the ‘space-saving’ nature of IP files, compared to conventional analog transmissions.

Combined, these two elements are transforming the private network market. No longer do VSAT users have to satisfy themselves with sending data-only files. In an IP world, it is relatively easy to send video, voice and even multimedia via satellite either point-to-multipoint or point-to-point using a Mesh network. (In a Mesh network configuration, any one site on the network can communicate to any other site without the need to first connect to a central hub site.)

The Downside

The marriage of IP and digital technology, which is expanding possibilities for private network service providers, also poses a potential threat. In a world where IP traffic can flow as easily over land lines as it can over satellite, bandwidth is becoming a commodity caught in a global price war. For satellite service providers, this is a threatening trend because the glut of terrestrial fiber networks built in the 1990s has the potential to undercut what the satellite industry has to charge.

So what is a satellite service provider executive to do? "The secret is to adapt the satellite bandwidth allocation method specifically to the customer’s applications," says Gerry Einig, director of systems engineering for Viasat. "Bursty, time-sensitive data such as retail transactions require a typically higher-cost satellite bandwidth allocation scheme, whereas time insensitive data such as e-mail may use a much lower-cost satellite bandwidth allocation scheme."

Fortunately, VSAT systems can adjust dynamically to fit both scenarios, Einig adds. When considered with satellite’s ability "to deliver multicast data content to thousands of locations at the same bandwidth cost as one … [and] the fact that fiber still does not reach beyond many of the world’s coastlines and major cities, you have a winning proposition for the satellite industry," he adds.

New Applications, New Business Opportunities

Naturally, with any technological advancement comes new profit-making opportunities. Ask most VSAT industry analysts about the latest and greatest private network applications, and they may reply using just three words: Captive Audience Networks. Known as CAN for short, this acronym is synonymous with entertaining shoppers inside a particular shop by playing them videos that promote products sold within the store.

"The point of CAN programming is to woo customers when they have the opportunity to impulsively buy the products you are promoting," says Simon Bull, a senior consultant with Comsys. "Since LCD and plasma TV screens have become relatively inexpensive, it is now affordable for retailers to install them in their shops to carry CAN programming, which is delivered to the stores via private satellite networks. Beyond allowing retailers to upsell their own products, CAN displays can also carry third-party commercials. For retailers, this means a new source of revenue, because advertisers have to pay them in order to have their commercials inserted in the store’s video feed."

According to published reports, CAN applications are being piloted in retailers such as Borders, Kroger, Best Buy and the Bank of America. In Europe, Tesco and Metro Group are also planning to deploy CAN displays in their stores. Meanwhile, Advanced Auto Parts’ 2,500 U.S. stores already have access to their own CAN programming under the banner of the "Advance Auto Parts Network."

Besides plugging products, in-store video displays can help a store create the right atmosphere. "We are currently working with Abercrombie and Fitch to deliver live video feeds of the Pacific Ocean to their stores," says Fritz Stolzenbach, director of marketing at Spacenet. "The concept is this: each store installs large wall monitors showing live views of the ocean, streamed from cameras located on the shore. Our job is to take those camera feeds and distribute them via satellite to Abercrombie and Fitch stores nationwide."

Voter Verification Via Satellite

In an entirely different vein, a satellite private network was recently used in Venezuela to verify voter eligibility. The election in question was an August 15, 2004, referendum as to whether Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez should remain in office. In order to minimize voting fraud, the Venezuelan National Elections Board decided to establish a 4,000 site VSAT network on Referendum Day, with a VSAT wireless hub being set up at every polling center. Using Skystar 360 degreesE VSAT ground stations built by Gilat Satellite Networks and fingerprint scanning systems made by Cogent Systems, poll clerks were able to have each voter’s fingerprint scanned and sent back to the election board via satellite, in order to verify the identity of each voter and prevent people from voting at more than one poll. Once checked, the data was sent back to the polling station via satellite, so that the clerk could decide what to do.

"Our staff trained Venezuelan military personnel who trained other military personnel to do the actual installations," says Barry Spielman, Gilat’s senior director of corporate marketing. This project deployed 4,000-sites in a month, or some 300 a day.

"This project is a good example of one of the advantages of satellite-based VSAT technology," he adds. "The very rapid rate of deployment of VSATs allows for the meeting of tight deadlines of time-critical applications, even in large-scale projects such as the Venezuelan referendum."

Law Enforcement

Until recently, law enforcement agencies relied solely on terrestrial radio for two-way communications. However, in regions as vast as New Mexico–at 121,598 square miles, it is the fifth largest state in the United States–radio alone cannot do the job. In fact, 15 percent of the state cannot be reached by radio, according to Al Lewis, New Mexico’s chief of radio maintenance. Meanwhile, the 85 percent covered by radio only transmits voice. If officers of the New Mexico State Police (NMSP) need to check licenses, they have to ask their dispatcher to look it up on their computer manually.

To cover New Mexico’s wide open spaces with two-way data coverage, the NMSP adopted a satellite-based data radio system operated by Mobile Satellite Ventures (MSV). Hosted on MSV’s Msat 1 satellite, MSV’s data radio service collects low-powered transmissions from NMSP cars equipped with rooftop PDT-100 Satellite Packet Data Terminals made by EMS Technologies. These transmissions travel at 9,600 kbps to MSV’s earth station in Ottawa, Canada, where they are re-routed to the NMSP’s communications center in Santa Fe, NM. Granted, the relays have some signal delay issues, but "before we went to satellite data, we had no system whatsoever," says the NMSP’s Major Randall Bertram. "We did not have any sort of terrestrial network to carry these signals, and we did not have any in-car terminals at all."

At press time, MSV and Hughes Network Systems announced plans to jointly manufacture an L-band satellite terminal that will operate on MSV’s mobile satellite network. The new terminals will offer voice and dispatch radio service to first responders via satellite, and include GPS location tracking equipment to help departments track their vehicles’ positions at all times.

Digital Cinema

Satellite delivery of digital films to movie houses is still in its infancy. For instance, Regal Cinemedia, which is a pioneer in this application, is still in the midst of rolling out digital delivery to its 562 theaters nationwide.

Still, Regal Cinemedia is making some progress. On July 20, 2004, director M. Night Shyamalan (of "The Sixth Sense" fame) took part in an interactive live discussion about his new film, "The Village" with movie goers in 41 Regal theaters across the United States. Held 10 days before "The Village’s" premiere, the discussion allowed selected audience members to ask questions of Shyamalan, who was broadcasting from ABC’s "Good Morning America" studio in New York City. According to Edward Douglas of

http://www.comingsoon.net, "Those in the audience at the Regal Cinema in New York’s Union Square lucky enough to have made it out for this event were duly impressed with the evening and how Shyamalan came across."

Progress Favors Private Network Suppliers

The convergence of IP and digital technology is proving to be nothing for private network suppliers. Advances in digital technology mean that more and more data can be pumped through satellite transponders, resulting in better value for users, and more clients for service providers.

A third element of good news is equipment cost. The VSAT earth stations continue to come down in price. Once listed at $10,000, prices of $2,000 or less per site are becoming common. Moreover, the growing acceptance by customers of shared hub facilities means that suppliers can reduce infrastructure costs further, passing these savings onto their clients.

"One result of this trend is that we are now seeing companies establishing VSAT networks as small as 10 sites," says Spielman.

As IP ventures advance, the possible applications that can be carried by private networks will continue to grow.

James Careless is senior contributing editor to Via Satellite magazine.