As we went to press with this issue of Via Satellite, executives of Wildblue Communications Inc. made the long-awaited announcement about launching their service. Nearly a year after the Anik F2 spacecraft reached orbit, Wildblue’s deployment of its much-anticipated satellite Internet service entered the commercial arena.

How successful Wildblue’s service will be remains to be seen, but many in the satellite industry believe its success or failure will influence the future of the satellite broadband market at large.

One of the milestones the broadband market is waiting to see is the wide-scale Ka-band DOCSIS deployment and its successful acceptance for rich media transmission via satellite. If this happens, more business plans such as Wildblue could surface throughout other regions.

Likewise, the public will be watching closely for any indication of subscriber totals. If little is heard, then that may be a negative sign for Wildblue’s long-term sustainability.

Without a doubt, there is strong market demand for such services. It just hasn’t yet been completely satisfied by the proper business solution. Since Wildblue is designed at lower service cost than previous generations, the growth rates should become evident relatively quickly, according to some analysts who follow this market segment.

"To date, the market share for broadband satellite services is only about 0.6 percent at best. Perhaps Wildblue could attract 1 percent or more. A wild guess for Wildblue would be 200,000 subscribers in the first two years," predicts Roger Rusch, president of Telastra, Inc.

Today, Hughes Network Systems (HNS) probably installs about 10,000 new customers per month for its Direcway two-way satellite broadband service. Tom Moore, president of Wildblue, thinks his company should be able to do as well or better and certainly much better than that throughout time.

Reaching that number could, however, be a challenge. HNS just reached 250,000 subscribers during its 2005 second quarter after nearly four years of service.

From a competitive standpoint, HNS Chairman and CEO Pradman Kaul is not concerned about Wildblue’s entry in the market at a lower price point than the Direcway service.

Kaul acknowledges that Wildblue is "a strong competitor" but says his company enjoys the advantage of being in the market years ahead of Wildblue. "It will take them a little time to get quality of service" levels up, he says.

One element that may give Wildblue an edge over its competition rests in a long-term business option: bundled service. The company’s patented technology on the dish allows, in combination with the fact that the Anik F2 satellite operates in the center of the orbital arc between 101 degrees West and 119 degrees West, to offer television programming through DirecTV or Echostar as well.

Likewise, Wildblue is not ruling out offering service in conjunction with terrestrial wireless service providers.

For Wildblue to succeed, it may mean the company will need to find a delicate balance between meeting the market’s realistic demand for bundled service and capturing enough subscribers to make its broadband business a long-term success. Either way, our hats are off to Wildblue and we look forward to following its business growth.