[Satellite News 08-26-08] Stratos Global executives returned from a trip to Japan with a new joint venture, JSAT Mobile Communications, in hand. The entity, developed partnership with JSAT,  is set to bring  Stratos’ localized broadband services to the Japanese mobile satellite market, a region with a difficult licensing processes.
“This is an extremely exciting time for the mobile satellite industry,” Stratos CEO Jim Parm said. “The new and much-needed high speed data services are now coming to Japanese market.”
    Parm spoke with Satellite News news editor Jeffrey Hill about how and why the Canadian-based mobile satellite service (MSS) provider is targeting the Japanese market.

Satellite News: Why partner with JSAT to provide mobile services that already areavailable globally?

Parm: JSAT Mobile will enable us to provide mobile broadband services to the Japanese market that were not available to them locally in the past. It is an important shift. That is part of the reason why we are doing this joint venture right now. We have seen considerable success in the Japanese mobile satellite market for quite some time.
    To get into this market we chose to team up with JSAT. They are the only big satellite operator in Japan. They are a very strong, technology-focused satellite company in the region with an excellent constellation. The new entity, JSAT Mobile Communications, will go get the licenses that are required to provide those services in Japan. That is the catalyst here. By teaming up with a well-respected local company, we feel very confident in our ability to secure the licenses required to provide those services.

Satellite News: How long has the joint venture been in the making, and when do you expect to launch operations?

Parm: We know JSAT and have been in discussions with them for a year about how we may cooperate with each other. We are registering the joint venture, and it will be up and running this month. We hope to have the necessary licensing in place by February of 2009, just before the launch of the new regional broadband services.

Satellite News: Was there any competition for JSATs cooperation?

Parm: No. This situation was more like two operators in the industry trying to figure out how we can work together. There was no bidding or competition. This was trying to figure out how to create a stronger entity.

Satellite News: What trends and characteristics of the Japanese MSS market encouraged you to go after it?

Parm: The Japanese have been early adopters of mobile phone technology. SMS and private use is extremely prevalent. In our part of the MSS business, what we see in Japan is a strong trend showing a significant increase in mobile satellite data usage. That translates into maritime vessels using more and more data in the operation of the vessels themselves. Ship captains are using extensive amounts of data in the operation of their vessel, enabling them to have, literally, an office at sea. They are connected just as if they were in an office building. A vast majority of the MSS service that we accelerate now is data focused. There is a voice component, but it is becoming more and more data focused.

Satellite News: JSAT Mobile plans to use both Inmarsat and Iridium services. How are you providing both options?

Parm: We are going to be able to provide Inmarsat broadband services such as BGAN, Fleet broadband and Swift broadband. We employ Iridium services around the world as well. At this point, Iridium services will include a low-speed and voice network through its [low-earth orbit] constellation. We will support Iridium handheld services as well as their new open port service, which will be a higher speed data service. At this point in time, we do not have the licenses for it in Japan. It will be focused on Japanese customers that require usage outside of Japan. The new, higher-speed Inmarsat data services will be global as of the first quarter of 2009. Inmarsat’s recent launch of their third I-4 satellite completes our global coverage. Its deployment into service will parallel with the launch of our service. In the first quarter of 2009 we will have global broadband satellite coverage for ships, aircraft and land masses with the exception of the North and South Poles.