[Satellite TODAY 03-19-13] SATELLITE 2013’s “big four” FSS panel consisting of the world’s largest fixed satellite operators is usually an opportunity for the industry to gauge what new threats they should be mindful of heading into the future. Throughout the recession of the past few years, those expressed worries centered on financing and the diminishing ability to raise capital. This year’s panel, however, was relatively worry-free and a consensus was quickly reached that the satellite industry is currently in one of its strongest positions of the past decade.

   Of course, the risks and costs of launching satellites were mentioned, specifically among growing U.S. commercial providers – but this is nothing new. Intelsat Chairman and CEO David McGlade singled out ULA’s Delta 5 rocket as an excellent, but pricey choice to launch his satellites.

   Eutelsat CEO Michel de Rosen told the audience that the most significant moment for the satellite industry last year was the death of Apple Founder and CEO Steve Jobs, who he called “the true pioneer of mobility and an innovator that made, and will continue to make, a considerable impact on our industry.”

   SES CEO Romain Bausch spent much of his time praising technological developments from O3b Systems, going so far as to call it the most significant development of the past year. It is important to note that SES has a considerable financial investment in the worldwide satellite broadband provider.

   Telesat CEO Dan Goldberg gave two of the more surprising answers of the panel session. The first was when he was asked how long it would take for Ultra HD to really make an impact on the bandwidth markets. While the three other panelists said that this would most likely happen in the 2015 to 2016 timeframe, Goldberg didn’t think Ultra HD would make its presence known for at least another five years – in 2018 – despite the upcoming 2016 FIFA World Cup and 2016 Summer Olympic Games, both happening in Brazil. 

   Goldberg’s second surprising answer came after he praised McGlade and Intelsat for the operator’s Epic NG offering. He stated that Telesat would, “most likely emulate Intelsat’s approach with another high-throughput-style offering. The EpicNG development just makes sense for our market and that’s the direction we may take in the future.”

The panelists were split on the potential impact of in-orbit servicing and satellite re-purposing on the operator business. McGlade and de Rosen expressed excitement over the new capability, while Bausch and Goldberg said that they didn’t believe these solutions would make much of a difference.