[Satellite TODAY 04-09-13] Via Satellite has launched its first dedicated edition for Asia. The issue will be distributed at the Asia Pacific Operators Summit (APOS) hosted by Media Partners Asia in Bali later this month, a blue chip event where many of the region’s top broadcasters and DTH players convene to talk about the market. Asia is a dynamic region for satellite services, with huge demands for satellite capacity.

 

    The edition features in-depth analysis of key growth markets such as cellular backhaul, DTH in major markets outside of India, and in-flight connectivity. We also have guest columns from executives from Media Partners Asia, PriceWaterhouseCoopers and NSR.

 

    As a special preview for Via Satellite Asia, we take the best 10 quotes from this edition:

 

    “I regret to say the [piracy] situation has not improved, but is getting worse. The phenomenon that is making it much worse, much faster is online piracy. We are seeing it become far easier for Asian consumers to access illegal programming online. Governments in Asia are doing nothing to stop this. This is a mushrooming of online piracy.” – John Medeiros, CASBAA’s chief policy officers, admits the piracy problem in Asia appears to be spiraling out of control.

 

    “What happens next for HTS in Asia-Pacific? Unfortunately, there is little tangible evidence of new initiatives in the region. Both India and China have discussed plans to develop their own domestic HTS, but these satellites are far from a reality.” – Patrick French, NSR senior analyst, talks about the prospects for High Throughput Satellites in the region.

    “At end-2012, pay-TV subscribers totaled 2.4 million, 7 percent penetration of TV households and still only 10 percent of the addressable market for pay-TV. Monthly ARPU declined by 8 percent in 2012 to $12.5 while DTH was the major distribution platform with 87 percent market share.”– Vivek Couto, executive director, Media Partners Asia, discusses the potential growth prospects for DTH in Indonesia.

    “The number of Ku-band satellite transponders required by the Indian DTH players is expected to rise from about 70 in 2012 to more than 220 in 2017. The demand projections are even higher when requirements for backup and redundancy are taken into consideration, especially for Ku-band.” – Smita Jha, head of the entertainment and media practice in PwC India, evaluates the demands for satellite capacity in India.

    “Though in-flight connectivity is only one component of the total customer experience, we are very mindful of the ever changing lifestyle needs of our customers and the impact new technology has on work and leisure activities of customers. Work is already underway to bring the next generation of in-flight entertainment offerings to our customers.” – Chew Tai Lu, vice president, Product Innovation, Singapore Airlines, talks about the company’s ramp up of efforts in terms of in-flight connectivity.

    “This [in-flight connectivity] is something new for everyone in this part of the world. This service is not available in neighboring countries. If you leave Thai airspace, there is no connectivity available over other parts of Indo-China, North Asia and the Middle East. There are key regulatory issues in the areas we are flying over, which we have to solve.” – Khun Krittaphon, vice president of Product and Service Development, Thai Airways, identifies some of the regulatory issues impacting in-flight connectivity services in the region.

    “The number of licences that have been given out is just outrageous.” – Alex Lambeek, CEO, Aora TV, an Indonesian DTH player, believes the authorities have issued too many licenses for new start-up operators in the country.

 

    “Cignal will soon be available on various platforms, on your smartphones and tablets. We will be launching an OTT service within year, probably within the third quarter. We are in the process of securing the license to offer Cignal over IP.” – Robert Galang, vice president, Sales, Cignal Digital TV, hints at how this DTH operator in the Philippines will look to launch an OTT service in the country.

    “We are a major user of satellite capacity globally with more than 40 transponders, including Africa, and it is no surprise that going forward this will increase further as new data/video applications and broadband will drive this growth.” – Jagbir Singh, CTO and director, Network Services Group, Bharti Airtel, discusses the Indian telco’s demands for satellite capacity.