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Chris Baugh, president NSR consulting at the HTS Roundtable organized by the Global VSAT Forum.
Image credit: Steve Schuster
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[Satellite TODAY 05-22-13] As several industry leaders including Intelsat, Hughes and O3b Networks are in the process of launching new High Throughput Satellites (HTS), a specialized roundtable discussion on HTS began May 21 in Washington, D.C.
The event, organized by the Global VSAT Forum, featured several panelists who said HTS might have far reaching implications for the global market place.
The event, organized by the Global VSAT Forum, featured several panelists who said HTS might have far reaching implications for the global market place.
“HTS affects every segment of the market from manufacturers building multi-spot frequency reuse satellites down to end users who are buying bandwidth, cruise lines, oil and gas companies,” said Chris Baugh, president of Northern Sky Research. “Consumers are buying a lot more bandwidth per site in a lot cheaper way.”
But, he said, challenges still remain. “How do we get this [HTS technology] in the hands of the consumer?” he asked.
One of the panelists, Arunas Slekys, who serves as vice president, corporate marketing and general manager for the Russia CIS Region of Hughes, said the U.S. government has been part of the solution.
“The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act finally allocated $100 million for broadband satellite,” Slekys said.
What does this mean for industry leader’s bottom line? According to Slekys, 70 percent of Hughes revenue is obtained from service. “It’s now all about satellite operators,” he said. And greater efficiency has allowed operating costs to decrease. Slekys said Hughes currently has 20 people serving 700,000 customers. “Because of network intelligence … we’ve developed incredible technologies and availabilities” while reducing costs and maintaining dependability, he said.
And, according to Slekys, the technology is reliable. “We are running networks at 99.9 percent, routinely,” he said where as “the terrestrial guys are struggling” to get to 96 percent reliability.
In the wake of recent natural disasters on U.S. soil, satellite has become a viable solution for government, private sector and end users, Slekys said. Referencing a tornado on May 20 that killed dozens and wrecked havoc on electric grids and telecommunications in Oklahoma, Slekys pointed out that communications have been possible thanks to satellite technology. “Not on wireless networks, not on terrestrial networks. We have satellite VSATs on the ground providing the connectivity,” he said.
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