The common thread running through many panels at SATELLITE 2010 is that the communications needs of the commercial and government users often can be answered by the same hardware, services and bandwidth.
    The gulf between the needs of the two groups has been more sharply delineated in the past, but commercial users who demanded more reliability and more rugged equipment, found that their needs could be meet by having equipment and services from the military sector adapted to meet commercial needs. Over time, the situation has reversed, and military users have turned to commercial solutions to meet bandwidth and equipment needs.
    Today, companies throughout the satellite communications value chain are serving both markets with equipment and services that may vary only slightly. Hosted payloads are gaining greater acceptance, and many operators continue to advocate even more use of their services by militaries, especially in light of the cancellation of the TSAT program last year. With budgets under pressure due to difficult economic circumstances, commercial solutions now appear more attractive than ever. 
    The final panels of SATELLITE 2010 also offer the potential to address the converging interests of serving both markets with a common set of solutions. The “Satellite Broadband: Finally a Credible Competitor in the Marketplace” session, will examine the efforts of operators to establish a commercial market in the broadband arena. With those efforts sailing along, the military market could be another target for satellite broadband providers.
    The final panel, “SATELLITE SWOT: Opportunities and Threats for a New Decade,” will bring together a panel with a wide variety of viewpoints to discuss the satellite marketplace today and what lies ahead. And it is clear that involves great demand for services from both commercial and military users.