We are barely halfway into 2013 and already Hughes and ViaSat have both ordered huge new satellites and placing bets that the industry will become more mainstream than ever going forward. In some ways, it represents a potential stunning reversal of fortunes for the industry. Over a decade ago, it seemed as though satellite was seen as “yesterday’s technology” with fiber pushing it further and further into the margins. Fast-forward 10 years, DTH has proved surprisingly resilient, and not only that, satellite is breaking more into the mainstream than I guess many of us ever thought possible. It is exciting to think that satellite technology could push into new markets and verticals that offer more diversified revenue streams than ever before.

ViaSat’s announcement of ViaSat 2 was one of the most eagerly awaited in our industry. Mark Dankberg, ViaSat’s CEO had been hinting at it for more than two years, but it still came a little bit out of the blue as he had spoken of the complexities of raising the bar from ViaSat 1 during SATELLITE 2013.

One of the big questions now is whether High Throughput Satellites will really take root in other regions of the world. The United States is a unique market, with a large potential end user base for satellite broadband services, and Hughes and ViaSat’s major new investments underlines this. But, what about Africa, Asia, and Latin America? It took many years for Thaicom to see a return on its Ipstar investment and, with the rain fade issue still a concern, it remains to be seen what aggressive strategies succeed in the rest of the world toward investing in high-powered satellites.

However, ViaSat and Hughes’ latest investments are great news for the industry. It pushes the bar in terms of technology, and pumps a great deal of money into the industry, which is never a bad thing.

One such market that has remained in the headlines over recent months is in-flight connectivity. This has rapidly become part of the mainstream as airlines throughout the world have aggressively invested in upgrading their fleets to offer these services. It is interesting to see how both FSS and MSS operators are looking for a slice of the pie, and it is encouraging to see such demand for solutions based on satellite. According to studies from IMS research, there are now 10,500 aircraft equipped with at least one form of in-flight entertainment (IFE) system. Euroconsult also forecasts that there will be more than 2,700 Ka-band terminals operating in this area in 2022. Interestingly, the research firm predicts there will be just more than 3,000 Ku-band terminals in operation in this area in 2022. Euroconsult also predicts that more than 12,000 commercial and 16,000 business airplanes will provide in-flight connectivity to passengers by 2022. The numbers are highly impressive and show how quickly this market has come to pass.

In this edition of Via Satellite, we are excited to bring you a highly interesting FSS engineering roundtable featuring CTOs from Es’hailSat, Yahsat, Hispasat, Satmex and Thaicom. These CTOs talk about a range of issues from technology investments and high throughput satellites, to flexible payloads. This feature gives an intriguing snapshot of what the technology decision makers of our industry are looking at in terms of investing in new technology. Given that a lot of innovation is also coming from regional and new operators, it is fascinating to read their insights. We also have features on other hot topics in our industry, namely disaster recovery and network management, which offer interesting insights into these two key areas.

With hosted payload deals aplenty this year, and with sizeable investments in new satellites, as we reach the mid-way point of the year, things are shaping up nicely for the industry. We can look forward to the second half of the year with a healthy degree of optimism.