Is DVB-S2 truly the end of the line and the ultimate in bandwidth efficiency as was suggested when it was launched? Perhaps not, already there have been some incremental improvements with new gains being added step-by-step over the past year. The DVB Project is working on new designs and private companies, like Newtec, are also pushing the boundaries within the DVB standards process. Serge Van Herck, Newtec, CEO, speaking at the annual VSAT2012 to be held in London, UK, from 11 to 14 September 2012, will clarify for operators and users as to what they can expect the technology to deliver long term and give us a glimpse into the future.
More speaker presentations include:
That’s Another Fine Mesh You Got Me Into
Bill Green, Hermes Datacom, Global Account Manager, UK
Oil & Gas isn’t all about stabilised systems in the major offshore fields, but many of the large land operations are just as remote and no less demanding than their floating compatriots. Hermes has made this segment their own in many ways, crafting small, highly functional mesh networks for major oil companies in locations from Algeria to Azerbaijan and all in between.
Preaching the Ministry of VSAT
Michel Verbist, Orange Business Services, Head of International Business Development, Belgium
Connectivity for Ministries of Foreign Affairs is an established sub-segment of demand that highlights the benefits of satellite – reach, independence and security – that has resulted in governments from all over the world adopting VSAT solutions. No company has been more successful in this area than Orange Business Services and now that fibre connectivity is also being increasingly incorporated into these networks the company’s core carrier business is able to leverage from this position. The integration of VSAT services within a carrier is sometimes an uneasy one, but the role of VSAT within OBS has strengthened steadily over the past five years
Delivering Diplomatic Data Dispatches
Jorg Leenaards, Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, CIO, Belgium
Aside from tactical military communications, no other agency depends more on fully secure networking nor are the potential consequences of failure more dire than a government’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Many countries employ VSAT services within the networks that connect their embassies across the globe and Belgium makes extensive use of its satellite network provided by Orange Business Services. So where and why does the technology make commercial and operational sense and what features does it bring that make it compelling in this niche segment of the government VSAT market?
Utilities Utilising Ubiquity
James Trevelyan, Arqiva, Head of Sales Enterprise Services, UK
Historically utilities have been a persistent user of VSAT, limited only by the 20 year procurement cycles. However, the final acceptance of IP, greater use of video for monitoring and asset protection, growing automation, new government regulations and potential demand from smart grid deployments are now driving much more rapid change in an industry that has traditionally moved at glacial rates driven by a “if it works, don’t touch it” mantra. Arqiva has built specialist expertise for the general utility industry and has demonstrable success in the gas, signal distribution and power segments.
Mine’s a Large One
Mike Hennessey, Spidersat Communications, Managing Director, Tanzania
Across the world the mining business is booming with new mines being established and older suspended projects being revived as economic viability rebounds as a result of strong commodity markets. This is nowhere more true than in Africa where the great resources of the continent are seen as a major economic pillar for many countries. VSAT is in extensive use, but the market is highly fragmented across operators and service providers with Spidersat standing out as possibly the largest VSAT operator in terms of the number of sites and countries it covers.
Enterprising Star Trek
Alan Langford, JC Penney, Director, Broadcast & Media Production, USA
JC Penny makes extensive use of satellite to fuel its video-based delivery systems across its 1,000-plus US stores, so understands the benefits of looking to the stars. The company uses terrestrial carriers in its core network operation, but what are the advantages and limitations for a major retailer in a highly developed infrastructure and where might VSAT fit in the future? This presentation will discuss the challenges for a large, nationwide enterprise and just what features, performance and technology will be required in the future.
Playing to the Cloud
Mike Tippets, Hughes, VP, Hughes Solutions Group, USA
Cloud based services are seen as the way of the future and a driving force behind the need for persistent and ubiquitous communications. Additionally, the penetration of new devices is pushing greater demand for video at different levels of the enterprise. VSAT is becoming a key element to provide credible total coverage, greater network resilience and more efficient delivery options. For example, retailers in the United States are not only evaluating front of store IP video applications, but ways in which video can augment and improve environments and systems behind the scenes leading operators to offer enhanced ways to create and enhance the decentralised cloud service.
Commodity Futures
Aslan Tricha, SES, Vice President, Global Sales Engineering, Luxembourg
As both average data rates and consumption volumes rise the spacecraft operators are finding themselves in the front line of customer expectations at all levels. Some would argue that satellite capacity prices have to fall for the market to continue to grow whilst doomsayers will suggest that the technology’s limitations herald an inevitable decline. This presentation looks to the future development possibilities, what are the options, the potential gains versus disadvantages and how the VSAT operator’s raw commodity is likely to change in form, function and price in the years to come.
A Tipping Point
Simon Bull, COMSYS, Senior Consultant, UK
The VSAT industry has entered a period of major change – one that many VSAT service providers, satellite operators and system vendors have been anticipating and which some have already begun to experience. As with major tipping points in the past, these changes bring disruption and opportunity resulting in casualties and major successes. The details behind all this are complex and somewhat contradictory – competing technologies will catalyse growth in some areas and destroy existing business in others while new distribution channel structures will lock out some players and elevate others. This last happened at the turn of the century and VSAT prospered, now we need to consider what the next ten years will demand of the technology.
Taking the Band Professional
Nicholas Daly, Eutelsat, Managing Director UK, France
Eutelsat has made a strong play on Ka-band in Europe in order to lower the barrier to entry for satellite broadband for users in unserved and underserved areas. However, the KA-SAT High Throughput Satellite is about much more than consumer internet – it is also developing into professional applications including enterprise broadband access, civil security and video file transfer for newsgathering. Eutelsat has also launched a new platform for Africa, called IP Easy, aimed at delivering broadband to high-end consumers and SMEs.
For more on speaker presentations and conference details, visit http://www.comsys.co.uk
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