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TABLE OF CONTENTSVol. 4 No. 6, October 2006COVER STORORYFEATUREFEATUREBack to ContentsClick on the title to godirectly to the storyEXECUTIVESPOTLIGHT221 / The GroundEquipmentMarketBy Virgil LabradorThe ground equipmentmarket is poised forgrowth with the influx ofnew services.25 / IBC, theGreatest Showon Earth?By Chris ForresterAmsterdam’s giant IBCbroadcasting showseemingly gets biggerevery year. This year’sevent attracted athumping 45,000visitors, up 5% on 2005.33 / APSCC 2006Highlight S-DMBDevelopmentsin Asiaby BernardoSchneidermanMobile satellite.services showing greatpromise in Asia.00 / Interview withNEWTECCEO SergeVan HerckREGULAR DEPARTMENTARTMENTS3 / Notes from theEditor4 / Calendar of Events5 / Featured Event:SATCON 200611 / Industry News18 / New Products andServices36 / Vital Statistics37 / Market Intelligence40 / Advertisers’ Index/Stock Quotes15 / Executive MovesOctober 2006SATMAGAZINE.COM

NOTES from the EDITORBack to Contents3SATMAGAZINE.COMPublished monthly bySatnews Publishers800 Siesta Way,Sonoma, CA 95476 USAPhone (707) 939-9306Fax (707) 939-9235E-mail: design@satnews.comWebsite: www.satmagazine.comEDITORIALSilvano PaynePublisherVirgil LabradorManaging Editorand Editor, North AmericaChris ForresterEditor, Europe, Middle Eastand AfricaBernardo SchneidermanEditor, Latin AmericaPeter I. GalaceEditor, Asia-PacificJohn Puetz, Bruce ElbertDan Freyer, Howard GreenfieldContributing Writers,The AmericasDavid Hartshorn, Martin JarroldContributing Writers, EuropeBaden WoodfordContributing Writer, AfricaJill Durfee(jill@satmagazine.com)Advertising SalesJoyce Schneider(joyce@satnews.com)Advertising SalesSatnews Publishers is theleading provider of informationon the worldwide satelliteindustry. Fore more information,go to www.satnews.comCover Design by: Simon PayneCopyright © 2004Satnews PublishersAll rights reserved.October 2006SATMAGAZINE.COM

Back to Contents4If you have an event that you wish to submit to this list,please email it to: virgil@satnews.comOct. 2-6, Valencia, SpainInternational Astronautical Congress (IAC)Tel: (+ 34) 96 354 37 16Fax: (+ 34) 96 354 37 26Email: Info.iac2006@uv.esWeb: http://www.iac2006.com/Oct. 4-10, Houston, TX, USAWorld Space WeekTel: /Fax: +1 281.461.6245Email: admin@spaceweek.orgWeb: www.worldspaceweek.orgOct. 10-13, Qwest Center, Omaha, USAStrategic Space and Defense 2006Tel: 719.576.8000Fax: 719.576.8801Web: http://www.StratSpace.orgOct. 10-13, Kiev, UkraineInformation Communication Technology 2006Valentyna PodgorodetskaTel.: +44 (0) 207 596 5089 (direct) / 5000Fax: +44 (0) 207 596 5117 (direct)/5111E-mail: vp@ite-exhibitions.comWeb: www.ukraine-telecom.comOct. 18-20, International Exhibition CentreKiev, UkraineEastern Europe Broadband Convention(EEBC) 2006Phone: +380 (44) 50-164-50Fax: +380 (44) 50-164-51Web: www.eebc.net.ua/eng/Oct. 19 - 21, World Trade Centre, Mumbai, India.Broadcast India 2006 Exhibition & SymposiumKavita MeerTel: 91 22 2215 1396/2215 2721Fax: 91 22 2215 1269Mobile: 98200 56060Email: saicomtradefairs@vsnl.comWebsite: www.broadcastindiashow.comOct. 24 - 27, Wanchai, Hong Kong, ChinaCASBAA ConventionRebecca Kennedy - CASBAATel: +(852) 2854 9913Fax: +(852) 2167 8168Email: rebecca@casbaa.comWebsite: www.casbaaconvention.com/Oct. 31-Nov. 2, Abuja, Nigeria2nd West Africa Satellite Communications SummitGlobal VSAT ForumMartin JarroldTel.: + 44 1727 884 739 / Fax: + 44 1727 884 739Email: martin.jarrold@gvf.orgWeb: www.gvf-events.org/1.htmlNov. 7- 9, Houston, TX, USAOffshore Communications 2006Tel: 1 (772) 221 7720Fax: 1 (772) 221 7715Email: ipeterson@offshoresource.comWebsite: www.offshorecoms.com.Nov. 13-15, London, UKGlobal MilSatCom 2006Tel: +44 (0) 20 7827 6000Fax: +44 (0) 20 7827 6001Email: client_services@smi-online.co.ukWeb: www.globalmilsatcom.comNov. 16, London, UKPersonal TV ConferenceChris ForresterTel: +44 20 8948 8561Fax: +44 20 8940 6009E-mail: info@tvconferences.comWeb: www.tvconferences.comNov. 21-22, Moscow, RussiaNAT EXPOTel: +7 (495) 687-32-37, +7 (495) 687-32-77Fax: +7 (495) 687-32-80E-mail: info@natexpo.tvWeb: www.natexpo.tvOctober 2006SATMAGAZINE.COM

Back to Contents9FEATURED EVENTS• The Next Generation Content Distribution Backbone: Willit be Satellite?• Dual Use of Commercial Technologies to Meet Militaryand Government Requirements“We live in a society in which new information and communicationssolutions are introduced almost daily with the potential toimpact every aspect of our lives.” said Susan Irwin, conferencechair for SATCON and president of Irwin Communications.“Over the last five years, SATCON has become THE place to goto keep up with the emerging trends in satellite communicationsthat will continue to help shape the content delivery andtelecom requirements of the government, media and enterprisesectors. SATCON is a one-of-a-kind event saturated with topindustry leaders, extensive networking opportunities andbreakthrough education.”A complete speaker roster, session details and event / registra-tion information can be found at http://www.satconexpo.com/default.asp.SATCON is also sponsoring two unique pre-show events: theTriple Play/IP Communications Technology & InvestmentSummit, and the Satellite-Based Disaster Recovery Summit, bothon November 28, the day before SATCON opens.Complimentary Expo Only passes are available atwww.satconexpo.com. 20% discount full conference passes areavailable for members of the following industry associations:GVF, WTA, SSPI, MSUA, CMMA, SUIRG, and the GovernmentAlliance for Training & Education. Use source code 26SG522when registering for the discount.For information on exhibiting at SATCON, advertising, orbecoming a sponsor, please contact Michael Driscoll atmdriscoll@jdevents.com or call 203 371 6322 ext. 204.ISIS ADOctober 2006SATMAGAZINE.COM

Back to Contents11INDUSTRY NEWSservices will support all federal communications missions,including disaster relief and homeland security initiatives.Under the five-year program, WWSS will bring turnkey commercialsatellite systems and associated support services forsatellite terminals, including all hardware, software, services anddata to operate the terminals.The terminal types include: Combat Support Service Very SmallAperture Terminals (VSATs), Fixed-station satellite terminals,Flyaway VSATs, Military-certified satellite terminals, and Primemover/trailer-mounted satellite terminals and Deployablesatellite Earth terminals.The program will also acquire six commercial satellite terminals,and will use a minimum of four or a maximum of six primecontractors, including at least two small businesses that meetthe full requirements of the program.U.S. Air Force SuccessfullyLaunches New GPS SatelliteCAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, Fla. — A modernizedGlobal Positioning System Block IIR (GPS IIR-M) satellitebuilt by Lockheed Martin was launched successfully on Sept.25 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.The satellite, designated GPS IIR-15(M), is the second in aseries of eight modernized GPS Block IIR spacecraft thatLockheed Martin Navigation Systems is developing for itscustomer, the Global Positioning Systems Wing, Space andMissile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif.A Boeing Delta II rocket carrying the GPS IIR-15 (M) spacecraftlifted off from Space Launch Complex 17A at Cape Canaveral AirForce Station, Fla., at 2:50 p.m. EDT, Sept. 24. Following aOctober 2006SATMAGAZINE.COM

Back to Contents12INDUSTRY NEWSvA Boeing Delta II rocketcarrying the GPS IIR-15 (M)spacecraft lifts off from SpaceLaunch Complex 17A at CapeCanaveral Air Force Station,Fla., at 2:50 p.m. EDT, Sept.24, successfully deploying thesatellite to a transfer orbit.(Carleton Bailie - Boeing photo)October 2006nominal 68-minute flight,the rocket deployed thesatellite to a transferorbit.The spacecraft are themost technologicallyadvanced GPS satellitesever developed and aredesigned to providesignificantly improvednavigation performancefor U.S. military andcivilian users worldwide.The satellite will join thefirst modernized IIRsatellite, GPS IIR-14(M),successfully launchedand declared operationallast year and 12 otheroperational Block IIRsatellites currently onorbitwithin the overall29-spacecraft constellation.The Air Forcededicated today’smission to honorAmerican POW/MIAspast and present.The GPS IIR-M spacecraft offer a variety of enhanced featuresfor GPS users, such as a modernized antenna panel that providesincreased signal power to receivers on the ground, twonew military signals for improved accuracy, enhanced encryptionand anti-jamming capabilities for the military, and a secondcivil signal that will provide users with an open access signal ona different frequency.Alcatel Alenia Space Wins Contractfor German Armed Forces’ SatcomBW SatellitesPARIS — EADS Astrium has awarded Alcatel Alenia Space asatellite contract for the next step of the German Armed Forces’satellite communications program Satcom BW Stufe 2. AlcatelAlenia said the contract calls for the design, manufacture andthe integration of two military satellites.Based on the Spacebus 3000B architecture from Alcatel AleniaSpace, Satcom BW geostationary multi-missions satellites willbe fitted with payloads including Super-High-Frequency (SHF),Ultra-High-Frequency (UHF) and Ku-band transponders fromEADS Space. With a launch mass of approximately 2.5 tons anda power of 3.5 kW, the Satcom BW satellites are scheduled fordelivery end of 2008, and due to start services early 2009 withan operational lifetime of 15 years.Alcatel said Satcom BW military communications satellites arekey to the effectiveness of the German Armed Forces, and willprovide the Bundeswehr with a secured multimedia network,ensuring continuous links between the political and militaryauthorities and deployed units around the world. Satcom BWsatellites will provide services over a region stretching from theAmericas to Eastern Asia.Pascale Sourisse, president and CEO of Alcatel Alenia Space,said his company was strongly involved in the bid right fromthe beginning, together with EADS Astrium.DirecTV-Liberty Media DealStill Many Weeks AwayLOS ANGELES, CA — A proposed deal involving RupertMurdoch’s sale of New Corp’s 38 percent stake in DirecTV toLiberty Media, which is controlled by fellow billionaire mediamogul John Malone is still weeks and weeks away, according toan executive familiar with the talks.Reports say the timing of the reports on the talks seems to bedictated by the approach of the Oct. 20 News Corp. shareholdersmeeting, where one of the items on the agenda is a vote torenew poison pill provisions adopted last year to block Libertyand Malone from making a run at the company. The unnamedexecutive said there are a lot of complicated terms that have tobe worked out.Under the deal that is still in the works, in return for the NewsCorp’s stakes, Malone would sell his 19 percent stake in thevoting shares of News Corp., letting Murdoch’s company buyback the shares. The deal, if consummated, could be worth wellover $10 billion. News Corp. has a market cap of $74 billion, anda 19 percent stake of the publicly traded stock would be worth$14 billion. DirecTV has a market cap of $22.8 billion giving theNews Corp. stake a current market value of about $8.7 billion.Susan Kalla, an independent media and telecom analyst, saysDirecTV’s sales of $12.2 billion last year could be a basis forSATMAGAZINE.COM

Back to Contents13INDUSTRY NEWSsetting a price for the DirecTV stake. She pegs the price at around one-and-ahalftimes revenue but not much higher.The proposed sale is once again shaking the satellite, Internet and mediaindustry. Barely three years after Murdoch acquired a 34 percent stake inHughes Electronics, operator of the largest American satellite TV systemDirecTV from General Motors for $6 billion, now he wants out apparently toremake his media empire in a digital and Internet marketplace governed bynew rules.The reason for the proposed sale is big media companies feel they no longerneed even TV to watch TV programs anymore. Anyone with a computer and abroadband connection, including Apple’s new iPod, can watch full lengthvideos.Boeing Receives $278-M NASAPayload Processing OptionST. LOUIS — The Boeing heckout, Assembly and Payload ProcessingServices (CAPPS) contract has been extended for three years by NASA’sKennedy Space Center.Valued at $278.5 million, the contract extension and modification covers Oct. 1,2006, through Sept. 30, 2009, according to NASA. The total contract valueincluding exercised and unexercised options is approximately $846 million.Mark Jager, Boeing Florida Operations CAPPS program manager, said, “TheInternational Space Station (ISS) elements and robotic vehicles we willprocess during the contract term will serve our nation and the world communityfor years.”To date, the CAPPS team has processed more than 404,000 pounds of on-orbitISS spaceflight hardware. This represents almost half of the space station’seventual 925,000 pounds of hardware that will fly in space when NASAcompletes assembly in 2010. During the next three years, the CAPPS team willprocess numerous ISS payloads, including the P5 truss segment for NASA’snext shuttle mission, STS-116, and international segments, including theItalian Columbus Module and the Japanese Experiment Module.The contract is a performance-based, cost-plus-award-fee contract to providecheckout, assembly and payload processing services at Kennedy SpaceCenter, Fla., Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., and Vandenberg Air ForceBase, Calif. Under the contract, Boeing provides management and technicalsupport of payload processing for the space shuttle, ISS and expendablelaunch vehicle programs. Services and support include the planning for andreceiving of payloads, maintenance of associated ground support systems,integration of payloads with the space shuttle, launch support and spaceshuttle post-landing payload activities.SMOctober 2006SATMAGAZINE.COM

EXECUTIVE MOVESBack to Contents14New Skies’ Daniel S. Goldberg Movesto Telesat as President and CEODan GoldbergOTTAWA, Ontario — TelesatCanada and its shareholder BCEInc. has named Daniel S.Goldberg as its president andCEO. Goldberg, formerlypresident and CEO of SES NewSkies, succeeds Larry Boisvertwho has decided to retire afternearly 34 years of service, thelast 13 years as president andCEO.Goldberg, a graduate of the Harvard Law School, has beenworking in the communications sector for the past 15 years andin satellite operating companies since 1998, most recently atNew Skies - an owner operator of a global satellite communicationsnetwork that provides satellite capacity and other servicesfor the transmission of video, data, internet and voice servicesto corporate and government entities around the world.During his tenure at New Skies, Goldberg led a team that took asmall start-up created through the partial privatization of anintergovernmental satellite system and built a pre-eminentglobal player in a highly competitive industry. He also helpedlaunch two successful Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) andconcluded two private sales between 2000 and 2006.Boisvert will remain a senior advisor at Telesat, on loan to BCEfor the upcoming months.EchoStar Names New President,CFO; Vogel, Han and Rayner toAssume New DutiesENGLEWOOD, Colo. — EchoStar Communications Corporationhas appointed Carl Vogel as president, overseeing day-to-dayoperations for Dish Network. Vogel will continue to serve asvice chairman of EchoStar’s board of directors.The company also announced the appointment of Bernard L.Han as chief financial officer, effective September 28, 2006,succeeding David J. Rayner who will assume the new role ofexecutive vice president in charge of the Company’s nationalinstallation and service network.Vogel has most recently focused on the company’s financial andstrategic initiatives, and will retain responsibility for them. Hereturned to EchoStar in May, 2005 after serving as president andchief executive officer of Charter Communications. Beforejoining Charter, Vogel held various senior executive positionswith companies affiliated with Liberty Media Corporation andwas responsible for portfolio investments in subscriptiontelevision, content distribution, broadband, telecommunicationsand satellite sectors worldwide.He was also chairman and CEO of Primestar and CEO ofStarChoice until each company was sold or merged with othersatellite operators. Vogel served as EchoStar’s president from1994 to 1997, and was a key member of the executive team thatcreated and launched DISH Network in 1996.Marshall Byrd Succeeds Ted Gavrilisas Head of Lockheed MartinCommercial Space SystemsNEWTOWN, Pa. — Lockheed Martin has named MarshallByrd as vice president and general manager of its CommercialSpace Systems line of business, effective September 1. Byrdsucceeds Ted Gavrilis, who is retiring after 36 years at LockheedMartin.Byrd currently serves as vice president and general manager ofLockheed Martin Michoud Operations in New Orleans. Thefacility is the focus of External Tank design and productionoperations for NASA’s Space Shuttle program. He joined thecompany in 1978 and has served in a series of progressivelyresponsible positions focusing on plant and productionoperations, manufacturing and supply chain management.Gavrilis has led Commercial Space Systems since 2000, providingexecutive leadership for the marketing, design, development,production and on-orbit delivery of satellites and relatedsystems for commercial and government customers worldwide.He joined Lockheed Martin in 1970 as a design engineer androse through a series of senior positions in engineering andmanagement.The Pennsylvania-based Commercial Space Systems buildsupon the expertise of several heritage Lockheed Martin companiesand has manufactured, launched, deployed and maintainedmore space platforms than any other company.October 2006SATMAGAZINE.COM

Back to Contents15EXECUTIVE MOVESOrbital Executive Promotions:G. David Low, Gregg Burgess,John Pullen and Sally Richardsonto Assume New RolesDULLES, Va. — Orbital Sciences Corporation has promotedfour of its executives to new positions within the company.G. David Low, currently vice president and head of thecompany’s Technical Services Division (TSD), is being promotedto senior vice president and program manager for theCommercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program.Replacing Low at the helm of TSD will be John Pullen, an 18-year veteran of the division. Gregg Burgess, program managerof Orbital’s MiTEx satellite program, is being advanced to vicepresident of Special Programs, and Sally Richardson, who mostrecently served in the company’s Advanced Programs Group, isbeing promoted to the position of vice president and deputydirector of Technical Operations, overseeing the engineeringactivities at the company’s facilities in the Eastern UnitedStates.Low has been with Orbital for 10 years and has served invarious roles with the company, including leading the LaunchSystems Group’s successful ISO certification effort and itsquality and mission assurance function. Most recently, heheaded Orbital’s TSD, which provides engineering services andsubsystem design and manufacturing to U.S. governmentcustomers. In his new role, Low will oversee the company’sdevelopment, manufacturing, testing and operational activitiesrelated to Rocketplane Kistler’s (RpK) K-1 reusable launchvehicle, which was recently selected by NASA for the COTSaward. Orbital is RpK’s primary industrial partner on the COTSprogram.October 2006SATMAGAZINE.COM

Back to Contents16EXECUTIVE MOVESBurgess is assuming the leadership of the Special Programsbusiness area in Orbital’s Advanced Programs Group. TheSpecial Programs business area specializes in developing newspace-based capabilities using advanced technologies onaggressive schedules to meet emerging national security spacemission requirements. In this capacity, he will be assuring thecontinued success of ongoing programs and expandingOrbital’s business base in this area. Mr. Burgess is transitioningfrom his role as Program Manager of the MiTEx satelliteprogram, which Orbital designed and built for the DefenseAdvance Research Projects Agency (DARPA), aposition he has held for the last three years. Mr.Burgess’ 14 years at Orbital has spanned technical,business development and program managementroles in aircraft, space transportation and satellitesystems.Telcordia Technologies, Inc., a supplier of software and servicesto the telecommunications industry. Desch was instrumental inmoving Telcordia into new wireless and international markets,and spinning off the company to private equity from SAIC, Inc.Prior to Telcordia, Desch spent 13 years at Nortel Networks,leaving in 2000 as President, Global Service Providers andresponsible for Nortel’s business in Europe and Asia.SMPullen has been with Orbital for the past 18 years atTSD. For the past two years, he has acted as Low’sdeputy head of the division, which is based inGreenbelt, MD. He is a trained electrical engineerwith broad familiarity with the company’s currentcustomers and of the overall market for TSD’sservices. Jack Danko, who, until recently, was headof the Space Systems Group, Orbital’s largestbusiness unit, will serve as an advisor to Pullen ona part-time basis.Iridium Satellite NamesMatthew J. Desch as NewCEOBETHESDA, Md. —Iridium Satellite LLC hasnamed Matthew J. Desch,48, as chairman and chiefexecutive officer of thecompany, replacing DanColussy as chairman.Colussy said that Deschwill replace him as CEO ofIridium Satellite. DeschMatthew J. Desch will become CEO ofIridium Holdings, theparent of Iridium Satellite, while Colussy will remainchairman of Iridium Holdings.Desch was most recently CEO of New Jersey-basedOctober 2006SATMAGAZINE.COM

NEW PRODUCTSBack to Contents17SES Astra to Launch Astra2ConnectBroadband InternetBETZDORF, Luxembourg — SES Astra, an SES Global company,will launch Astra2Connect, a fully satellite-based interactiveand low-cost broadband internet access to serve theresidential market, the small and home offices as well as smalland medium enterprises.SES Astra said Astra2Connect will provide a full satellite-based“triple play” infrastructure service enabling broadband internetaccess, voice-over-IP and other content related access servicessuch as IPTV or Video-on-Demand. It is expected to be operationalin the first quarter of 2007 and will mainly target homes inEurope, which can not easily get terrestrial broadband internetservices.Ferdinand Kayser, president and CEO of SES Astra, saidAstra2Connect is a great innovation that brings broadbandinternet access to everyone. He said the end-consumers willbenefit from an affordable and always-on two-way connectivity.Astra2Connect is currently offered on a wholesale basis to largeEuropean service providers such as telecommunication operators,internet service providers and broadband operators thatconduct pro-active marketing and sales activities in the residentialand small enterprise markets.The necessary equipment consists of an interactive satelliteantenna as well as a low-cost and easy-to-install satellitemodem. For the design and procurement of the satellite platformand the related modems, SES Astra has entered into a cooperationwith Newtec, a recognized market leader in satellite communicationsystems. Astra 2Connect uses advanced technologydeveloped with the support of the European Space Agency(ESA).Lockheed Martin Instrument Suiteo Study Dynamic Solar Activity onNew International Sun MissionPALO ALTO, Calif. — A suite of instruments called the FocalPlane Package (FPP) — designed and built at the Solar andAstrophysics Laboratory of the Lockheed Martin AdvancedTechnology Center (ATC) in Palo Alto — is scheduled forlaunch on the Solar-B satellite from the Uchinoura Space Center,Kagoshima, Japan on Sept. 23, 2006.Lockheed said the primary scientific goal of the Solar-B missionis to observe how changes in the magnetic field at the Sun’ssurface propagate through the different higher layers of thesolar atmosphere.Solar-B is an international cooperative mission between NASA,the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), theParticle Physics and Astronomy Research Council of the UnitedKingdom, and the European Space Agency. It is the secondmission in the Solar Terrestrial Probes Program within theHeliophysics Division of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate,and follow-on to the successful Solar-A (or Yohkoh) mission,for which Lockheed Martin provided the Soft X-ray Telescope.The FPP comprises four distinct sub-systems — a broadbandfilter imager (BFI), a narrowband filter imager, a spectra-polarimeterand a correlation tracker to stabilize the images — andresides on the Solar Optical Telescope (SOT) whose mirror andstructure were designed and developed by the NationalAstronomical Observatory of Japan and Mitsubishi ElectronicsCompany. The SOT is the largest solar optical telescope ever tobe flown in space and will be able to resolve features on thesurface of the Sun just 90 mi. (150 km) across.Solar-B will perform coordinated measurements of the differentlayers of the solar atmosphere from a Sun-synchronous orbitaround the Earth. Three instruments will perform these measurements,the previously mentioned SOT, an Extreme UltravioletImaging Spectrometer and an X-Ray Telescope.These instruments will measure the Sun’s magnetic field in thephotosphere and the ultraviolet and X-ray radiation, emitted bythe transition region/low corona, and the upper corona.Scientists will use the data obtained to gain a more preciseunderstanding of the sources and mechanisms of the Sun’svariability.Dish Network Launches BroadbandInternet OptionsENGLEWOOD, Colo. — EchoStar Communications Corporationand its DISH Network satellite TV service announced onThursday that consumers now have the option to sign up forDSL high-speed Internet service while choosing their DishNetwork programming.EchoStar said the functionality is made possible by technologyfrom GetConnected, Inc., a point-of-sale platform that searchesOctober 2006SATMAGAZINE.COM

Back to Contents18NEW PRODUCTSfor current offers available from high-speed Internet serviceproviders based on a customer’s home address and telephonenumber. Where available, customers can select and purchaseDSL high-speed Internet service at the most current prices inthe marketplace from well-known and trusted brands.EchoStar joins a comprehensive list of retailers, major DSLservice providers, and Internet service providers that useGetConnected to offer a combination of video and data services.NGA Buys Entire Suite of DigitalGlobe CitySphere ProductLONGMONT, Colo. — The National Geospatial-IntelligenceAgency (NGA) has purchased DigitalGlobe’s CitySphereproduct to access imagery of 200 of the world’s major metropolitanareas. CitySphere is an off-the-shelf collection oforthorectified color imagery provided by DigitalGlobe’sQuickBird satellite.“CitySphere demonstrates DigitalGlobe’s ability to deliverinnovative products and services that meet both commercialand defense and intelligence needs,” said Jill Smith, chiefexecutive officer of DigitalGlobe. “The currency, resolution andaccuracy of CitySphere make it ideal for use as a base map ingeospatial applications and we are delighted that the NGA haschosen CitySphere for its needs.”CitySphere features orthorectified 60 cm (2 foot) mosaic colorimagery of 200 of the world’s largest cities. Cities such asBeijing, China; San Francisco, California; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil;and Rome, Italy are available off-the-shelf with immediatedelivery. Each city is comprised of imagery that is refreshedevery year, so that no content is older than 24 months.DigalGlobe said that CitySphere can meet the geospatialcontent needs associated with embassy security, convoy androute planning security operations, the location of new propertycompounds, and the development of evacuation plans.DitigitalGlobe’s CitySphere product provides accurategeospatial data that aids customers in providing timely andrelevant geospatial intelligence in support of worldwidemapping requirements. CitySphere enables easy access to aconsistent, reliable source of unclassified high-resolutionimagery that is a foundation for planning, decision and action.Blue Sky Offers Satcom Solutionfor Existing MagnaStar UsersLA JOLLA, Calif. — Blue Sky Network (BSN), a global logisticssolution provider for two-way linking and managingtransportation assets via satellite, has announced its plan tooffer existing MagnaStar customers special pricing on BSNIridium satellite communication solutions to minimize downtime.Recently, Verizon announced that its MagnaStar Airfone servicewill terminate in December, leaving 4,000 customers without anairborne communications path. BSN said it will offer all of theseMagnaStar customers a discount for converting to BSN Iridiumbased equipment and service before the end of the year —helping them to ease their burden from having to changeservices.The BSN satellite voice and data solutions for aviation include avariety of options for portable and fixed installations. BSNequipment has also been certified by Rockwell Collins for usewith the Airshow 4000.Blue Sky said it has developed innovative communicationpackages to fill the specific needs for a variety of aviationcustomers. The lightweight, easy to use equipment is ideal foraircraft, and the reliable Iridium global service is availableanytime, anywhere on Earth.IDC Unveils New Hybrid DVB-S &DVB-S2 Products for IPTV, HDTVand Digital CinemaOTTAWA — International Datacasting Corporation hasunveiled its next-generation of hybrid DVB-S & DVB-S2product suite with MPEG-4 AVC and MPEG-4 HE-AAC for highspeed distribution for IPTV, HDTV, Digital Cinema and enhancedIP services.The new product suite is part of IDC’s new SuperFlexSFX3101 series—featuring IDC’s Pro Audio and Pro Videoproduct lines that consist of new satellite receivers, routers andintegrated Datacast XD file and stream Content Distributionand Management software.IDC said DVB-S and DVB-S2 product series is a high performanceend-to-end audio solution that is ideal for demandingbroadband applications such as; IPTV, Digital Cinema, MPEG-4/October 2006SATMAGAZINE.COM

Back to Contents19NEW PRODUCTSH.264 HDTV distribution, file distribution for syndicatedtelevision applications and more.Gary Carter, VP and chief technology officer, said theSuperFlex SFX3101 series includes built in product featuresand functionality that will improve overall network performancewhile significantly reducing operating costs.IDC said with the recent increase and demand for HD contentcapabilities, the company’s launch of the product suite will nowoffer the combined benefits of MPEG-4 Advanced Video Codec(AVC) and DVB-S2 for cost-saving satellite transmission ratesusing reduced bandwidth capacity and drastically cuttingoperating costs by close to 50%.Blue Sky Launches Two-WaySatellite Tracking SolutionsLA JOLLA, Calif — Blue Sky Network, the global logisticssolution provider for two-way linking and managing transportationassets via satellite, has announced its compact Iridiumsatellite terminals, the D2000M/MD, for land vehicles andmarine vessels.The GPS tracking system offers customers two-way communications,and instant web-based tracking and position reporting forfleets of trucks and marine vessels that can be located anywherein the world.Building on the strengths of its aircraft flight tracking solutions,the D2000M/MD utilizes a next-generation technology fromIridium, allowing a much smaller form factor and more competitivepricing than previously available. The satellite assettracking unit is the size of a car stereo and can be easilyinstalled on a land vehicle or marine vessel for instant, globaltwo-way text messaging communications.Working seamlessly with Blue Sky Network’s SkyRouter, aninteractive fleet management Web portal, the D2000M/MDallows land vehicle or marine vessel fleet managers to enjoy thesafety and convenience of global satellite tracking for all of theirtransportation assets — even in the most remote locations.In addition, dispatch or other parties may send free form twowaytext messages via SkyRouter’s fleet management interfacedirectly to the land vehicle or vessel. The D2000M/MD integrateswith third party resource allocation or dispatch software.It also features a “quick position” switch to allow for emergencynotification.October 2006Integrasys Releases Next Generationof Low-cost VSAT Line-up ToolBased on Satmotion TechnologyAMSTERDAM— IntegrasysS.A. hasunveiled a newSatmotionPocket VSATpointing & lineuptool basedon the idea ofproviding to theinstaller thespectruminformation ofthe continuouswave (CW) carrier used to line-up as received by the networkoperations center (NOC).Integrasys said calibrated EIRP for polar and cross-polar CWsignals along with target values are received by the satelliteterminal and displayed on the installer laptop or PDA while finetuning the antenna pointing to meet the specific performancerequired by the satellite operator.For initial antenna pointing and satellite identification,Satmotion displays on the PDA a real-time measurement of theS/N of the forward link which ensures that the right satellite andservice are being received by the terminal. This added newfeature may prevent the installer to carry with a traditional fieldstrength meter or portable spectrum analyzer.VSAT IDU and installer PDA or laptop communicate using awireless connection, so the installer can be present at theantenna site to perform pointing operations while setting up thetransmission power levels in the terminal IDU and maximize itstransmission cross-pol isolation.The system supports DVB-RCS and other satellite broadbandinteractive terminals including those manufactured by Viasat(LinkStar and SurfBeam), NERA and EMS Technologies,according to Integrasys.Satmotion system is currently being operated by Eutelsat,Hispasat and the European Space Agency through the Hellas-Sat satellite.SATMAGAZINE.COM

Back to Contents20NEW PRODUCTSIntegrasys is a member of SatLabs Group EEIG formed byservice providers, satellite operators, system integrators,terminal manufacturers and technology providers with acommercial interest in DVB-RCS. The object of the SatlabsGroup EEIG is to bring the deployment of the DVB-RCS standardto a large-scale adoption, by ensuring interoperabilitybetween DVB-RCS terminals and systems and by achievinglow-cost solutions.Swe-Dish Partners with Envivioto Offer MPEG-4 VideoAMSTERDAM — Envivio Inc., a technology provider of IPbasedMPEG-4 video solutions for telcos and broadcasters, andSwe-Dish Satellite Systems AB have teamed to provide IPbroadband and broadcast quality MPEG-4 video. The solutionbundles Swe-Dish IPT Suitcase with the Envivio 4Caster B3MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 encoder to offer a compact and quick-to-airMPEG-4 video enabled small satellite terminal.With easy, one person operation, the IPT Suitcase with 4CasterB3 solution offers up to 4 Mbps IP broadband transmissionalong with high quality MPEG-4 video at lowest possible bitrate from anywhere in the world and it is ideal for news organizations,military units, government agencies and rescueorganizations operating in remote locations, according to Swe-Dish. They said the system also offers an easy upgrade path forexisting IPT Suitcase users to support MPEG-4 video capabilities.“By combining the Envivio MPEG-4 encoding technology withSwe-Dish satellite technology, a new range of customers willnow have access to the highest video picture quality atextremely low bit rates,” said Julien Signès, president and CEOof Envivio. SMOctober 2006SATMAGAZINE.COM

COVER STORYGround Equipment MarketBy Virgil LabradorBack to Contents21October 2006SATMAGAZINE.COM

COVER STORYBack to Contents22October 2006SATMAGAZINE.COM

COVER STORYBack to Contents23October 2006SATMAGAZINE.COM

COVER STORYBack to Contents24October 2006SATMAGAZINE.COM

FEATUREIBC, the Greatest Show on Earth?Back to Contents25By Chris ForresterAmsterdam’s giant IBC broadcasting show seemingly gets biggerevery year. This year’s eventattracted a thumping 45,000 visitors, up5% on 2005. Now it is fair to admit thatthis seems puny when compared toNAB’s massive 100,000+ visitors, butIBC’s organisers talk about qualitybeating quantity and about the trueinternational nature of the Dutch show.But setting aside such trite comparisonsthere were some discernable trends inevidence at the show, and talked aboutduring the conference sessions.Top of this list was IPTV, whichseems to have hit something of a brickwall in Europe. Growth has stalled tosuch an extent that a major technologysupplier, Tandberg Television, had toissue a profits warning just hours aheadof the show. CEO Eric Cooney summedup the situation in a statement, blaming“Late buying decisions”, although hestressed he felt the longer-term view onIPTV remained wholly favourable, “Weremain confident in the longer termoutlook for the business driven bycustomer demand for high-definition,IPTV, video-on-demand and interactiveadvertising solutions.”Cooney admitted that many telcos– in the US as well a Europe – foundprogramming for IP a challenge: “Todaythey are coming at the problem verydifferently, they know it is a businessimperative for them and essential fortheir survival that they enter the worldof video. It’s a major motivator, havingthis fire at their heels and focuses themind quite a bit in terms of answering‘what do we really need to do here?’”Blake Krikorian, co-founder andCEO of Sling MediaCooney wasn’t the only majorplayer bemoaning IPTV. “Some of thetier one telcos have been taking theirtime rolling out,” Graeme Packman,principal consultant at Understanding &Solutions told a packed room at the‘IPTV - the future has arrived’ session.“The slowdown is starting to underminethe credibility of the concept and this isundermining the confidence of contentowners. Some of them are thinking‘Maybe we can do this ourselvesthrough websites or other servicesrather than working with the telco guyswho may not be as organised as wethought.’” IPTV subscribers willcontinue to grow from about 6.5msubscribers at the end of this year tonearly 37m by 2010, but there will be wilddifferences among countries dependingon their competitive landscape, saidPackman, who predicted it will be a“long time” before financial successcomes to most IPTV rollouts. By 2010,he predicted IPTV revenues will be $4bn,or about 10% of total projected pay-TVrevenues of $42bn.However, if Tandberg had to sufferFritz Pleitgen, DG of Germanpublic broadcaster WDRNHK UHDVcamerafrom a stalling of demand, they werehugely bullish on HDTV. Cooney’s teamshowed their latest HDTV compressionkit, perfect for satellite distribution usingDVB/S2, and MPEG4 compression,which – says Cooney – can deliver highdefin a 6Mb/s bit stream (when used ina statistical multiplexer). “By and largetoday’s accepted bit rate for Stat-Mux,advanced compression high def isbetween 8-10 Mbps. Before the end ofthe year we’ll be down to 6 Mbps forhigh def and to be honest we are prettyimpressed with the end result,” saidCooney.The IBC judges agreed, and at anAwards ceremony at the show Tandbergpicked up two ‘gongs’, for its RX1290multiformat professional receiver whichwon the award for best satellite contribution/distribution/transmissionsolution, while its zBand contentdelivery platform picked up the prize forbest content-on-demand solution. Thedouble success built on Tandberg’s sixnominations for the awards – the mostfor any company at this year’s event.October 2006SATMAGAZINE.COM

FEATURESBack to Contents26But Tandberg, like one or two otherexhibitors and conference speakers, isalso looking to the future and so-called‘next generation’ compression. This is awholly ‘chicken and egg’ situation thatfurther compression (that is better thantoday’s H.264/AVC MPEG4) depends onsignificantly improved computerprocessing, as well as footage speciallyshot with – at least – 4K cameras.Japan’s NHK, as ever, is in the forefrontof such technology and showed its4000-line plasma to seemingly neverendingqueues of visitors who allemerged eager to see more. CurrentlyNHK is using a giant 76kg hand-built4000 line camera to capture images, andeven took the unit down to Antarcticalast year to see how well the systemfared in tough conditions. The cameracaptures IMAX-quality images, andindeed, this is where the technologymight well end up, but some folkssuggest that with the right technologyadvances in digital compression it couldend up in our homes.This ‘next big thing’ has alreadybeen dubbed Ultra High Definition(UHTV). Let’s be clear this isn’t going tohappen tomorrow, but perhaps in thenext 5-7 years or so, and the engineersare already looking at H.265 to providethe technical solutions. Their target –and it may be ambitious – is to trim 50%from the current MPEG4 bit-rates. Butbecause 4000 line (or even 2000 line)images need massive amounts of data,this would still be a much fatter ‘pipe’ ofdata into the all-new set-top box, hencethe wait for chip-sets that are significantlymore powerful than those in usetoday. The NHK demo used a massivebank of computers to drive their display,but the end result was breathtaking andcrammed a 32 megapixel display (some 16times more than today’s conventional 2megapixel HD screens).One highly regarded voice from theOctober 2006SES Global’s new toysIBC saw the presentation of a ‘product of the year’ prize to SESAstra’s BluCom technology, which links a set-top box to a mobile phone toenable improved return path connectivity for broadcasters. BluCom isalready in use in Germany.SES Astra also introduced at IBC a revamped return-path broadbandby-satelliteproduct Astra2Connect, described by CEO Ferd Kayser as afully satellite-based interactive and low-cost broadband Internet access toserve the residential market, SMEs and SoHo locations. Astra2Connect canprovide a full satellite-based triple play infrastructure service enablingbroadband internet access, voice-over-IP and other content related accessservices such as IPTV or Video-on-Demand. It is expected to be operationalin the first quarter of 2007 and will mainly target homes in Europe andperhaps Africa.Kayser said the technology, costing below •250 at “factory gate”prices would bring broadband Internet access to everyone - whenever andwherever they might be. “The end-consumers will benefit from an affordableand always-on two-way connectivity,” he said. Astra would not themselvesretail the service, leaving that to distributors who would add value in the formof marketing, sales and subscriber management. Customers could choosebetween three levels of service, each with direct return-path technology, at256kbit/s downstream, 512 kbit/s, or 1024 kbit/s. Astra2Connect is not anopen DVB-RCS standard.European Broadcasting Union, DavidWood, argued that the human eye mightnot take kindly to this higher resolutionformat. Indeed, the demo seemed toconfirm this, in that there was so muchinformation on the display that one wastruly amazed at the detail. Mr Woodsuggests that we would find such detaildistracting. What everyone seems tothink is more likely, at least in the shortterm, is that the technology will makedigitally projected cinema more realistic,and it’s quite possible that NHK’sbrilliant invention might see use insports stadiums, rock concerts and evenmuseums and galleries all of whom wouldbe able to afford the expensive computers.NHK talks about Ultra-HD experimentalbroadcasts around 2015, withconsumer equipment available around2020 and full broadcasting around 2025.But it could be sooner. Us ordinarymortals might have to wait the 10 or 20years predicted for the technology toappear in our local electrical retailer. Butas Night follows Day, about 10 yearsfrom now, when the same electricalretailer has managed to persuade all ofus to invest in flat screens then they’llbe looking to the ‘next big thing’, andUHTV might well be the answer.There was also at IBC a clear shiftin emphasis on the HD front. To datemost of Europe’s high-def transmissionsSATMAGAZINE.COM

FEATURESBack to Contents27are coming from pay-TV broadcasters.The problem for Europe’s importantpublic broadcasters is one of cost. Mostoperate on very fixed licence fee income,and even those that can carry advertisingare finding that the ad-market is soft,and not growing. Then there’s the vexedquestion of bandwidth, and inEurope’s crowded spectrumspace there’s not much sparecapacity for greedy HDsignals, not until analogue isswitched off.Fritz Pleitgen, DG ofGerman public broadcasterWDR and also incomingpresident of the EuropeanBroadcasting Union, says heis personally convinced aboutthe merits of high-def. “As aprogramme maker I wanted totry [the technology]. I can tellyou I have become an addict.However, as the directorgeneral of a public broadcasterI am very anxious aboutthe cost. There’s no doubt theinterest across Europe isconsiderable, especially forsport, drama and documentaryproduction. But it all meansextra investment, on bandwidthand transmission, onequipment and production,and even for the consumer.Not all broadcasters, withlimited amounts of cash, canfund this exercise.”Pleitgen used a phrasethat had been echoed aroundthe hall more than once,saying that HDTV’s adoptionwould be evolutionary morethan revolutionary. “Step bystep we can build up ourprogramming archive andeven this is a challenge forsome public broadcasters.”October 2006Before we move on from high-def,one of the technology stars at the showwas Grass Valley’s impressive wirelessHD camera (from G-V’s Thomson cameraunit), one of the very first in the business,and perfect for touchline action.HD viewers will have noticed that whilestadium shots in HD are terrific, thetouchline action cameras are usuallyStandard Def, that’s then upconvertedbecause sports regulators usuallyprohibit umbilically connected camerasto be sited near a game’s action. Thatcan now change, and the newly devel-SATMAGAZINE.COM

FEATURESBack to Contents28oped HD camera can operate at distancesup to 150 yards from the cameratruck’s antenna.The IBC conference suites werepacked, in some cases to overflow. Oneterrific session included Blake Krikorian,co-founder and CEO of Sling Media,who presented their Slingbox. He tolddelegates to IBC’s ‘Content that MovesWell’ session that Sling’s objective wassimply allowing viewers to have contentto their TV programming wherever theywere in the world. “People love TV,” hesaid. “And we are more and morelooking at screens away from our livingrooms. Mobiles, projectors, PCs andlaptops, PDAs. We know that peoplewant TV on all these devices whereverthey are. We know that about 35% ofSlingbox viewing is in the office. In factdestroying office productivity is anotherone of our goals!”More seriously, Krikorian arguedthat Slingbox’s existing 350,000 buyersare not under threat from Hollywood’sstudio lawyers. “We’re only doing whatcable did in the early years in the US,which was to move signals from a cityout into the countryside. We’re just avirtual cable company. Importantly,unlike the internet, we are just a one-tooneproduct, not one to many.” SlingMedia has licensed its product toScandinavian satellite DTH operatorViaSat, and to a South American cableMSO. SMLondon-based Chris Forrester, a well-known broadcastingjournalist is the Editor for Europe, Middle East and Africa forSATMAGAZINE. He reports on all aspects of the industrywith special emphasis on content, the business of televisionand emerging technologies. He has a unique knowledge ofthe Middle East broadcasting scene, having interviewed atlength the operational heads of each of the main channels and pay-TVplatforms. He can be reached at chrisforrester@compuserve.comOctober 2006SATMAGAZINE.COM

Back to Contents29EXECUTIVE SPOTLIGHTInterview withNEWTEC CEO Serge Van HerckOctober 2006SATMAGAZINE.COM

EXECUTIVE SPOTLIGHTBack to Contents30October 2006SATMAGAZINE.COM

EXECUTIVE SPOTLIGHTBack to Contents31October 2006SATMAGAZINE.COM

EXECUTIVE SPOTLIGHTBack to Contents32October 2006SATMAGAZINE.COM

Back to Contents33FEATUREAPSCC 2006 Conference HighlightS-DMB Developments in AsiaBy Bernardo SchneidermanThe APSCC 2006 Satellite Conference and Exhibition, which washeld on September 26-28, successfullygathered over 500 professionalsfrom the satellite and space-relatedindustries and marked its prestige as themost premier satellite event in the Asia-Pacific region.Also at this year’s, Dr. NongluckPhinaintisart was elected as the newAPSCC President for a two-year termstarting in January 2007. She succeedsDr. Eui K. Koh, President of ASATechnologies, who has served asAPSCC President for the past fouryears. Dr. Phinaintisart iscurrently President of ShinSatellite Public Co. Ltd., asatellite operator in Asia withfive satellites, Thaicom 1A,Thaicom 2, Thaicom 3,Thaicom 4 (IPSTAR), andThaicom 5, in operation.Among the main newsduring the conference was theannouncement of ShinSatellite’s Sales of UserTerminals that reached 50,000in Asia-Pacific. IPSTARAustralia (IPA), a subsidiary ofShin Satellite, announced thatit has achieved a deploymentrate of 1,000 subscribers permonth in Australia sinceAugust and is expecting toreach 2,000 new subscribersper month by the end of thisyear. This brings the totalnumber of satellite userterminals provided by ShinSatellite to over 50,000 in the Asia-Pacific Region.Another main announcement camefrom the Asia Broadcast Satellite (ABS)about the acquisition of LockheedMartin Space Communications Ventures(LMSCV) and Lockheed MartinIntersputnik (LMI) from LockheedMartin Global Telecommunications(LMGT). LMSCV owns and operates theLMI-1 satellite and LMI has the right tomarket the capacity on LMI-1. As aresult of the transaction, LMSCV andLMI have been renamed Asia BroadcastSatellite Holdings and Asia BroadcastSatellite Ltd., respectively. The LMI-1satellite has also been renamed ABS-1.ABS-1 offers coverage to Asia, Africa,Middle East and Eastern Europe with 28C-band and 16 Ku-band transpondersproviding DTH and CATV distributionAPSCC Conference Theme was“Satellites - Growing with Asia”provided a great degree of businessopportunities in the region through aseries of CEO Roundtable discussionsby the most prominent and influentialCEOs of the industry. APSCC 2006 alsooffered an outstanding selection of 6panel discussions and 7 sessions thatOctober 2006SATMAGAZINE.COM

FEATURESBack to Contents34syndicate that together manages more than US$10.3 billion incommitted capital.S-DMB Status of theProject in AsiaSince last year S-DMB is bringing a lot of interest for thispart of the World to evaluate how is the development of theMobile Satellite Broadcasting Consortium (See chart below>copy Pag.11 from Tutu Presentation) are developing. Base inthe presentation of the two main operators of the services TUMedia (South Korea) and Mobile Broadcasting Corporation(Japan) the number of subscribers are reaching at the end of theyear 1 million users. Korea is ahead with 90% of the marketshare and Japan is reaching 10%. One of the key issues for thesuccess in Korea was the marketing campaign very strong andthe participation of the local mobile operator in the launch ofprovided essential tips and tools for business in the Asianmarket.Among the main topics that was discussed we canhighlight the potential increase of the price of the MHz for C-Band capacity by the Satellite Carriers in the region. Theprice has been low comparing with the other major Globalmarkets. Additionally the entering of new Satellite Carriers inthe region is showing that the market still is in the growingmode. Among the new players are ProtoStar focuses onproviding high-power geostationary satellite servicesoptimized for direct-to-home (DTH) satellite television andbroadband Internet accesses across the Asia-Pacific region.ProtoStar received a commitment for a US$ 40 million Series Bround of financing from an impressive venture capitalOctober 2006SATMAGAZINE.COM

FEATURESBack to Contents35new services. In Japan the efforts aremore conservative in the marketingefforts and the local partner was not amobile operator. The graphic from TuMedia (Market Demand Forecast – copypag. 9 of TU media) is showing that S-DMB will be reaching in Korea 6.6million subscribers at the end 2012.application for Disaster Prevention andOcean Information for Small Ship ( Seepicture 1 and 2 – copy pic. 18 and 19from MBC Presentation).The interest in this program in Asiais growing in the Global market wheremore than 110 companies from theAmericas, European Union and AsiaPacific received information about S-DMB where 22% was Mobile Operators,18% Broadcastersand 12% SatelliteOperators. SMIn the Graphic Mobile BroadcastingNetwork (copy pag. 14 of TU Media) TuMedia is showing the “Service Flow” inthe S-DMB solution in Korea. In KoreaMarket the client is receiving 12 videochannels, 26 audio channels and datavia Satellite direct to end user device. (oralternative via a Gap Filler) The transmissionis in S-Band (2.63 – 2.65 GHz)In Japan MBC is broadcasting istransmitting 8 Video channels, 37 AudioChannels and 60 titles in Data Programs.MBC additionally develop someBernardo Schneiderman has over 20 years of experiencein Satellite communications and is the President ofTelematics Business consultants based in Irvine, CA. Hehas been working in Business Development, Sales and Marketing forSatellite Carriers, VSAT Equipment Manufacturer and Consulting Companiesin the USA, Latin America, Brazil and Africa developing businessfor the Telecom, Broadcast and the Enterprise Market Segment. He wasthe editor of the Publication Brazil Telematics Newsletter during 1995-2003. He has a MBA from University of San Francisco with Major inTelecom and International Marketing and BSEE from UFRJ in Brazil. Hecan be contacted at tbc-telematics@com.netOctober 2006SATMAGAZINE.COM

VITAL STATISTICSBack to Contents36About Aon ExplorerAon Explorer is the strategy consulting arm of Aon France in the aerospace and telecoms markets. Resulting from theacquisition of Vista Advisers in January 2005, Aon Explorer Strategy & Finance has developed a thorough expertise inbusiness plans, feasibility studies, companies due-diligence both for the satellite industry and the finance community.Please contact Laurence Journez, Vice President, tel: +33 1 5875 6064, email: laurence_journez@aon.frOctober 2006SATMAGAZINE.COM

MARKET INTELLIGENCESatellite & Terrestrial:Back to ContentsIs C-band about to be the “Conflict-band”?By Martin Jarrold,Chief of International Program Development, GVF37The satellite industry is facing amajor threat to its successfulbusiness operations worldwide,one that will overwhelmingly compromiseits ability to serve the missioncriticalcommunications requirements ofits millions of customers on everycontinent, in every sector, across allvertical markets. If national and internationalgovernment organizations fail tointervene effectively to limit this trend,the satellite industry may well beprevented from supplying Fixed (FSS)and Mobile Satellite Services (MSS) – invoice, data and video – in both developedand developing nations, everywhere.Right now – in coordination withGVF – a wide range of satellite industryrelatedorganizations around the worldare developing initiatives to challengethis development, and subsequentMarket Intelligence Reports will keepSatMagazine.com readers fully updatedregarding these vitally importantstrategies.The “Conflict-Band”The ‘extended’ C-band frequencies– in the range 3.4 to 3.7 GHz – havealready been identified by a number ofnational administrations for use by newterrestrial services such as BroadbandWireless Access (BWA) and WiMax. Inaddition, still more administrations areconsidering deployment of these newservices in the ‘standard’ C-band – 3.7to 4.2 GHz – frequency range. Already,in countries where WiMax services havebeen introduced, there have beensignificant in-band and out-of-bandOctober 2006interference problems and serviceinterruptions for satellite groundstations. According to David Hartshorn,Secretary General of the GVF, “suchinterruptions have been identified ashaving occurred across Africa, and inAustralia, Bolivia, around the Caribbean,in China, Fiji, Hong Kong, Indonesia,and Russia.”In Hong Kong, the Office of theTelecommunications Authority (OFTA)issued a report earlier this year – entitled‘Report of Working Group on Assessmentof Potential Interference betweenBroadband Wireless Access Systems inthe 3.4 – 3.6 GHz Band and the FixedSatellite Services in the 3.4 – 4.2 GHzBand’ (RSAC Paper 5/2006) – whichconcluded that without the implementationof technical constraints, principallygeographic separation and the use ofLNB filters – a very costly option forboth BWA operators and FSS users –the deployment of BWA services in the3.5 GHz band would lead to interferenceproblems in the entire C-band (3.4 to 4.2GHz), making a wide and cost-effectivedeployment of BWA systems in arestricted geography like that of HongKong very difficult.And this is not all. In addition toBWA systems, C-band spectrum is beingtargeted for the deployment of terrestrialmobile services – IMT. The InternationalTelecommunications Union ITU-RWorking Party 8F, which is responsiblefor the terrestrial component of AgendaItem 1.4 – ‘Future Development of IMT-2000 and Systems Beyond IMT-2000’ –of the next World RadioCommunicationsConference (WRC-2007), has includedthe 3.4 to 4.2 GHz frequency range as apotential candidate band for IMT.Both BWA and IMT can besimilarly characterized, in that both havelarge numbers of ubiquitously deployedbase stations and user terminals. FSSsatellite systems deliver extremely weaksignals which are highly sensitive inboth the standard and extended C-bandranges. The most effective solution toavoid interference problems from theseservices is to separate the systems byimplementing exclusion zones aroundexisting FSS earth stations. ITU-R(including Working Party 8F), togetherwith several ITU studies within WorkingParties 4A and 8F, have recognized theneed for exclusion zones. However,these are essentially impractical in thecase of ubiquitously deployed C-bandantennas (as such zones cannot bedefined) and for C-band antennas atknown locations the width of such zonesmay go up several hundreds of kilometers,thus preventing the deployment ofterrestrial IMT over very large areas.Furthermore, the implementation ofexclusion zones would negatively affectSATMAGAZINE.COM

Back to Contents38MARKET INTELLIGENCEthe ability of FSS operators to expandtheir operations beyond existing earthstations.In AfricaAfrica has always had a highprofile in the programs of the GVF, andthe arena of C-band interference willelevate this profile even further. TheAfrican continent is well served by Kuband,but for large areas of the continent– where rain fade can be problematic, atleast during the rainy season – satelliteservices delivered over C-band frequenciesare absolutely essential. There arethousands of large satellite antennasacross Africa that operate in the C-bandfrequency range, and thus, according toMatthew Botwin who chairs the GVFRegulatory Working Group, “It will beparticularly important for the satellitecommunity of Africa – operators,government regulators, and users ofsatellite services alike – to attend thenext meeting of ITU Working Group 8F,in Cameroon in January 2007, where the3.4 to 4.2 GHz frequency range will beunder threat from the search forIMT2000 spectrum.” Mr Botwin added,“The services using these satelliteantennas would suffer interruptions ofservice and significant interference if theITU allocates this band to IMT mobileservices.”In Africa, as elsewhere, the C-bandfrequency range is the primary means bywhich the satellite industry providesmillions of users with vital solutions fordistance learning, telemedicine, universalaccess, disaster recovery, andnumerous other applications.Africa – along with Europe –comprises most of ITU Region 1. WithEurope in favor of allocating 3.4 to 4.2GHz to IMT, it is now doubly importantthat African communications regulatorsOctober 2006urge their foreign ministries to opposethis movement at the ITU, if they hopeto protect C-band satellite services inAfrica.In Abuja, Nigeria, GVF will next beaddressing this issue at the beginning ofNovember 2006. Adjunct to the mainprogram of the West Africa SatelliteCommunications Summit, 31 October to2 November, GVF will host a meeting ofthe regional satellite community toestablish a pre-Cameroon WorkingGroup 8F dialog and plan of action. Thisregional meeting will be taking place on1 November at the Summit venue (LeMeridien Hotel, Abuja), and furtherinformation may be obtained frommartin.jarrold@gvf.org. Informationabout the Summit as a whole may beobtained at www.gvf-events.org.Targeting a Global SolutionThe agenda of the Abuja meetingwill be premised on the GVF view of theinterference problem. David Hartshorndescribes it thus: “The only effectivesolution to protect satellite services inthe extended and standard C-bandfrequencies is to separate them fromterrestrial systems such as WiMax orBWA by several thousands of kilometers,or to find other spectrum for theseservices to operate.”And, in a paper entitled ‘TechnicalAnalysis of the Potential for Interferencefrom Terrestrial BWA Transmittersto FSS Receive Earth Stations inthe Band 3.400 – 4.200MHz’, proposedby a number of GVF members, andsubmitted to the CITEL PCC.II meetingin Lima, Peru, June 2006, it was concludedthat “co-frequency operation ofBWA systems and FSS receive earthstations in the same geographic area isnot feasible.” The paper has thesupport of a number of CITEL countries,and is likely to be included as CITELinput to the ITU WRC process.In addition, and right now, GVF isurging its global membership to follow asix-point plan of action, as follows:ONE: Register all receive-only andtransmitting earth stations that operatein the extended and standard C-bandswith the local telecommunicationsregulatory authority (TRA) whereverpossible, so that they can be affordedthe proper protection against interference.TWO: Establish direct contact withthe local TRA, and urge them to preventthe reassignment of C-band frequenciesto BWA and WiMax services. Presenteach case by telling the plain and simpletruth, that your business will suffersignificant service disruptions if theseterrestrial services are allowed to operatein the bands you are ALREADY using.THREE: Urge TRA’s to prevent thedesignation of the C-band frequenciesas candidate bands for IMT services atWRC-2007, and contribute to this effectfrom the upcoming Conference PreparatoryMeeting in February 2007. Explainthat your business will suffer significantservice disruptions if these terrestrialservices are allowed to operate in thebands you are ALREADY using.FOUR: Join the international effortto stop the reassignment of C-band toterrestrial services, particularly throughsuch regional telecommunicationsorganizations as CITEL in the Americas,the APT in Asia, CEPT in Europe, andthe ATU in Africa, as well as the ITU inGeneva.FIVE: Encourage national governmentsto participate in the aforementionedinternational efforts and to seekprotection for satellite businesses,SATMAGAZINE.COM

STOCK MONITORBack to ContentsADVERTISERS’INDEX40Company Name Symbol Price52-wk Range(Oct. 2)APT SATELLITE ATS 1.30 1.12 - 2.10ANDREW CORP ANDW 9.20 7.08 - 14.25ASIA SATELLITETELECOMMUNICATIONS(ASIASAT) SAT 16.25 15.91 - 19.60BALL CORP BLL 40.44 34.16 - 45.00BOEING CO BA 79.84 63.70 - 89.58BRITISH SKY ADS BSY 41.38 33.59 - 43.75CALIFORNIA AMPLIFIER CAMP 6.20 5.44 - 13.90C-COM SATELLITE SYSTEMS INC CMI.V 0.47 0.23 - 0.56COM DEV INTL LTD CDV.TO 6.18 1.67 - 6.22COMTECH TELECOM CMTL 33.99 25.67 - 45.65THE DIRECTV GROUP DTV 19.70 13.17 - 19.98ECHOSTAR COMMUNICATIONS DISH 32.66 24.44 - 35.95-GLOBECOMM SYS INC GCOM 8.59 5.88 - 8.91HARRIS CORP HRS 43.49 36.72 - 49.78HONEYWELL INTL INC HON 41.44 32.68 - 44.48INTL DATACASTING CORPORATION IDC.TO 0.18 0.14 - 0.31INTEGRAL SYSTEMS ISYS 31.00 18.63 - 33.55KVH INDUSTRIES INC KVHI 12.94 8.77 - 13.60L-3 COMM HLDGS INC LLL 78.31 66.50 - 88.50LOCKHEED MARTIN CORP LMT 87.12 58.50 - 86.45NEWS CORP NWS 20.55 14.76 - 20.82NORSAT INTL INC NSATF.OB 0.43 0.30 - 1.19NTL INCORPORATED NTLI 26.02 19.99 - 31.00AAE Systems 13www.aaesys.comColem 16www.colem.co.ukCOMTECH EF DATA 11www.comtechefdata.comGlobal Link 39www.globalinktv.comGlobeCast 00www.globecast.comGlobal Milsatcom 2006`` 15www.global milsatcom.comISIS NYC ‘06 9www.isis-nyc.comL-3 NARDA SATELLITENETWORKS 34www.lnr.comMITEQ 20www.miteq.comPTC 2007 28www.ptc07.orgSES AMERICOM 27www.ses-americom.comORBITAL SCIENCES CORP ORB 18.32 10.86 - 20.36PT PASIFIK SATEL IT PSNRY.PK 0.0010QUALCOMM INC QCOM 35.05 32.76 - 53.01RADYNE CORPORATION RADN 12.17 10.07 - 17.85SIRIUS SATELLITE RADIO SIRI 3.98 3.60 - 7.98SES GLOBAL FDR SDSFA.F 12.45TRIMBLE NAVIGATION TRMB 46.17 26.64 - 52.40WORLDSPACE INC WRSP 3.38 1.90 - 15.37VIASAT INC VSAT 24.94 22.32 - 30.83XM SATELLITE RADIO XMSR 13.00 9.63 - 36.91For real-time stock quotes go to www.satnews.com/free/finance.htmlOctober 2006SATMAGAZINE.COM