Back to Contents 1 February 2007 SATMAGAZINE.COM Back to Contents 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Vol. 4 No. 10, Februaryr 2007 Click on the title to go directly to the story COVER STORY FEATURE CASE REGIONAL STUDY UPDATE 19 / Network 21 / The Mid-East: 26 / Satellite 30 / Opportunities Management – The World’s Network in the Latin Beyond the Most Management American Network Challenging Services for Satellite Market Operations Pay-TV Market the Energy Center Industry By Wally Martland By Chris Forrester by James Dell by Bernardo Schneiderman . The challenge for Network There are three rival pay- Parallel provides a New applications and Operations is no longer TV systems in the solution for one of the satellites services show limited to controlling the complex and very world’s leading supplier of promising opportunities in the equipment and Element challenging Middle East technology, project Latin American satellite Management (EM) systems market. management and market. located at the Network information solutions to Operations Center (NOC), the oil and gas industry, but also focused on reducing Schlumberger. the costs of managing larger more complex geographically diverse REGULAR DEPARTMENTS networks from a single Network Management System. 3 / Notes from the 33 / Vital Statistics Editor 34 / Market Intelligence: 4 / Calendar of Events Satellites in the 'IP Space' 5 / Industry News and 'MilSpace' presented by Global VSAT Forum 10 / Executive Moves 38 / Advertisers’ Index/ 15 / New Products and Stock Quotes Services February 2007 SATMAGAZINE.COM Back to Contents 3 NOTE FROM THE EDITOR Published monthly by China Launch Missile Strike on Satnews Publishers 800 Siesta Way, Weather Satellite Sonoma, CA 95476 USA n the evening of January 11, China shot Phone (707) 939-9306 O down one of its own aging weather satellites in low- Fax (707) 939-9235 earth orbit with a ground-based ballistic missile. The E-mail: [email protected] shoot-down, a test conducted by the Chinese military, Website: www.satmagazine.com drew an immediate protest from the US government, EDITORIAL followed by Canada and Australia. “The United States Silvano Payne believes China’s development and testing of such Publisher weapons is inconsistent with the spirit of cooperation that both countries aspire to in the civil space area,” said Gordon D. Virgil Labrador Johndroe, a spokesperson for the U.S. National Security Council. Managing Editor and Editor, North America The U.S. and the former Soviet Union have conducted similar tests during the Cold War twenty years (ago. But that was during another time Chris Forrester and under vastly different circumstances. It certainly seems out of spirit Editor, Europe, Middle East of the times for China to be conducting such military tests at the present and Africa time when international cooperation is the norm, especially in the global satellite industry. Not surprisingly, the test not only elicited concerns Bernardo Schneiderman from the US government but from the industry as well. Over 28 Editor, Latin America countries have about 316 satellites within the range of the missile that destroyed the Chinese weather satellite last month (about 550 miles Peter Galace above the earth). Although, most commercial satellites operate far above Editor, Asia-Pacific this range (mostly in the geosynchronous orbit 23,000 miles from the earth), any action that purposely seeks to destroy a satellite is cause for John Puetz, Bruce Elbert concern. Dan Freyer, Howard Greenfield Contributing Writers, This certainly won’t help the cause of those trying to ease export The Americas restrictions to China, a nagging problem that has U.S. satellite manufacturers losing out to their European counterparts. David Hartshorn, Martin Jarrold Contributing Writers, Europe This wasn’t the first Chinese test that raised concerns. In September Baden Woodford 2006, China used a ground-based laser to illuminate at least one US Contributing Writer, Africa satellite according to the US National Reconnaissance Office. Let’s hope for the sake of international trade and the development of the global Bekah Benefiel commercial satellite industry, that we have seen the last of these “tests.” ([email protected]) Advertising Sales Article Contributions to SatMagazine Satmagazine accepts article contributions from the industry. We encourage contributions that deal with issues affecting the Satnews Publishers is the leading provider of information on the industry as opposed to company or product-specific articles. We worldwide satellite industry. Fore are specifically interested in case studies, opinion (op-ed) pieces, more information, go to features or market studies and trends. To submit proposals for www.satnews.com possible articles , send a one-paragraph or less abstract of the Cover Design by: Simon Payne proposed article or to obtain more information on our editorial calendar, publishing guidelines and deadlines, please send an e- Copyright © 2007 Satnews Publishers mail to [email protected] All rights reserved. February 2007 SATMAGAZINE.COM Back to Contents 4 Feb. 5-8, Cairo, Egypt Mar. 7-8, Brussels, Belgium Cairo ICT MilSpace 2007: Planning, Funding & Strategies Mahmoud Mazen Teri Arri Tel: +202 4144585 / Mobile: +2 010 1102570 Tel: +44 (0) 20 7827 6162 Fax: +202 4171371 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] Web: http://www.smi-online.co.uk/events/ Web: www.cairoict.com overview.asp?is=1&ref=2539 Feb. 6-9, Moscow, Russia Mar. 12-16, Johannesburg, South Africa CSTB-2006: New TV Era SatCom Africa 2007 Anastasia Kasatkinaor Victoria Senukhina Brian Shabangu Tel.: +7 (095) 737 74 79 / Fax: +7 (095) 145 51 33 Tel: +27 11 463 6001 / Fax: +27 11 463 6903 E-mail: [email protected] / Web: www.cstb.ru Email: [email protected] Web: www.satcomafrica.com Feb. 19-22, Washington, D.C., USA Satellite 2007 Mar. 20, Chantilly, VA, USA +1-508-743-0512 or +1-800-915-9801 Aviation Week Laureate Awards Email: [email protected] Lydia Janow, CMP Web: www.satellite2007.com Tel.: 800-240-7645 or 212-904-3225 / Fax: 212-904- 3334 E-mail: [email protected] Mar. 5-6, London, UK Web:www.aviationweek.com/conferences/ The Connected Home Dee Anthony Mar. 21-23, Nanyang Technological University, Tel: +44 1173 116 220 / Fax: +44 1173 116 221 Singapore E-mail: [email protected] 3rd Asian Space Conference Web: www.the-connected-home.co.uk Timo Rolf Bretschneider Phone: +65 – 6790 6045 / Fax: +65 – 6792 6559 Mar. 5-7, London, UK E-mail: [email protected] IPTV World Forum Web: http://pdcc.ntu.edu.sg/ASC2007 Ian Johnson Tel: +44 1173 116 223 / Fax: +44 1173 116 221 April 10-13, Coex, Seoul, Korea E-mail: [email protected] 25th AIAA International Communications Satellite Web: www.iptv-forum.com Systems Conference (ICSSC-2007)”Evolution Toward a Ubiquitous Network Society” Mar. 5-8, George Washington UniversityWashington, Anna Kim, APSCC secretariat D.C., USA Tel: +82 2 508 4883~5 / Fax: +82 2 568 8593 Planetary Defense Conference E-mail: [email protected] Tel.: 310.336.5000 / Fax: 310.336.7055 Web: http://www.icssc2007.com Web: http://www.aero.org/ April 11-13, Istanbul, Turkey Mar. 6-8, Dubai, UAE Caspian Telecoms 2007 CABSAT 2007 Elena Peredel’skaya Web: www.cabsat.com Tel : + 44 (0) 20 7596 5205 / 5000 Fax : + 44 (0) 20 7596 5208 Mar. 7, London, UK E-mail : [email protected] TV over Net Web: www.caspiantelecoms.com/ Ingrid Anusic Tel: +44 1173 116 220 / Fax: +44 1173 116 221 E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.tvover-net.com February 2007 SATMAGAZINE.COM Back to Contents 5 INDUSTRY NEWS Space Systems/Loral Nabs Contract project provides SS/L the opportunity to demonstrate our to Build Satellites for Echostar and success in combining heritage, space-proven satellite technol- ogy with new innovation. “We are pleased to be awarded the Intelsat contract for this important new member of Intelsat’s global fleet,” he said. PALO ALTO, Calif. — EchoStar Orbital Intelsat 14, to be located at 45 degrees West longitude, will be Corporation II, a the 44th Space Systems/Loral satellite built over the past four subsidiary of decades for Intelsat, the world’s largest fixed satellite services EchoStar Communi- operator. The satellite will carry 40 C-band and 22 Ku-band cations Corporation transponders across four different beams, covering the Ameri- has awarded Space cas, Europe and Africa. Systems/Loral a subsidiary of Loral Intelsat 14 will have a design life of 15 years and will replace the Space & Communi- PAS-1R satellite when the new satellite is delivered in 2009. SS/L cations a contract Space System/Loral technicians said its high efficiency solar arrays and lightweight batteries are to manufacture a designed to provide uninterrupted electrical power. The satellite realign a thermal blanket on the new direct broadcast will based on SS/L’s 1300 platform. tower of a spacecraft that is mated satellite (DBS). to the shipping container Abertis Completes Purchase superstructure at the company’s EchoStar said the spacecraft assembly facility. SS/L new satellite named of 32% of Eutelsat announced this week two new EchoStar XIV will contracts to build satellites for provide expanded BARCELONA — Spain’s leading private transport and commu- EchoStar and Intelsat. (SS/L photo) services and nications infrastructure management corporation Abertis, flexibility for Dish through its telecommunications, subsidiary Abertis Telecom, Network’s more than 13 million direct-to-home (DTH) television has completed the purchase of 32 percent of European satellite subscribers. operator, Eutelsat Communications, via a cash payment of •1.07bn ($1.28 billion). John Celli, president of Space Systems/Loral, said with an ever- increasing amount of programming options, it is an exciting time Abretis said the transaction was financed with a bridge loan for the DTH industry.