Worldwide Satellite Magazine March 2008 SatMagazine Satellite Networks CONTENTS Subscribers to Satellite TV Platforms Worldwide, Trends by Region SATMAGAZINE35 MARCH(1989-2007E) 2008 30 Subscribers in million North America 25 20 Western Europe 15 DIGITAL APPLICATIONS AND FEATURES Asia Pacific 10 5 Central and Eastern THE NEW REVOLUTION OF SATELLITEEurope COMMUNICATIONS Middle East & Africa 0 Latin America 25 04 PAY TV 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007E by Martin Jarrold, Chief of International Program Devel- by Pacôme Revillon, Managing Director, Euroconsult© 2008 Euroconsult opment, GVF As a supplier of essential services to the oil After a decade of satellite TV Growth in the number of satellite TV platforms in service (1994-2007) 100 Satellite TV Platform industry cycle New cycle Number of platforms & gas industry, the satellite communica- 90 platforms launches, the satellite Growth Maturity Consolidation Growth 80 Take -off of DTH Slowdown of new Consolidation phase in most DTH advanced 70 platforms in main DTH platforms’ Asia tions sector are acutely aware of the fact TV industry has reached criti- Analog TV platforms markets particularly in launch except in markets leading most North America, Europe the emerging of the time to 1 unique 60 and Latin America markets player on each national market Middle-East cal size and has become truly 50 North Africa that cost-effective and efficient means of 40 Central and Eastern 30 Number of new DTH Europe communication are essential to mission-critical operational global. The 92 TV platforms platforms launched 20 currently in service cover more 10 Western Europe success in the “oil & gas patch”. 0 Latin America 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 than 100 countries in the differ- North America ent regions of the world, with 80 national TV platforms and seven regional platforms primarily in the Middle East, Africa, Centra- UNIVERSAL SERVICE - SATELLITE SER- land Eastern Europe and Latin America. 35 VICE PROVIDERS AND THE FCC FUND- ING MANDATES TRENDS IN MANAGEMENT AND CONTROL by Maury J. Mechanick, Counsel, White & Case LLP 08by Scott Herrick, Director of Government Busi- This article provides an overview of the criti- ness Development, Newpoint Technology. cal funding mandates imposed on telecom- Traditional satellite Network Manage- munications service providers in the sky, as ment Systems (NMS) that may have well as on the ground. These funding man- served mission unique, closed network dates include the Universal Service Fund systems, or focused exclusively on the (USF), the Telecommunications Relay Ser- management of discrete point-to-point vices Fund (TRS Fund), the Local Number Portability Adminis- SATCOM links, are increasingly called tration (LNPA), and the administration of the North American upon to support network centric applications. Numbering Plan (NANP). ‘FOR Sale’: SaTELLITE, ONE CAREFUL 12 OWNER… THE HIstORY OF SATELLITES (ONGOING by Chris Forrester 40SERIES) Norway’s Thor 5 satellite, built by Orbital by, Donald Martin, Paul Anderson, Lucy Bartamian Science, was launched into orbit February The objective of the Courier program [1–3] Vol. 5 No. 12 11. It’s a tangible return to health for Interna- was to develop a satellite of higher capaci- tional Launch Services and the Proton launch March 2008 ty and longer life than SCORE, which could system. It also means Thor 2 will soon be be used for communication tests and as- available for re-use. sessments of traffic handling techniques. MOBILE SATELLITE VENTURES AND IN- EXECUTIVE SPOTLIGHT 16 MARSAT PLAY NICE by John Stone, Near Earth LLC EXECUTIVE SPOTLIGHT ON... DAVID Mobile Satellite Ventures (MSV) managed to pull off a very in- RICHARDSON, VICE PRESIDENT CORPO- teresting deal with their sometimes competitor, Inmarsat, LTD. 28 When it was announced on December 21st, the market clearly RATE, AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, UDCAST liked the deal, sending the shares of Inmarsat up 7 percent and We had the opportunity to discuss with Mr. Richardson the En- the shares of SkyTerra (MSV’s public trading vehicle) up a whop- terprise Network environment and how such meets the chang- ping 24 percent that day. This begs the question: Should it have? ing needs of today’s users. In the conversation, we were able to explore how satellite-based solutions are meeting the needs of the Enterprise private networks, what they bring to their opera- HAL WOULD BE PROUD tions as well as address WiMAX TV and hybrid systems. 19 by Dr. Len Losik In the 1968 movie, 2001, A Space Odyssey, moviegoers were treated to a vision of what the future could as far as computer PRODUCT PERSPECTIVE advancements were concerned for improving the safety of NASA’s astronauts. 2001 revealed a future wherein technologi- UPS & SAFEROUTE cal advances dominate the world. 38After more than a decade of development work by United Parcel Service (UPS), the Federal Aviation Adminis- tration (FAA) has given their final approval for the company to start REGULAR DEPARMENTS to use a new set of technologies that are expected to significantly 33 FEATURED SATELLITE improve safety and efficiency, while 43 RECENT NEWS reducing operational costs. FEATURES THE NEW REVOLUTION OF SATELLITE PAY TV by Pacôme Revillon, Managing Director, Euroconsult While the majority of historical platforms in the most ma- ture satellite TV national markets have reached operational A reference industry for digital TV delivery profitability, emerging digital markets are facing a burgeon- ing number of new satellite TV platforms vying for position in fter a decade of satellite TV platforms launches, the sat- national markets some of which are already served by three Aellite TV industry has reached critical size and has be- or four satellite TV players. come truly global. The 92 TV platforms currently in service cover more than 100 countries in the different regions of the The takeoff of satellite pay-TV in emerging digital TV markets world, with 80 national TV platforms and seven regional plat- forms primarily in the Middle East, Africa, Central and East- Satellite TV platforms were the first to introduce digital TV in ern Europe and Latin America. almost all emerging digital TV markets. They remain the sole digital TV providers in many countries. Satellite appears to be The success of satellite TV was built upon specific techni- the most cost effective way to introduce digital TV in develop- cal advantages that combined the benefits of digital TV ing countries. Moreover, the cost of digital set-top-boxes (STBs) (video compression, large TV offers) with the ability to cover has dropped by more than 80 percent in the last six years, a whole country or region for a limited capital expenditure. facilitating take-off by lowering a barrier for new entrants. Con- These advantages over terrestrial networks allowed satellite sequently, satellite TV platforms have multiplied in emerging TV platforms to build strong market positions within short digital TV markets in the last three years. From 30 in number in timeframes. With about 95 million subscribers and revenues 2000, the number of platforms reached 63 during 2007. Last of approximately $59.2 billion in 2007, the industry has be- year, new platforms were introduced in Colombia, Brazil, Ser- come a reference for the distribution of digital entertainment. bia, Croatia, Russia, Romania, Sub Saharan Africa and India. SatMagazine - March 2008 FEATURES Subscriptions to satellite TV platforms have also ramped up • The objective to amortize potential programming costs in the mean time, from 6.1 million in 2000 to 27.7 million over the largest possible subscriber bases in 2007, i.e. a CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of 24 percent. Furthermore, this growth has been observed despite Low cost platforms as a challenge to existing market players the restructuring and consolidation that has also affected emerging markets and the economic crisis that strongly im- The most recent key trend in the satellite TV market has been pacted the Latin American market. the launch of a number of “low cost” platforms. In emerg- ing digital TV markets, “low cost” platforms are primarily In the last two years, growth of satellite TV in emerging mar- launched to stimulate market takeoff. The impact of “low kets was supported by the introduction of new services in cost” platforms may be most striking in Central Europe. India, Central Europe and Latin America. The opening of the While UPC Direct signed 420,000 subscribers in 10 years of Chinese market will, in the medium term, likely also give a operation, the launch of low cost offering DigiTV with a basic new boost to the industry. package at 3 euros resulting in 3.1 million subscriptions in the last two years. In India, satellite TV platforms have decid- Telecom operators as key investors in the new wave of ed to align their prices with analog cable TV in order to stim- satellite services ulate subscriptions. In Poland, subscriptions have accelerat- ed following the introduction of low fees by the new platform In the last three years, telecom and cable operators have N and a sharp decrease of basic fees by Cyfrowy Polsat. backed 19 out of the 35 new satellite TV platforms launched. Nine of these were actually launched by telecom operators, In some of the most advanced digital TV markets, low cost while several others are currently under development, as con- initiatives are beginning to emerge. In France, the AB Group firmed by recent announcements from France Telecom and introduced a low cost satellite TV platform, “AB Bis”, at the Portugal Telecom. end of 2007. While historical platforms progressively in- creased their basic fees and overall ARPU (Average Revenue An example of the new focus of telecom operators on satel- Per User) in the last ten years, they may have left an opening lite TV is Telefonica, which has backed the launch of satellite for services offered at lower fees, especially as penetration of TV platforms in Chile, Peru, Colombia, and Brazil.