Cover.

pmd 1 18/01/2017, 11:52

Untitled-1 1 9/29/2015, 4:43 PM
 Editors View....

Amy Saunders
Its 2017 and its make or break Editor
Its the start of a brand-new year, a new 12 months to move forwards and improve upon 2016. Here in the UK, the mornings are darker than
ever, but each day is lighter with the promise of future possibilities.
Of course, with each new year comes a whole host of events to look forward to. In the next three months alone weve got PTC17, the
SmallSat Symposium, Satellite 2017 and CABSAT 2017. Its going to be a busy time for anyone in
the communications sector, but its also going to be a time of fantastic opportunities, for making
new contacts, discovering new technologies, and widening horizons.
With so much going on in the satellite industry right now, events such as these are a good
marker for which new technologies are finding their place in the market, and which are a flash in
However, despite the
the pan. I for one expect to see 4K/8K/HDR having an even larger presence at events this year, in doom and gloom, there
addition to virtual reality. However, thats not to say that these technologies are growing as ex-
pected. The harsh economic environment means that consumers are less able to invest, and 4K, will always be companies
in particular, is growing much slower than believed even a short time ago, despite content becom-
ing increasingly available. Meanwhile, much as virtual reality has won me over since my exten-
that rise from nowhere,
sive trial at IBC 2016, there is still very little content available, despite the record numbers of technologies that....
headsets received as gifts over Christmas. Even Im still holding off on such a purchase.
In other news, there are yet more whispers about new takeovers and consolidations, and its
set to be a year of financial uncertainty for many given the political instability in much of the world. Between Brexit, elections and referen-
dums throughout Europe, a new controversial President of the USA, and ongoing military activities in the Middle East, its going to be a
bumpy year. Given the circumstances, it wont take much for some companies teetering on the edge to be forced into an action they didnt
plan for.
However, despite the doom and gloom, there will always be companies that rise from nowhere, technologies that stand strong in the
face of adversity, and influential individuals who will have a massive effect on industries at large. It will be those companies and people who
can adapt the fastest to new circumstances who stand to achieve the most during these turbulent times, and some will even gain thanks to
the new market conditions.
In many ways, 2017 stands to be a make or break year for many in the satellite sector.

www.satellite-evolution.com | January/February 2017 1

editorial.pmd 1 08/02/2017, 14:10

Editor Contents - volume 15 - issue 1
Amy Saunders
amy.saunders@dsairpublications.com

Contributing Editors
Bert Sadtler, Mark Williamson Regulars
Sales Director
Christopher Ayres
4 Satellite News Review
chris.ayres@dsairpublications.com
Tel: +44 1778 441165 8 Bert Sadtlers Business Column
Sales Director
Sam Baird
sam@whitehillmedia.com COVER STORY - 10 Front cover: Photo courtesy SES
Tel: +44 1883 715697

Circulation Manager Delivering specialised value

Elizabeth George
SES was established in 1985 as Europes first private satellite
Production operator, and its come a long way since then. Today, it operates
production@dsairpublications.com more than 50 geostationary Earth orbit (GEO) satellites and 12
medium Earth orbit (MEO) satellites, through its subsidiary O3b
Publisher
Richard Hooper Networks. SESs satellite fleet covers more than 99 per cent of
richard@dsairpublications.com the worlds population, and provides services to its four vertical
markets; video, enterprise, mobility and government. Amy
Managing Director Saunders spoke with SESs Deepak Mathur, Senior Vice Presi-
David Shortland
dent of Commercial, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East, to talk about
david@dsairpublications.com
the companys recent developments and emerging market trends.

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appearing in the magazine, its accuracy, 14 Modems for the future
timeliness or fitness for any particular
purpose. DS Air Publications disclaims all
responsibility for any damages or losses 18 Earth observation
in the use and dissemination of the
information. 24 Q&A Rockwell Collins
All editorial contents
Copyright 2017 DS Air Publications 28 Accelerating into the future with the IoT
All rights reserved
ISSN: 1740-3413 32 Q&A Eutelsat
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Contents-page.pmd 1 19/01/2017, 17:42

Untitled-1 1 22/01/2017, 16:39

ABS issued Operator Licenses for Papua New Guinea
ABS announced it has been granted the Network,
Applications and Gateway Operator licenses to serve
Papua New Guinea (PNG) from the National Information
and Communications Technology Authority (NICTA). The
licenses awarded will allow ABS to operate as a telecom
operator as well as a satellite service provider.
ABS is the first international satellite operator to
incorporate a company in PNG, known as ABS Global
Satellite Limited (AGSL) to provide infor mation
communication technology (ICT) services, registered with
the Investment Promotions Authority. ABS has been in
partnership with NICTA since 2008, which has resulted
in a number of orbital slot positions around the world
brought into use by ABS by deploying several satellites
currently at such orbital locations. AGSL has met all due
diligence requirements and its license applications were
approved by the NICTA Board on December 16, 2016.
The three Individual Operator Licenses granted by NICTA
are technology neutral and now give AGSL the rights to
provide ICT services in accordance with NICT (Operator
Licensing) Regulation 2010.
ABS initially plans to set up a major teleport in Port
Moresby to provide connectivity from its Asian gateway
though the ABS-6 satellite which will bring cost effective
internet connectivity and VSAT services into the country.
From the gateway hub, it will also offer more affordable
internet access to remotes in underserved rural regions
and outlying islands transforming the market with
accessible and reliable services.
ABS will be primarily engaged in satellite-based or
satellite support telecom infrastructure, but where
necessary will deploy fibre or microwave to complement
the connectivity requirements. Cellular mobile service
is also allowed under the license and may be
contemplated in the future.
The approval of the telecommunication licenses is
an important milestone and development for ABS in the
South Pacific region. The challenge in the Pacific has
been to deliver high quality resilient and cost effective
voice and data solutions. Improvement in connectivity
paves an opportunity for sustainable growth in PNG and
is central to bridging the gap with its rural areas and
neighbouring countries, said Tom Choi, CEO of ABS.
4 www.satellite-evolution.com | January/February 2017
news-latest.pmd 4 17/01/2017, 18:13
....News & Analysis
PNG is the land of the unexpected, and we at ABS are
happy to bring competition into the market place to
enable the provision of more affordable telecom services
to the ultimate benefit of the PNG populace.
Mr. Charles Punaha, CEO of NICTA, commented,
PNG internet penetration remains below 10 percent,
which is very low on a global scale. This is mainly
because the cost of rolling out a network in PNG is very
expensive, compounded by the topographical conditions
of the country, with isolated communities. We are
pleased at the entry of the first satellite operator into the
country to bring competition for the provision of ICT
services which will result in more economical pricing.
This will in turn trigger a higher demand for services
supporting the development of the country.
exactEarth announces successful initial launch for
its second-generation real-time constellation
exactEarth has announced the successful launch of four
hosted payloads for its next generation constellation,
exactView RT powered by Harris. Launched aboard
an Iridium NEXT satellite on SpaceXs Falcon 9 rocket
from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, these
hosted maritime payloads are now being commissioned
and are expected to be brought into service within the
next four months. The exactView RT system is the result
of the agreement signed with Harris Corporation in June
2015 under which Harris deploys and operates the
hosted payloads and exactEarth performs the ground-
based data processing and has exclusive distribution
rights for the data for all markets except the US
Government.
exactView RT will offer for the first time a continuous,
global real-time ship tracking capability, providing an
unprecedented view of the worlds maritime domain to
exactEarth customers. Designed to provide significant
improvements to current and future customers, the RT
satellites will deliver best-in-class vessel detection rates
as well as instantaneous downlinking of AIS information.
This will enable average global revisit rates of under one
minute with the companys customers receiving data in
real time. exactView RT will consist of more than 60
payloads (including in-orbit spares) aboard the Iridium
NEXT constellation, which is scheduled for completion
in 2018.
These launches will enhance our service level and
open-up the potential for new revenue streams from a
broader range of market applications, said Peter
Mabson, CEO of exactEarth. As the various satellites
become operational, it will mark the beginning of our
move towards a continuous real-time global vessel-
tracking service capability. As a result, these initial
launches represent a major milestone on this path under
our alliance with Harris, which we believe will be one of
the Companys key long-term growth drivers.
CASBAA warns Indian TV regulations threaten
investment
CASBAA, the Association of Asias pay-TV Industry, has
warmly applauded the judicial review now underway in
India of proposed extension and tightening of Indias pay-
TV rate regulations.
 News & Analysis....
The Madras High Court is currently reviewing the
clash between the rights of copyright owners around the
world and new tariff regulations proposed by the Telecom
Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). The court has
ordered the TRAI not to give effect to the rules until the
underlying issues are considered.
CASBAA CEO Christopher Slaughter observed that
the new rules would be a major negative factor for the
business environment in the $17 billion Indian media
industry. Indias pay-TV regulations have long been
among the strictest in the world, he said. The proposed
new rules are highly intrusive and would make the
environment much worse. Such a heavy-handed
regulatory regime will inevitably hit foreign companies
interest in investing in India.
Indian law gives copyright owners the ability to price
and sell their creative works. In filing the Madras suit,
the petitioner broadcasting organizations denounced the
TRAI regulation as contrary to these principles as
enshrined in the law, and in international treaties to which
India is a signatory. (The TRAI rules would establish a
controlled price regime by mandating a la carte channel
supply, setting the ceiling, by specific genres, that
broadcasting organizations can charge to multichannel
program distributors, limiting discounts, prescribing
carriage fees, and stipulating a compulsory distribution
fee to be paid by Broadcasting Organizations to
multichannel program distributors.
CASBAA has long expressed concern about Indias
previous rate regulations, which included a cable retail
price freeze imposed in 2004 until the market became
more competitive and never revoked.
Today, Indias television content market is among
the most competitive in the world, said Slaughter.
Modern cable MSOs, six different DTH platforms and
now online OTT television are all giving Indian
consumers a wide range of viewing options.
CASBAAs Chief Policy Officer John Medeiros
observed that: As convergence and greater competition
sweep the TV economy, other governments around the
world are eliminating rate controls, to give more scope
to competition among traditional and new online
providers. In the last few years, Korea and Taiwan have
both undertaken to liberalize their pay-TV price controls,
leaving India as the last market economy in Asia with a
hyper-regulatory regime. The proposed new rules would
take India in the opposite direction from the rest of the
world.
Santander Teleport selected as one of the WTA Top
Operators of 2016
Santander Teleport, a leading European teleport
operator, has been selected as one of the World Teleport
Associations (WTA) Top Teleport Operators of 2016.
Each year, WTA publishes the worlds only rankings
of companies that operate teleports for commercial
purposes, including independents, satellite carriers, fibre
carriers and technology providers. Rankings are based
on total revenue from all sources and on year-over-year
growth. They recognize that, to some extent, every
teleport operator competes in the same marketplace
the biggest with the smallest but that like all
www.satellite-evolution.com | January/February 2017
news-latest.pmd 5 17/01/2017, 18:13
marketplaces, the teleport sector has segments in which
even the smallest players can compete effectively and
achieve strong growth.
Santander Teleport appears strong in the list of The
Fast Twenty, which is based on year-over-year revenue
growth in their most recent complete fiscal years, and
includes all operators.
Santander Teleport is pleased to appear once more
in this prestigious list, competing in the same league as
some of the largest companies in the satellite industry
and showing a healthy growth year-on-year. This past
year 2016 has been an exciting year for us and we expect
to achieve even better results next year, said Carlos
Raba, Managing Director of Santander Teleport.
C-COM and NSERC to invest $6.1 million into R&D of
next generation intelligent mobile antenna
technology
C-COM Satellite Systems has announced that it is co-
funding an Industrial Research Chair in Intelligent
Antenna and Radio Systems for the next Generation
Millimetre Wave Mobile Communications at the University
of Waterloo.
The five-year project, co-funded by Natural Sciences
and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)
and C-COM, goes to the Industrial Research Chair held
by Professor Safieddin (Ali) Safavi-Naeini, who leads a
team of researchers at the University of Waterloo, faculty
of Engineering in the department of Electrical and
Computer Engineering. The primary goal of the research
will be the development of a new modular, low-cost,
intelligent antenna for next generation of mobile satellite
communications. C-COM will provide total cash funding
of $3,055,000 payable in installments until the end of
2020 which will be matched by NSERC.
C-COM will also provide $751,000 of in-kind support
to the project. Under the terms of the agreement relating
to the project, C-COM will own the intellectual property
resulting from the research conducted.
Our main objective has always been to deliver the
very best in Canadian-made satellite communications
technology to the world, said Dr. Leslie Klein, President
& CEO of C-COM Satellite Systems Inc. C-COM and
the University of Waterloo have had a long-standing
partnership to fulfill these goals and we look forward to
working with them to create the most advanced next
generation antenna systems for the global satellite
marketplace.
Digital technologies are playing a major role in what
many have referred to as the fourth industrial revolution,
said B. Mario Pinto, President of NSERC. NSERC is
proud to fur ther dr ive innovation in wireless
communications by supporting this research partnership
in advanced satellite antenna systems. Dynamic
collaborations between industry and academia are vital
to transformative advances and breakthroughs in this
field.
Professor Safavi-Naeini is also the Director of the Centre
for Intelligent Antenna and Radio Systems, and has
partnered with C-COM in the patenting of modular scalable
millimetre-wave phased array technology. Once you have
a low-cost, ultra-thin, light-weight, smart, and highly modular
5
 ....News & Analysis

active antenna (intelligent radiating skin), you can have including an antenna, a below decks unit, 25m standard
mobile high performance internet connection everywhere, cables, mounting brackets and bolts. The installation
said Safavi-Naeini. We have the potential to make this process is quick and easy, with the flexibility of cable
technology affordable and bring it to many parts of the world runs of up to 75m if required.
that have been left behind. With increasing safety and legislation demands, the
fishing market needs greater levels of connectivity.
Thuraya SeaStar brings full accessibility to maritime Thuraya SeaStar offers an effective solution for catch
satellite communications reporting; and an accessible emergency calls and
Thuraya Telecommunications Company has announced notification capability. It meets cabin crew welfare
the launch of Thuraya SeaStar, the new circuit switched requirements, in line with MLC 2006, and can be readily
voice terminal that brings full and affordable accessibility installed as a dedicated crew phone in the mess. On
to maritime communications. larger merchant vessels, Thuraya SeaStar can also
Thuraya SeaStar meets the evolving needs of the serve as a complement to existing Orion and Atlas IP
modern fishing market, introducing the power of modern terminals.
satellite communications capability to small scale While Thuraya SeaStar will have considerable appeal
operators. Thurayas new terminal is ideal for smaller for smaller scale and regional owner operator fishing
and regional owner operator fishing vessels, although vessels, the reach of Thurayas network is extensive.
its appeal also extends to other operators looking for According to data from the Western & Central Pacific
support systems. Fisheries Commission (WCPFC), 80 percent of the
With affordability a driving factor in key maritime worlds fishing regions lie within Thurayas footprint.
market sectors, Thuraya SeaStar will be available at a Japan, Philippines, Indonesian, Cambodia and China
cost of ownership that lowers the barrier to providing are key countries, and Thuraya SeaStar will also appeal
onboard satellite communications. Thuraya SeaStar to regional merchants looking for a back-up system
provides unrivalled functionality and levels of value alternative to VHF and GSM.
previously unseen at its price point.
Bilal Hamoui, Thuraya Chief Commercial Officer, said:
Because the maritime market itself includes operators
of varying scale and requirements, Thuraya needs to
offer a comprehensive portfolio of products at a clear
and distinctive range of price points. Maritime satellite
communications should be available to everyone at sea,
and Thuraya SeaStar is a high quality, accessible and
affordable voice terminal that meets the needs of a
rapidly expanding modern market. Expectations are
changing and new legislation and safety requirements
are being introduced around the world, but we have made
it possible for smaller scale operators to meet these
changing demands.
Thurayas new terminal offers voice, SMS, data and
tracking, on an easy and intuitive interface that is based
on Android operating systems. Users can make satellite
voice calls to normal PSTN phones, mobile phones and
other satellite phones through the Thuraya satellite
network.
Thuraya SeaStars ability to connect a standard
analogue phone or private branch exchange (PBX)
delivers further flexibility in taking calls on board vessels.
A standard cordless telephone can be connected, giving
users the freedom to make calls while away from the
handset, and Thuraya SeaStar also features an external
speaker.
GmPRS data connection is included too, for simple
e-mails, weather forecasts, and access to mobile
websites and social media. The user defined geofencing
function, which enables automatic tracking of vessels
for enhanced fleet management, can be set and locked
for specific geographies before delivery. An alert button
offers additional reassurance, should anything go wrong
while on board that may require emergency contact for
external support.
The Thuraya SeaStar unit comes with a
comprehensive pack that includes support materials,

6 www.satellite-evolution.com | January/February 2017

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Untitled-1 1 22/01/2017, 16:39

The best tricky interview questions for
2017
Have you started reading this expecting to find great secrets
from the viewpoint of a professional recruiter? Are you looking
forward to uncovering the best tricky interview questions and
the magical ways to get them to work?
What if I told you that the headline
itself was a trick? Would you feel angry
or disappointed to learn that this column
will not be offering any great tricky
interview questions? Would you feel
misled? Will I have lost some of your
trust?
Please step back and think about
your response. It is hard to imagine that
you would enjoy being tricked. It is just
as hard to imagine that anyone being
interviewed would enjoy being tricked.
Asking tricky interview questions is
NOT a best practice in recruiting
Tricky interview questions establish
the following:
They demonstrate that the hiring
manager may be a weak or insecure
leader if they need to resort to tricky
interview questions.
If the hiring manager has delegated
tricky questions to be asked by an
administrator it may also suggest
weak leadership.
If a hiring manager asks tricky
interview questions during the hiring
process, what will the hiring
manager be like to work with if you
are hired? Things can only be
expected to get worse, not better.
Tricky questions suggest the need
for the hiring manager to establish
a dominant position over the
candidate. Highly qualified talented
professionals do not want to join
companies with that type of a toxic
environment.
Best practice hir ing is about
attracting and hiring the best talent.
Poor hiring processes quickly turn off
highly talented candidates.
Lets keep in mind that our changing
society has also made it a more
transparent society. Therefore, you
simply need to Google Interview Tricky
Questions to have access to all of the
Greatest ones. Here are two
examples:
What would you do if you won $5
8 www.satellite-evolution.com | January/February 2017
business.pmd 8 22/01/2017, 17:07
....Bert Sadtlers Business Column
million tomorrow?
Can you name three of your
strengths and weaknesses?
These types of questions fall under
the larger category of being totally
useless hiring questions that can be
practiced and rehearsed by candidates.
Maybe back in the dark ages there was
a place for them when hiring managers
would share their secret handbook of
hiring questions and dinosaurs were
roaming the earth.
While it is easy to Google for the
interview tricky questions, it is just as
easy to Google the ideal responses to
the tricky questions. In doing so,
candidates can demonstrate their ability
to polish answers to predicted
questions.
Does someone who has well
rehearsed and polished answers to
predicted interview questions make a
great hire? Hell No !
The purpose of hiring critical talent
should be to solve a critical business
challenge. Responding to tricky
questions or predicted questions has Photos courtesy KP Photograph/Shutterstock
nothing to do with demonstrating the
necessary qualifications for solving a
critical business challenge. Many hiring Ber t Sadtler is the President of
efforts have lost their way when they Boxwood Strategies and is a thought-
resor t to using predictable, stale leader for best practices recruiting,
questions. Best practice hiring takes performance-based compensation and
effort and work to get it right. Tricky the shift in the changing paradigm
interview questions and predictable toward acquiring critical senior level
inter view questions requires zero talent.
imagination and very little effort.
Short cut approaches that include Bert can be reached at:
tricky interview questions have caused BertSadtler@BoxwoodSearch.com and
todays hiring models to be broken. at BoxwoodSearch.com
Where should we be going?
Since hiring is being done to solve a thoughts and ideas to solve the critical
critical business challenge, wouldnt it business challenge?
be logical to make the hiring event a Change is a constant component of
business event? Shouldnt the format be business. Havent we arrived at the
a business discussion vs. an place where it is time to retire the worn
interrogatory? What if the conversation out weak interview questions and move
involved discussing in more detail the forward with a fresher and more
business challenge and then having the relevant approach?
candidate discuss their original Good hunting.
Untitled-1 1 7/21/2015, 11:06 PM
 ....Q&A SES
All photos courtesy of SES

Delivering specialised value

and scalable solutions to customers
SES was established in 1985 as Europes first private satellite worldwide. Today, SES is the largest
operator, and its come a long way since then. Today, it operates satellite operator in the world with over
more than 50 geostationary Earth orbit (GEO) satellites and 12 50 GEO and 12 MEO satellites in orbit,
and another seven satellites to be
medium Earth orbit (MEO) satellites, through its subsidiary O3b launched.
Networks. SESs satellite fleet covers more than 99 per cent of
the worlds population, and provides services to its four vertical Question: Which markets does SES
focus on, and how is this changing?
markets; video, enterprise, mobility and government. Amy Deepak Mathur: Video is an important
Saunders spoke with SESs Deepak Mathur, Senior Vice part of our business and forms around
President of Commercial, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East, to 70 per cent of our revenue globally. It
will continue to be a strong driver for
talk about the companys recent developments and emerging our business, but data is also becoming
market trends. an increasingly larger part of what we
do, and can be divided into three sub-
ver ticals: Enterprise, mobility and
Question: Can you provide an outline expanded our geography further to government.
of the development of SES over the cover 99 per cent of the Earths surface. On the enterprise side, we serve
years? In recent years, we have continued telecommunications companies that
Deepak Mathur: SES began as a to expand our capabilities and range of provide connectivity to remote
satellite operator targeting Europe, with offerings. Last July, we acquired RR geographies, mobile network operators
small arcs into the Middle East and Media, which was merged with our who use satellites for cellular backhaul,
Africa. As the millennium approached, subsidiary SES Platform Services to and banks and enterprises with large
SES began its transfor mation to form MX1, broadening our suite of national or global networks. These are
become a global satellite operator, digital video and media services. Most major parts of our business.
offering multiple services in multiple recently, we brought O3b Networks, The mobility sphere is one of the
markets. Through the acquisition of GE which operates a fleet of next- most rapidly growing areas in our
Americom in 2001, we gained a foothold generation, low-latency MEO satellites, industry right now. In the aviation sector,
in the North American market, and with into our fold to enhance our data in-flight connectivity has gone from a
the acquisition of New Skies, we offerings and delivery of differentiated nice-to-have to a must-have. Around

10 www.satellite-evolution.com | January/February 2017

ses.pmd 10 17/01/2017, 18:32

 Q&A SES....
SESs Deepak Mathur, Senior Vice President of
Commercial, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East
one and a half years ago, commercial
aircraft typically had low connectivity
rates shared among all the on-board
passengers, but today, many aircraft are
connected with speeds of up to 10-
20Mbps. Our customers are telling us
that airlines now want up to 200Mbps
per aircraft going forwards, which would
allow passengers to stream HD video
at an affordable price. Another good
example of a rapidly growing area in
mobility is the maritime sector; large
cruise ships have traditionally had very
low connectivity rates, and with 3,000
to 4,000 passengers on board, the
experience was poor. In a highly-
connected world, this was clearly a
problem that needed a solution. Thats
changing rapidly today, helped along by
new technologies and services. For
instance, SES has teamed up with VT
www.satellite-evolution.com | January/February 2017
ses.pmd 11
iDirect, coupling our satellite capacity
with their latest technology to offer a
high-speed connectivity service,
Maritime+, to vessels traversing the
seas worldwide.
The gover nment sector also
comprises a significant part of our data
business. Today we ser ve 57
governments and institutions worldwide.
Our network enables civilian, security
and defence applications, information
gathering, but also serves humanitarian
purposes such as e-health, e-learning,
e-elections and e-emergency. Our
ser vices are also key to suppor t
governments and institutions in their
various digital inclusion projects.
data capabilities, the flexibility it enables
Question: How does SES differ-
entiate itself from its competitors?
Deepak Mathur: Within the video
17/01/2017, 18:32
sector, weve got a legacy now that
dates back around 30 years of bringing
video content to TV homes, and we
have recently expanded our video
capabilities for customers. Beyond
capacity, our customers can access a
full range of video distribution services
within SES. Through our subsidiary
MX1, were able to offer full turnkey
solutions along the complete media
value chain for broadcasters, including
content management or distribution
services delivered over satellite, fibre
and the Internet.
We have also been at the forefront
of the movement towards higher quality
video as the first satellite operator to
broadcast a commercial Ultra HD
channel, Fashion One 4K, in September
2015. Today, we broadcast more than
20 commercial UHD TV channels
worldwide, more than any other satellite
operator.
In the data space, weve
differentiated ourselves from our
competitors in several key ways.
The first is our acquisition of O3b
Networks, which operates a global next-
generation constellation of MEO
satellites. O3bs satellites are located
about 8,000km above the Earth, which
enables us to provide low cost per
megabit, low-latency connectivity at
fibre-like speeds. The round-trip data
transmission time is reduced to less
than 150ms for MEO systems like O3b,
compared to more than 500ms for GEO
systems, which has a material impact
for latency sensitive data transmissions.
O3b not only expands the range of our
is also important; the ability of O3b to
move its beams to new areas as cellular
networks grow out is a crucial
advantage from our perspective. Its an
enormous growth opportunity because
the roll-out of cellular networks tended
to be largely urban and semi-urban,
which meant that rural areas such as
the Pacific Islands had almost no
connectivity. O3b is able to bridge the
connectivity gap for island nations
today, as it does for Papua New Guinea,
enabling the roll-out of high throughput,
low latency broadband services in the
country. This is a critical differentiator
that I believe the other satellite
operators are now recognising.
The next development that helps us
differentiate from our competitors is in
the HTS sphere. HTS is fundamentally
about establishing lots of small, high-
powered spot beams and being able to
reuse spectrum several times, making
11

it more cost efficient. Our key
differentiator is our hybrid approach:
three of our upcoming HTS satellites
SES-12, SES-14 and SES-15
combine a high throughout payload with
widebeam coverage on the same
satellite, offering more flexibility and
customized solutions. For example, a
bank in Indonesia with 4,000 ATMs and
branches across the 17,000 islands
could cover the entire territory with 15
spot beams. This is great when a branch
wants to communicate back to the head
office, but when the head office wants
to send the same message to every
branch, the signal would have to be sent
15 times, making it very uneconomical.
Thats when our hybrid approach brings
significant advantages: This means that
customers can benefit from the lower
cost per bit of HTS for some
applications, and switch to the
widebeam for others, depending on
which is most cost-efficient.
What it all boils down to is
specialised capabilities. For a long time,
the satellite industry has operated on a
one-size-fits-all model, but today were
increasingly developing specialised
satellites, and more impor tantly
customized services, enabling us to
deliver a specific set of solutions to
video and data customers.
Question: In which regions is there
the most opportunity for growth?
Deepak Mathur: About two or three
years ago, there was a belief that the
mature video markets, namely Europe,
North America, Japan and Korea, would
no longer show significant growth due
to the rise of OTT services and other
12
ses.pmd 12
competing technologies. People
thought that all the growth would stem
from the emerging markets like India,
Indonesia and Brazil.
To our surprise and delight, capacity
demands over Nor th America and
Europe continue to be strong and
continue to grow. Theyre growing by 2-
3 percent, which is significant from such
a large base.
A major factor for this growth is the
increasing demand for better picture
quality both HD and UHD. In addition,
were also observing growth in the
emerging markets of Asia, Latin
Amer ica and Africa. In Asia, in
particular, we see growth due to rising
economic growth, and a hunger for
high-quality video content among these
young populations, as well as localised
content in different languages and
dialects.
www.satellite-evolution.com | January/February 2017
17/01/2017, 18:32
....Q&A SES
Question: What major emerging
trends and challenges have you
observed in the satellite sector?
Deepak Mathur: Its a very positive
trend that video continues to be a strong
driver, both in developed and emerging
markets, and were going to start to see
a sustained move towards higher
picture quality, be it HD or Ultra HD.
Probably the most important trend is the
move away from one-size-fits-all
capacity to highly specialised solutions
depending on the customer.
We have also seen a surge in the
demand for connectivity in the maritime
and aeronautical sectors. In Asia and
beyond, passengers increasing
demands for connectivity-on-the-go are
boosting the adoption of maritime and
aeronautical connectivity. At the same
time, the uptick in demand is also
coming from ship, rig and airline
operators who recognise the
operational efficiencies that connectivity
brings.
Quite a few challenges reside on the
regulatory front, where the relaxation of
regulatory constraints is still proceeding
at a very slow pace. It is unfortunate
when we see how satellite connectivity
can bring Internet to a school, or to a
farmer who does not know how to deal
with a new pest, and can then research
a solution online. I would like to see this
change in the coming years. Satellite is
a key infrastructure for connecting the
unconnected and is an enor mous
enabler for the economy.
Question: With video contributing
most SES revenue, how important is
the uptake of UHD?
Deepak Mathur: UHD is very important
for a couple of reasons. One satellite
 Q&A SES....
transponder used to carry one channel,
which was enormously expensive.
When we moved into the digital era, we
started to be able to carry four channels
per transponder. This was not the
downfall of satellite operators, because
as costs came down, more channels
emerged. SES has now moved from a
position where we had a couple of
hundred channels globally, to one
where we have more than 7,000
channels. The reason for that is the cost
of distribution and production have
fallen significantly. Today you can fit as
many as 30 SD channels on a single
transponder, and there continues to be
strong growth and demand.
UHD, offer ing four times the
resolution of HD, provides a truly
immersive experience. While it will
probably not be used to deliver local
news in a small Chinese province, for
example, we see that it has already
begun to be used for major sporting
events and for films, and we expect the
adoption and popularity of UHD to
continue on the uptrend.
The benefit of UHD is that it enables
our customers, the pay-TV operators,
to create a differentiated and superior
offering while also helping to tackle the
piracy threat that a lot of them are
www.satellite-evolution.com | January/February 2017
ses.pmd 13
facing. The clarity and picture quality of
UHD delivered through TV is
unparalleled, particularly for live sports
and events. For pay-TV operators and
as an industr y, UHD brings an
immersive and dynamic viewing
experience to TV audiences worldwide,
and is surely a vital part of the future
video landscape.
Question: SES plans to launch SES-
12, SES-14 and SES-15 in 2017, which
will provide HTS capacity to the Asia-
Pacific and the Americas. Can you
provide an outline of the project, and
will SES be launching HTS capacity
in other world regions?
Deepak Mathur: We ordered SES-12,
SES-14 and SES-15 as a key extension
of our HTS strategy, which started with
our investment in O3bs MEO
constellation. SES-12 is a massive
hybrid satellite targeting the Asia-Pacific
region, and will be launched near the
end of 2017. SES-14 and SES-15, also
hybrid satellites, will provide coverage
over the Americas and trans-Atlantic
routes.
We are constantly on the lookout for
business and growth opportunities
worldwide, but so far there have been a
few challenges when it comes to
17/01/2017, 18:32
deploying HTS capacity for Europe,
Middle East and Africa regions. The first
is that Europe has not had as much of
a data market as North America, and
theres a significant amount of fibre
connectivity there already. That being
said, in Europe, where 56 percent of the
population lives in rural areas, only 79
percent of households have access to
broadband Internet satellite certainly
has an important role to play here. In
addition, the innovations for connected
airlines are now star ting to gain
momentum in Europe and the Middle
East. Secondly, the HTS systems
already present over Africa have had
some economic challenges; the
demand that was expected to fill this
capacity has not emerged yet. Certain
countries in Africa have had fits and
starts with their GDP development
unfortunately, and thats part of the
reason why demand has not picked up.
However, today 400 million Africans live
outside the user reach of fibre
connectivity, and 80 per cent still live
without a mobile broadband connection.
The region has enormous potential for
connectivity. As economic and
infrastructure development reaches a
sustained level of progress, the demand
for connectivity will most probably then
be realised.
Question: In 2016, we saw a fair bit
of industry consolidation. Do you
expect to see a lot more going
forward?
Deepak Mathur: The last year or so has
been a challenging period for the
satellite industry, but much of this has
been exaggerated. Various industry
experts have also signalled that this
period is now approaching its end, and
there are plenty of reasons for optimism.
In the year ahead, we do see
pockets of growth and opportunities in
our four key verticals video, mobility,
enter prise and gover nment. The
adoption of UHD, demand for maritime
and aeronautical connectivity, growth in
connected devices creating new
opportunities to tap on the Internet of
Things, the easing up of governments
budget sequestration pressures all
these, among other industry trends, are
picking up at an ever-quickening pace.
As we move forward, I believe
satellite operators that can deliver
specialised value to their customers are
in a better place than the operators that
are selling capacity as a commodity. At
SES, we recognised this change early
and acted on it.
13
 ....Modem Technology
Panasonic selects Newtec as technology partner

Modems for the future

It seems like almost once a week I read about the latest development in the satellite modem field,
and its hardly surprising. With the recent surge in technological advancements such as high
throughput satellites (HTS) and the ever-increasing bandwidth they provide, as well as the new
services that are becoming increasingly in-reach for an expanding number of companies and
organisations, modem technology has got to keep pace. The major players in the modem sector
know that theyve got to stay at the head of the pack to save themselves from becoming irrelevant
in todays hyper-competitive environment.

Advantech Wireless is one of the world-leaders when it
comes to satellite technology, consistently pushing above and
beyond with the latest innovations in terminals, amplifiers,
antennas, block up convertors and hubs, not forgetting its
sizeable range of modems.
April 2016 saw Advantech Wireless launch a new family
of AMT-50/50X SCPC modems, complete with bi-directional
throughputs of 10Kbps to 850Mbps, in addition to carrier echo
cancellation technology. The modems provide improvements
of spectral efficiency of up to 60 percent with the latest DVB-
S2X modulation and coding from BPSK up to 256APSK. The
new AMT-50 supports bandwidths as high as 36Mbps as
suitable for a 36MHz transponder, and includes the DVB-
S2X time slice number concept. Meanwhile, the AMT-50X
can reach 80Mbps for a 72MHz transponder, or up to an
80MHz DVB-S2X time slice. Both models support multiple
waveforms like DVB-S/S2/S2X, carrier echo cancellation and
other features such as ASI inputs/outputs to support video,
L2/L3 switch/router with a built-in QoS/PEP and CID as
mandated by the FCC.
Meanwhile, in June 2016, Advantech Wireless released
the military-grade AMT-83L modem, a follow-on from its AMT-
73L line, which was the first to be certified by DISA with MIL-
STD-188-165A. These modems were designed to fulfil two-
way satellite gateway communication requirements in
Defence Satellite Communications Systems (DSCS). The
AMT-83L modem includes several additional features
compared to the AMT-73L, including DVB-S2 with LDPC
coding and adaptive coding and modulation (ACM), IP data
interface, GSE encapsulation, direct sequence spread
spectrum (DSSS) and AES 128/256 encryption. The AMT-
83L has proved popular since its launch, with sizeable orders
being reported from NATO country members and other key
customers.
Advantech Wireless launched its most recent modem in
September 2016. The Ka-8200, an interactive VSAT

14 www.satellite-evolution.com | January/February 2017

modem-technology.pmd 14 17/01/2017, 18:27

 Modem Technology....
Transceiver-Router for A-SAT-II multi-waveform and multi-
access SATCOM systems, is an ultra-compact, all-outdoor
unit with SDR, direct modulation, and transceiver-router
capabilities. Potential applications include M2M, IoT, and
SCADA/telemetry low data rate random access applications
over Ka-band HTS. The Ku-8200, the Ku-band version, was
also launched for the VoD, interactive TV, programme rating
and other broadcast-related applications.
Our new Ka-8200 and Ku-8200 ultra-compact all-outdoor
VSAT transceiver-router represents a breakthrough enabling
M2M, SCADA and IoT over satellite for areas where other
short-haul wireless communication means are unavailable.
Recent market reports forecast that the IoT will overtake
mobile phones by 2018, reaching 16 billion connected
devices by the end of 2021, and we expect a large growth in
satellite connectivity for such applications, complimenting 4G/
LTE and 5G with IoT, M2M and SCADA deployments, said
Oscar Glottman, CMO Satellite Business Unit at Advantech
Wireless.
Enhancing the functionality of SKYWAN 5G with virtual
channel group upgrades
ND Satcom is another key player in the satellite modem and
router industry. Its latest addition, SKYWAN 5G, is an all-in-
one compact unit incorporating a DVB-S2 receiver with an
MD-TDMA modem. SKYWAN 5G was designed for star, multi-
star, hybrid or full mesh topologies, supports switching to
another topology over time, and provides cost savings with
dynamic bandwidth allocations.
We consider mesh networks over HTS a task to pass on
the HTS benefits to its customers, said ND SatCom. The
hybrid architecture of SKYWAN 5G with integrated DVB-S2
and MF-TDMA is our base for such adaptations in the near
future: the scalable terminal architecture of 5G increasingly
addresses HTS multi-spot beam designs by handling much
more channels concurrently; with its hubless design and use
of secure access protocols and upcoming open link
encryption feature, it will fit the security concerns of
enterprises and governments and even military users in the
near future.
In the area of enterprise and government applications,
secure satcom networks adher ing to the GVF
recommendations or Common Criteria are attracting
increasingly more attention. Chief Technology Officers are
requesting rooftop-to-rooftop connectivity more and more
instead of teleport-based solutions in the fight against cyber-
threats, making solutions that support a wide range of
topologies a popular choice.
SKYWAN 5Gs virtual routing and forwarding function
(VRF) was enhanced with the virtual channel group (VCGr)
www.satellite-evolution.com | January/February 2017
modem-technology.pmd 15
upgrade in June 2016, enabling customers to increase
bandwidth efficiency while maintaining service guarantees.
Bandwidth management is a challenging issue as the growth
in traffic from new services and the rising number of
applications and users with higher bandwidth and/or lowest
jitter requirements like HD/UHD video or 3G/LTE mobile traffic
are stretching network capabilities. All data packets on the
multi-service network use the same resource pool, and when
congestion occurs, any packet can be dropped or delayed.
The VCGr upgrade enhances the capability of SKYWAN
5G to provide easy methods to manage network resources
and link characteristics, giving precedence to selected traffic,
thus delivering a better service for an end-to-end business
solution. Each SKYWAN 5G router can be set up with several
VRF instances, each utilizing independent IP address plans,
networking stacks, network interfaces, routing protocols and
individual QoS forwarding rules. VRFs segment the SKYWAN
5G satellite network into virtual private networks for various
user or application groups using the same platform. The new
VCGr ensures that a committed bandwidth threshold is never
violated by other user groups traffic, while operator-defined
traffic profiles are enforced with the committed threshold.
Whether a user group network can access shared bandwidth
is easily controlled by configuration. With the VCGr upgrade,
service providers can offer their customers virtual SCPC links
in one SKYWAN network.
The benefit for both user and application groups is that
individual service guarantees (CIR) given per group are
complemented by excess speed from the commonly shared
bandwidth resource. Each group in its VRF experiences its
own MF-TDMA network, but will benefit from sharing some
satellite bandwidth as an extra bonus, said Helmut Jckle,
SKYWAN Product Manager. Another VCGr advantage is that
it further increases the SKYWAN 5G VSAT platform efficiency
in bandwidth utilization at reduced OPEX and setup times
for the operator.
Newtec expands on strong history to provide industry-
leading technology
When it comes to considering the latest developments in
modem technology, Newtec cannot be ignored. The company
consistently releases first-of-their-kind products for a variety
of applications within the communications technology sphere,
and modems are at the heart of that.
Newtec launched the worlds first satellite modem to
support wideband DVB-S2X, the latest standard on the
market, in February 2016. The MDM5000 modem receives
forwarding carriers of up to 140MHz and processes more
than 200Mbps. On the return channel, its supports SCPC,
TDMA and Newtecs own Mx-DMA up to 75Mbps. The high
15
17/01/2017, 18:27

efficiency afforded by Newtecs Mx-DMA provides gains of
more than 50 percent, making the modem perfect for mid to
high-end applications like oil rigs, cruise ships, super yachts
and cellular backhaul. The MDM5000 has forward symbol
rates from 1-133Mbaud and coding up to 256APSK, and can
handle a variety of IP services including Internet and Intranet
access, VoIP, mobile backhaul and trunking, and video
contribution and multicasting. It incorporates Layer-3 routing,
advanced QoS, TCP acceleration, pre-fetching, compression
and encryption, as well as the new Layer-2 protocols like
MPLS and BGP. The MDM5000 also comes with dual
demodulators for seamless beam switching on the HTS
networks.
At the end of the first quarter of 2016, Newtec launched
the MDM9000 satellite modem, which was designed for a
variety of government and defence applications including
intelligence gather ing, fixed and mobile milsatcom
deployments on WGS and commercial installations. The
MDM9000 is typically installed at both ends of a point-to-
point satellite link, or at the remote sites of a star network,
integrating seamlessly with terrestrial networks. It provides
high data rate, beyond line-of-sight (BLOS) airborne
communications between the airborne platform and the DND
ground network. Compliant with DO-160 and MIL-STD 810E
standards, the MDM9000 is equipped with DVB-S2X and S2
waveforms and Newtecs end-to-end FlexACM technology
to provide fast link acquisition and top performance.
Most recently, November 2016 saw Newtec and
Panasonic Avionics team up to unveil a new, high bandwidth
satellite modem, which offers Panasonic customers 20 times
the bandwidth of Panasonics current solution. Different
versions of the new AMC5001 modem will be available
throughout Panasonics mobility markets, including maritime,
cruise ships, mega yachts, air transport and business
aviation, among others. The AMC5001 can exceed 400Mbps,
and will scale to meet the changing needs of airlines and
passengers in the wake of the increasing bandwidth made
available with the new HTS and extreme throughput satellites
(XTS) planned or coming online, which will be layered over
Panasonics existing network. This is expected to increase
network capacity from 2,300MHz to more than 15,000MHz
by 2017.
The AMC5001 modem is part of the Newtec Dialog
multiservice platform, which supports a range of vertical
applications, including aviation and maritime. With its three
modulators, seamless beam switching and simultaneous data
and video reception will be enabled. The modem features
the dynamic bandwidth allocation capabilities of Mx-DMA,
which combines the efficiency of SCPC with the dynamic
bandwidth allocation capabilities of TDMA to provide as much
as 300 percent more data than traditional TDMA systems. In
addition, the AMC5001 is optimised for HTS and small VSAT
applications by supporting very low signal to noise ratio
modulation and coding (VL-SNR MODCODS) and DVB-S2X.
As we continue to optimise our second-generation global
communications network, we are constantly looking for new
pieces of critical technology that will enable our customers
to take full advantage of HTS and XTS technology, said Paul
Margis, Chief Executive Officer of Panasonic Avionics
Corporation. Newtecs broadband modem, which is based
on the innovative DVB-S2X standard and customised to our
requirements, allows us to access much larger blocks of
frequency and better support high bandwidth platforms
across all of our vertical markets.
16
modem-technology.pmd 16
....Modem Technology
NASA explores integrated photonics modems
Established in 1958, NASA has explored all things space for
more than 50 years; spacecraft developments, missions to
distant planets and new satellite applications have all played
their part in the associations history. Breakthroughs in new
materials have held a key role in NASAs ability to push
beyond what is possible today on Earth.
NASA was tasked with producing a new type of
communications modem from revolutionary technology that
might one day transform telecommunications, medical
imaging, advanced manufacturing and national defence in
January 2016. Indeed, the first-ever integrated photonics
modem is expected to be tested on the International Space
Station in 2020 as par t of NASAs multi-year Laser
Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD). The ground-
breaking modem will incorporate optics-based functions like
lasers, witches and wires, into a microchip. The LCRD low
Earth orbit (LEO) User Modem and Amplifier (ILLUMA) will
act as a LEO terminal for NASAs LCRD, demonstrating
additional applications for high-speed, laser-based
communications. While the ILLUMA is expected to use some
optic fibre, it will be the first step towards demonstrating an
integrated photonics circuit. The project will flight-qualify the
technology for future advancements and applications,
including enabling satellite communications with ground
station, and satellite-to-satellite communications.
NASA believes that the need for LCRD has become ever
more critical with missions requiring higher data rates than
ever before. It hopes that lasers will be able to encode and
transmit data at rates as much as 10-100 times faster than
today, vastly reducing the power and mass of communications
equipment. LCRD operations are expected to start in 2019
and will involve a hosted payload and two specially-equipped
Earth stations.
Weve pushed this for a long time, said Mike Krainak,
team leader of the modems development at NASAs Goddard
Space Flight Centre in Maryland. The technology will simplify
optical system design. It will reduce the size and power
consumption of optical devices, and improve reliability, all
while enabling new functions from a lower-cost system. It is
clear that our strategy to leverage integrated photonic circuitry
will lead to a revolution in Earth and planetary-space
communications as well as in science instruments.
NASA was tasked with producing a new type of
communications modem
www.satellite-evolution.com | January/February 2017
17/01/2017, 18:27
Untitled-1 1 22/01/2017, 16:39
 ....Earth Observation

Built by Lockheed Martin, the WorldView-4 satellite will expand DigitalGlobes industry-leading constellation of high-accuracy,
high-resolution satellites, and double the availability of 30 cm resolution imagery for commercial and government customers
around the globe. Credit Lockheed Martin

From strength to strength: New

technologies in the Earth
observation industry
Earth observation has today become so ubiquitous that, to the general public, it is by and large
unseen. From weather forecasts, disaster management systems, infrastructure monitoring and
agriculture, to name just a few, Earth observation satellites play a fundamental role in everyday
life. One of the major points of focus today is the collection of big data. Satellites with
increasingly sophisticated payloads capable of observing the intricate chemistry taking place in
the atmosphere, or the movement of winds at the surface of the ocean, are becoming
increasingly advanced, and everyone from commercial companies through to research and
development institutions wants a part of the action.

Our satellite-based Earth observation industry is
undergoing a major era of change. In previous decades, it
was common to pay for every single satellite image, no matter
the application: After all, it costs a lot of money to design,
build, launch and operate those satellites in the depths of
space, and the funds must come from somewhere.
Nevertheless, a great deal of satellite imagery can now be
obtained for free from any number of sources; the USGS Earth
Explorer, ESAs Sentinel, NOAAs Class, NASAs Reverb, and
the Earth Observation Link (EOLi), to name just a few. This
is great news for researchers at academic institutions, with
the only downside being the lack of control over revisit rates
and image resolution.
According to Fast Market Researchs report: Global
Satellite-based Earth Observation Market 2016-2020, the
global market for Earth observation satellites is expected to
grow at a CAGR of 14.11 percent in 2016-2020. While some
in the satellite industry are concerned with the potential supply
glut as vast numbers of Earth observation satellites come
online, others expect demand to explode in a time when

18 www.satellite-evolution.com | January/February 2017

earth.pmd 18 17/01/2017, 18:19

 Earth Observation....
algorithms to extract insights from the collected big data are
becoming increasingly capable and sophisticated. Demand
from defence and intelligence, weather, agriculture, natural
resources, engineering and construction, media and
entertainment, and the tourism industries will be major players
when it comes to the Earth observation market going
forwards.
DigitalGlobe: Pushing the boundaries of Ear th
observation
DigitalGlobe is the commercial market leader when it comes
to Earth observation. The first and only company to deliver
true 30cm resolution imagery has built up its capabilities over
the years with the launch of WorldView-1, GeoEye-1,
WorldView-2 and WorldView-3, which annually collect more
than one billion square kilometres of imagery.
Continually advancing its capabilities, November 2016
saw DigitalGlobe launch its latest Earth observation satellite,
WorldView-4, after two months of delays due to a wildfire
that threatened Vandenberg Air Force Base in the USA. Built
by Lockheed Martin, WorldView-4 orbits the Earth every 90
minutes and captures up to 680,000 square kilometres of
the Earths surface every day with 30cm resolution imagery.
Kevin Bulloch, DigitalGlobes spokesman, stated that with
WorldView-4, DigitalGlobes 30cm collection capacity has
more than doubled, which is by far and away the best in the
industry. Like DigitalGlobes other Earth observation
satellites, WorldView-4 imagery will be used in the energy,
www.satellite-evolution.com | January/February 2017
earth.pmd 19
commodities, transportation, and financial services sectors.
Combined, the entire constellation will visit a spot on Earth
on average 4.5 times each day.
Moving ever forwards in the Earth observation field, in
August 2016 DigitalGlobe, CosmiQ Works and NVIDIA
launched SpaceNet, an online repository of satellite imagery
and labelled training data that will advance the development
of machine learning and deep learning algorithms that
leverage remote sensing data. The imagery is freely available
on Amazon Web Services (AWS).
GPU-accelerated deep learning has afforded significant
breakthroughs in computer vision, mainly through research
enabled by ImageNet, a database of 14 million photographs
labelled in more than 20,000 categories. SpaceNet aims to
facilitate similar advances in automating the detection and
extraction of features in satellite imagery with data collected
by DigitalGlobe and other commercial Earth observation
satellites. SpaceNet will, for the first time, open access to a
large collection of high-resolution satellite imagery to enable
algorithm development. DigitalGlobe will contribute the initial
satellite imagery and 200,000 curated building footprints
across Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, which will provide the necessary
data to create new algorithms to automate the extraction of
features like buildings in dense urban environments. In
time, DigitalGlobe, CosmiQ Works, NVIDIA, and AWS plan
to make more than 60 million labelled satellite images
accessible to the public via SpaceNet.
Each minute something is happening in the world. While
19
17/01/2017, 18:19

commercial constellations are poised to collect imagery at
global scale, we must advance our ability to analyse data to
realize its full potential, said Tony Frazier, Senior Vice
President at DigitalGlobe. SpaceNet is key to unlocking a
huge explosion of new AI-driven applications that ultimately
will help us better respond to natural disasters, counter global
security threats, improve population health outcomes, and
much more. The industry is coming together to power smarter
algorithms so we can see and learn things from imagery about
our planet that we simply cannot know today through manual
techniques.
Small satellites for Earth observation
The concept of using small satellites for Earth observation
applications is gaining traction throughout the sector. In
addition to being cheaper to build and launch, when placed
in low Earth orbit (LEO), small satellites can achieve many
more revolutions of the Earth each day, and transmit data
back to Earth more rapidly.
In February 2016, DigitalGlobe joined forces with TAQNIA
Space and King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology
(KACST) to develop a constellation of at least six small
satellites capable of capturing images at resolutions of less
than one metre. KACST will construct and launch the
satellites, and will own 50 percent of the imaging capacity
inside of its communication cone, which includes Saudi Arabia
and the surrounding region. DigitalGlobe will have the rights
to the remaining 50 percent of capacity in this region and
100 percent of the capacity outside of it. TAQNIA will be
responsible for marketing KACSTs 50 percent share of the
imagery, while DigitalGlobe will market its own capacity. The
small satellites are expected to be launched in late 2018 or
early 2019, and will complement the next-generation satellites
that DigitalGlobe is developing to replace WorldView-1 and
WorldView-2.
The satellites developed under this partnership will allow
The RAVAN CubeSat will demonstrate new technologies for
measuring Earths energy balance, a key factor in climate
studies. Credits: The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics
Laboratory
20
earth.pmd 20
....Earth Observation
us to uniquely unlock new value in emerging use cases by
combining high-resolution, high-accuracy imagery and high-
revisit imagery, said Jeffrey R. Tarr, DigitalGlobes President
and Chief Executive Officer. This innovative, capital-efficient
business model leverages DigitalGlobes extensive
investment in an industry-leading ground infrastructure and
our customer relationships to the mutual benefit of both
parties.
Meanwhile, leading Earth observation association NASA
launched the first of its next-generation small satellites for
Earth observation in November 2016. Ultimately, NASA plans
to launch six satellites, ranging up to 400 pounds in weight,
as secondary payloads. The small satellites will feature a
range of next-generation technology, and will test new
methods to measure hurricanes, Earths energy budget,
aerosols and weather patterns.
The first of the six to launch, the Radiometer Assessment
using Vertically Aligned Nanotubes satellite (RAVAN), will
demonstrate new technology for detecting slight energy
changes at the top of the atmosphere; such measurements
are critical for understanding greenhouse gas effects on
climate. In the Spring of 2017, two more small satellites,
IceCube and the Hyper-Angular Rainbow Polarimeter
(HARP), will be launched to improve understanding of clouds
and their role in climate and weather. These will be followed
by the Microwave Radiometer Technology Acceleration
mission (MiRaTA), an advanced weather satellite.
The six-satellite mission is being funded and managed
by NASAs Earth Science Technology Office (ESTO). The
affordability and rapid build times of these CubeSat projects
allow for more risk to be taken, and the more risk we take
now the more capable and reliable the instruments will be in
the future, said Pamela Millar, ESTOs Flight Validation Lead.
These small satellites are changing the way we think about
making instruments and measurements. The cube has
inspired us to think more outside the box.
In addition to the six-satellite project, NASA has two
further small satellite Earth observation missions ongoing.
The Cyclone, Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS)
is NASAs first small satellite Earth science constellation, and
was launched in December 2016. Once fully operational, eight
identical satellites will fly in formation to measure wind
intensity over the sea, providing new insight to tropical
cyclones. The technology uses reflections from GPS signals
off the ocean surface to monitor winds and air-sea interactions
in rapidly-evolving cyclones, hurricanes and typhoons.
The second of NASAs small satellite constellations is
the Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure
and storm intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats
(TROPICS). Using radiometer instruments based on the
MiRaTA satellite, 12 small satellites in three LEO planes will
make frequent measurements of temperature and water
vapour profiles throughout the lifecycle of storms. The
launches are expected to take place in 2018-2019.
Advancing Australias national interests
When we move from industries and technologies to nations,
Australia has been one of the most active with regards to
satellite-based Earth observation developments over the last
year. The country is highly active in the Earth observation
industry, with government, commercial, and research and
education sectors all contributing to the supply chain. While
Australia does not operate its own Earth observation
satellites, through long-standing partnerships with other
www.satellite-evolution.com | January/February 2017
17/01/2017, 18:19
Untitled-2 1 19/07/2016, 18:22
 ....Earth Observation

countries, its Earth observation community has gained
access to satellite imagery by sharing ground station
capabilities, personnel, analytic and distribution infrastructure.
However, the nation is keen to advance its capabilities to
increase efficiency and knowledge across all sectors.
In April 2016, Australias Earth observation capabilities
were augmented when DigitalGlobe completed the first phase
of a continent-scale mapping initiative that will enable
Geoscape, a new information product from PSMA Australia,
to support the countrys digital economy. PSMA Australia
provides national geospatial datasets to support public and
private business solutions. Through this initiative, PSMA
Australia will extract building and land cover information which
will capture Australias natural and built environment.
Using its Geospatial Big Data platfor m (GBDX),
DigitalGlobe will create geospatial content and location
information from more than 7.6 million square kilometres of
high-resolution satellite imagery, partner technologies and
crowdsourced data. The structural information collected will
include features such as building heights and footprints,
rooftop materials, solar panels and swimming pools.
Geoscape will incorporate DigitalGlobes derived geospatial
datasets with PSMAs Geocoded National Address File (G-
NAF), land parcel data, digital elevation models,
transportation network information, and other data.
The first phase saw DigitalGlobe complete coverage over
a large area of South Australia that includes Adelaide. In the
second phase, DigitalGlobe will widen its coverage to the
more than 15 million structures across Australia. When
completed, Geoscape will provide insights that can be applied
broadly for applications such as insurance risk modelling,
urban planning and services delivery, emergency planning
and management, business intelligence, policy development,
and many research activities.
Geoscape is a significant innovation that will provide
essential infrastructure for Australias digital economy,
said Dan Paull, PSMAs Chief Executive Officer. By linking
together many different attributes and data types, Geoscape
will provide a greater understanding of what exists at an
address - buildings, features, and land cover - for every
component of the international Earth observation
capability, delivering benefits to the international
community and securing our access to and involvement
in international Earth observation programmes.
Infrastructure and people: Developing, supporting and
sustaining a wealth of trained professionals and quality
infrastructure to enable world-leading Earth observation
research, innovation and application development.
Access to Earth observation data and services: Ensuring
all Australian Earth observation producers and users can
easily and reliably access the data and services they
need.
Generating value: Strengthening end-user engagement
to enable delivery of high quality Earth Observation
products and services suited to user needs, and
supporting commercial development of Earth observation
applications.
Opening up the market
One belief that is widely agreed upon is that no one single
Earth observation system will be able to meet every demand,
since different satellites collect different data. By combining
data collected from variety of sources, and utilising the latest
algorithms and technology for analysis, the big picture can
truly be revealed. Accordingly, we can expect to see the major
players like DigitalGlobe, NASA and NOAA be joined by new
market entrants looking to make their mark in a rapidly-
growing area within the satellite sector.

Nishinoshima Volcanic Island Growth. Photo courtesy of DigitalGlobe

address in Australia.
Later in October-November 2016, the Committee on Earth
Observation Satellites (CEOS) held its annual plenary in
Brisbane to coordinate short and long-term planning for the
investment of funds for designing and operating satellite
imaging systems. The result of the meeting was the launch
of the Australian Earth Observation Community Plan, a
roadmap for the 2016-2026 period.
The 24-page plan includes government, industry,
research, education and not-for-profit Earth observation
activities. Ultimately, the plan will help the community to deliver
high-quality Earth observation information, infrastructure and
services that can be widely used by industry, government,
research and the community in Australia and internationally.
The plan details five priority areas of action:

Connection and coordination: Establishing a consistent

vision within the Australian Earth observation community,
and delivering processes for internal coordination to
ensure effective collaboration, resource use, and
advocacy for Earth observation in Australia and
internationally.
Securing Australias role in the international Earth
observation community: Australia must be an essential

22 www.satellite-evolution.com | January/February 2017

earth.pmd 22 17/01/2017, 18:19

Untitled-1 1 18/09/2016, 21:37
 ....Q&A Rockwell Collins
TruNet Family of Radios Scene

A history of market presence

Rockwell Collins was established in 1933 under the name Collins Radio, originally specialising in
shortwave radio equipment. Over the years, the company expanded its competencies to include a
host of communications solutions and equipment, and today it has become a market leader in its
field. Its electronic equipment is installed in almost every airline in the world, while its
communications systems transmit almost 70 percent of US and allied military airborne content.
Indeed, Rockwell Collins provides a large portfolio of solutions developed with military and
government applications in mind. Amy Saunders spoke with Brad Haselhorst, Vice President,
Strategy and Business Development, Government Systems at Rockwell Collins to find out more
about the companys capabilities, market presence and outlook for the future.

Question: Can you provide an outline
of Rockwell Collins development,
from its founding through to where
it stands today?
Brad Haselhorst: While Rockwell
Collins has come a long way from a
mail-order short-wave radio company
operating out of an attic in Cedar
Rapids, Iowa, even today we follow the
same spirit of innovation and dedication
to quality that Art Collins did when he
started the business in 1933.
We also share a dedication to
delivering the right information at the
right time. We first proved ourselves by
supplying the equipment that linked the
Antarctic expedition of Rear Admiral
Richard Byrd with the United States in
1933. And you can trace our evolution
through the years following that same
principle. We developed the autotune
technology that prevented Japanese
intelligence from eavesdropping on US
pilot communication during World War
II. At the height of the space race, it was
our equipment that provided the voice
communication for every American
astronaut travelling through space not
to mention using Rockwell Collins
technology to transmit Neil Armstrongs
first steps on the moon in 1968. And in
the late 1970s and early 1980s, we
were instrumental in pioneering the first
Global Positioning System.
Rockwell International acquired
Collins Radio in 1973, and in 2001 spun
us off a gain into Rockwell Collins,
trading on the New York Stock
Exchange under the symbol COL.
Today, Rockwell Collins designs,
produces, markets and suppor ts
electronic communications, avionics, in-
flight entertainment systems, simulation
and training solutions, and information
management services for commercial,
military and government customers
worldwide. Our aircraft electronics are
installed in the cockpits of nearly every
airline in the wor ld and our
communication systems transmit nearly
70 percent of US and allied military
airborne communications.
And through it all, we are dedicated
to keeping people safe, connected and
informed, and to strive to be the most
trusted source of aviation and high-
integrity solutions in the world.
Question: What services and
solutions does Rockwell Collins
provide to the military and
government sectors, and how are
these complemented by its com-
mercial arm?
Brad Haselhorst: Rockwell Collins
delivers smart military and government
solutions to customers worldwide to
safely and successfully complete their
mission. Our solutions include portfolios
focused on avionics, communications,
displays and controls, navigation,
targeting systems, electronic warfare
and intelligence and simulation and
training all supported by a global
service network. And because we also

24 www.satellite-evolution.com | January/February 2017

Rockwell.pmd 24 17/01/2017, 18:31

 Q&A Rockwell Collins....
Brad Haselhorst, Vice President, Strategy and
Business Development
have a strong presence in the
commercial market, we are able to offer
a unique ability to engineer solutions
and architectures to migrate easily
between commercial and militar y
market segments. This business model
not only brings next-generation
technology to the warfighter more
quickly, but at significantly lower cost
through open systems and commercial-
off-the-shelf technology.
For example, Rockwell Collins Pro
Line Fusion integrated avionics
system was originally developed for
business aircraft, but its power and
www.satellite-evolution.com | January/February 2017
Rockwell.pmd 25
flexibility make it a natural choice for
gover nment applications as well,
including Embraers KC-390 tanker
transport and AugustaWestlands AW-
609 tilt-rotor aircraft.
Our work on C-130 upgrade is
another example. For more than 60
years, the C-130 has served as an
iconic workhorse for gover nments
worldwide. Today, those governments
are turning to Rockwell Collins to keep
their aircraft flying while meeting
modern communications needs and
airspace access requirements and
providing enhanced safety and
functionality. Our C-130 head-up
displays (HUDs) first developed for
commercial air transport aircraft
enhance situational awareness by
giving pilots access to critical flight
information while maintaining a head-
up, eyes-forward position, even while
wearing night-vision goggles.
Question: How does Rockwell Collins
differentiate itself from its comp-
etitors?
Brad Haselhorst: We really different-
iate from competition on three different
but interconnected areas. First, as I
mentioned before, our strong presence
in the commercial and military markets
makes us uniquely capable in
leveraging technologies across both
those areas. Second, our legacy of
17/01/2017, 18:31
quality means our customers know they
can count on our solutions to work
today, tomorrow and far into the future.
And finally, our spirit of innovation,
which has driven us to new
technological heights, makes us the go-
to company for defense organizations
and governments around the world who
are looking for rock-solid leading-edge
solutions. In fact, we invest about US$1
billion in R&D each year to ensure were
looking forward to best address our
customers needs.
Question: Rockwell Collins
collaborates with partner companies
on a regular basis to provide
innovative new solutions for complex
challenges. How do these collab-
orations improve the experiences of
soldiers on the battlefield?
Brad Haselhorst: Par tnering with
companies with similar, but unique
competencies bring forth the most
holistic solution to our customers. For
example, we recently signed an
agreement with Bluedrop Training and
Simulation Inc. (BTSI) to create more
cohesive solutions utilizing real-time
simulation devices and lear ning
technologies. This is a unique
agreement for us because the two
companies will share complementary
Intellectual Property while offering a
complete training solution from a single
Collins Radio Company
25
 ....Q&A Rockwell Collins

resource, from requirements analysis

through instructional execution.

Question: In August 2016, Rockwell

Collins successfully demonstrated
the viability of wideband high
frequency (WBHF) data transfers.
How will this affect the future of
military communications solutions?
Brad Haselhorst: WBHF is a low-cost
replacement to legacy HF systems that
leverages the platfor ms current
infrastructure to create an HF solution

RockwellCollins-ARC-210 GEN 6 Radio

with perfor mance never before
available.
Military commanders, tanker
operators, agencies and Department of
Defense services will be able to receive
uninterrupted, large file transfers with
speeds comparable to narrowband
SATCOM systems as well as
enhanced voice capabilities with
cellular quality communications even
in satellite-limited or denied
environments.

Question: In September 2016,

Rockwell Collins launched its
combat helmet-mounted Integrated
Digital Vision System (IDVS) for
warfighters how will this improve
capabilities in the battlefield?
Brad Haselhorst: IDVS allows
warfighters to stay focused on their
surroundings at all times. The IDVS is
the first hands-free helmet-mounted
display system that fuses incoming data
from various sources, such as a
command centre, other warfighters or
UAS, with multispectral vision, giving
them unprecedented situational
awareness in potentially lethal
environments. The system does this
while automatically transitioning from
dark to light environments in real time,
allowing users to have a complete view
of everything that is happening around
them.
Question: What are the biggest
challenges today faced by defence
forces, and how might they be met?
Brad Haselhorst: A major challenge in
the coming year is reducing costs while
delivering the most technologically
advanced solution. Gover nments
around the globe are tur ning to
commercial technologies to maximize
value while ensuring efficiency,
functionality and extensibility. And were
happy to serve as a resource to help
them achieve that goal.
Question: Whats on the horizon for
Rockwell Collins in 2017 and the
years to come?
Brad Haselhorst: Rockwell Collins
plans to continue its jour ney in
transforming technology to stay ahead
of our customers changing needs. From
commercial and business aviation to
defense and government, customer
needs and technological innovations
are driving transformational changes in
how pilots, passengers and warfighters
connect and relate to the world around
them and how OEMs, owners and
countries procure and manage their
assets.

26 www.satellite-evolution.com | January/February 2017

Rockwell.pmd 26 17/01/2017, 18:31

Untitled-2 1 10/11/2011, 11:17 PM
 ....Internet of Things

At the end of 2015, Kymeta demonstrated its mTenna during an 8,000 mile trip across the US, during which the antenna
automatically acquired and tracked Intelsats Ku-band satellite signals from the roof of a Toyota 4Runner car.

Accelerating into the future with the

IoT
The Internet of Things (IoT) has come on in leaps and bounds since technology finally caught up
with the theoretical. Originally theorised in the 20th Century, today the IoT is providing Smart
solutions in many areas of life, including security systems, remote sensors, industrial equipment,
medical implants, homes, vehicles, and buildings, to name just a few. The number of connected
devices is expected to grow exponentially to anywhere between 25-50 billion by 2020, making the
IoT a topic all of us need to keep on top of.

Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communications and the
Internet of Things (IoT) are one of todays hottest topics. While
the terminology is often used interchangeably, there are key
differences between them in terms of networks and
applications:
M2M systems typically rely on point-to-point
communications using cellular or wired networks and
provide single-serve solutions, such as the remote
monitoring of equipment.
IoT solutions utilise IP-based networks to interface with
a cloud or middleware platform and collect massive
amounts of data from numerous sensors, known
colloquially as big data, to analyse with external data to
evolve processes and improve performance.
Put simply, M2M might alert a user to the malfunction of
a water sensor; an IoT system could establish the cause of
the malfunction, find previous similar incidents, calculate the
resulting financial impact and establish how it might be
avoided in future.
IoT solutions rely on a host of different connectivity
solutions depending on their application. Terrestrial networks
like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth provide a comparably low-cost
alternative to satellite connectivity, although the latter of
course delivers always-on connectivity to areas with no
terrestrial options. Of the millions of new IoT devices coming
online, only a fraction, some 5.8 million by 2023, are expected
to rely entirely on satellite connectivity. NSR expects that of
those, 93 percent will use L-band, 5.2 percent will use Ku-
band, and less than one percent will use C-band and high
throughput satellites (HTS). Indeed, the majority of new IoT
devices will rely on terrestrial networks due to the lower cost
of capacity and hardware. Only specialised devices, for
example, personal safety hardware like Globalstars SPOT
range and DeLormes inReach products, and vehicles that

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 Internet of Things....

range beyond terrestrial network connectivity, will use satellite
with any regularity.
Market developments
According to Berg Insight, mobile operator revenues from
the IoT reached 11 billion euros in 2016. In the third quarter
of the year, Vodafone and Verizon each generated around
200 million euros in direct sales from IoT connectivity,
solutions and applications. In 2017, Berg Insight predicts that
some operators will generate more than one billion euros
directly from the IoT.
Until recently, the principal financial metrics for IoT has
been projected, not actual, revenues. Now the market has
entered a new phase in which hard business facts take
precedent over lofty projections, said Tobias Ryberg, Senior
Analyst at Berg Insight and author of the report. Wireless
connectivity is now near ubiquitous, and there will be half a
billion cellular IoT connections in 2017, but revenues are still
relatively small.
Identifying and implementing successful strategies for
moving up the value-chain is considered the biggest
challenge for mobile operators in the IoT sphere. The
automotive market has been a natural starting point for many,
and major players like AT&T, Vodafone, Verizon and Deutsche
Telekom have established practices to support automotive
original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in the development
of connected car solutions. For smaller mobile operators, Berg
Insight asserts that developing a broad ecosystem and selling
IoT solutions from preferred partners through existing B2B
channels is a better-suited strategy. That way, the operators
can provide the best possible products to their enterprise
customers without investing in product development
themselves.
for still some years before the two approaches converge,
said Ludvig Barrehag, M2M/IoT Analyst at Berg Insight.
Kymeta is one of the leaders when it comes to innovating
new land-mobile connectivity technology, with the connected
car well in its sights. The company has developed the worlds
first metamaterials-based, slim, electronically steerable
antenna, which, through satellite bandwidth, ensures
connectivity regardless of location and travel speed. As well
as providing a new hardware option for connectivity in the air
or at sea, the mTenna is set to be a game-changer in the
connected car world.
At the end of 2015, Kymeta demonstrated its mTenna
during an 8,000 mile trip across the US, during which the
antenna automatically acquired and tracked Intelsats Ku-
band satellite signals from the roof of a Toyota 4Runner car.
This was a major milestone for the global autonomous car
sector. According to Kymeta, the new technology is expected
to address critical connected car requirements such as
reliable and consistent service availability, economic multicast
distribution, and global ubiquity of service levels.
Satellite connectivity can best address the capacity,
coverage and security concerns of conventional solutions to
car connectivity. Better yet, these assets are available now.
We dont have to wait 10 years for a next generation cellular
network to be invented and deployed, said Nathan Kundtz,
Chief Executive Officer of Kymeta. This will be crucial
because five years from now, every car that comes off a
production line should be connected. In fact, we should stop
calling it the connected car, and just call it the car, because
this is the future of automotive.
There has been some delay in its market launch as the
design of the mTenna has evolved during the testing period

Connecting cars
Connected cars will benefit greatly from the rapid
development of IoT solutions. From Smart navigation systems
that offer alternative routes, peer-to-peer car sharing
concepts, real-time security, on-board and remote analysis
of operating systems, high-speed Internet and, eventually,
driverless cars, it seems like anything will be possible in a
matter of time.
When it comes to connected cars, IoT technology will be
rolled out in increments as it becomes available. Self-driving
cars remain several years into the future and are dependent
upon the fine tuning of interpreting sensors and driving logic.
When they do come to market, self-driving cars will have a
massive impact on society, increasing road safety and
efficiency, reducing accidents and fatalities, and making a
massive difference to the lives of people unable to drive
themselves. Ford, Volvo and Toyota are expected to lead the
pack in being amongst the first automotive manufacturers to
bring self-driving cars to consumers.
Photo courtesy of Shutterstock

The first autonomous cars are expected to debut in 2020,

when 200,000 units are forecast to be registered. From then,
the number of registered autonomous cars is expected to
grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 62 percent
to reach 24 million in 2030. While some manufacturers are
focusing on a step-by-step approach to development, with
newer models harnessing greater autonomous capabilities,
others are planning to develop self-driving cars from scratch
immediately. These pathways do not contradict each other
as different autonomous systems are suitable in different use
cases. We will continue to see development from both sides

www.satellite-evolution.com | January/February 2017 29

IoT.pmd 29 22/01/2017, 17:02


to enhance its capabilities, with new shapes and interfaces
being employed. Kymeta now plans to launch the first mTenna
units to market at the end of 2017 following two final beta
cycles due to take place this year. The company isnt just
focusing on the land, air and sea mobility markets either; it
plans to market the mTenna to the oil and gas, construction,
mining, and agriculture industries for a whole host of IoT
applications.
Streamlining logistics
One of the greatest IoT success stories, and one that is still
being developed today, is logistics. With the IoT, many aspects
of logistics can be automated, including warehouse sorting,
tracking, in-transit vehicular monitoring and delivery. For
companies willing to invest in modernisation, impressive cost
reductions and efficiency improvements are there for the
taking.
Berg Insight reported that that the number of active
tracking devices for cargo loading units including trailers,
intermodal containers, air cargo containers, cargo boxes and
pallets reached 2.9 million worldwide in 2015. Growing at a
compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 23.2 percent, this
number is expected to reach 8.1 million by 2020. The North
American trailer telematics market is the most developed
segment, followed by intermodal container tracking, which
has achieved considerable growth in the past few years.
Market adoption of IoT solutions is being affected by a
number of factors. Battery life is a challenge, especially for
container tracking applications, and breakthroughs within
battery technology can help drive adoption on the market,
said Rickard Andersson, Senior Analyst at Berg Insight. He
added that the emerging area of Low-Power Wide-Area
(LPWA) network technologies such as Sigfox, NB-IoT and
LoRaWAN can have a positive effect on this market segment.
LPWA technologies promise of long battery life and low
hardware cost can be especially beneficial for dry containers,
which are inherently more power-starved compared with
reefer containers and trailers, at the same time as the
business case for tracking is less obvious than for refrigerated
transports.
Seizing on the promising mobile IoT market opportunity,
Thuraya Telecommunications Company joined the LoRa
The Thuraya FT2225 fixed terminal works on the Thuraya
network and on ViaSats mobile satellite services network,
30
IoT.pmd 30
....Internet of Things
Alliance in November 2016 to support its mission to
standardise LPWANs deployed around the world. The LoRa
Alliance was established in 2015 to define and promote a
low power, secure, carrier grade standard for LPWA IoT
connectivity to enable IoT, M2M, Smart city and industrial
applications. As a result of its new membership, end users
will now be able to implement LoRaWAN technology over
Thurayas network.
We want to take every opportunity to grow our M2M/IoT
presence, so we are pleased to join the LoRa Alliance, said
Thurayas M2M Product Manager, Marwan Joudeh.
Membership gives us access to an excellent ecosystem of
developers and solution providers. This way of working will
encourage the mass adoption of low cost, long range IoT/
M2M connectivity, while extending the range of such solutions
through our robust satellite network into remote and rural
areas. This is a key advantage for applications covering the
energy and utilities, logistics, agriculture and security sectors.
The Thuraya team is looking forward to exploring the breadth
of opportunities this will generate, and we also want to offer
our own expertise to help foster further innovation.
LoRa Alliance members share knowledge and experience
to deliver end-to-end IoT solutions including sensors,
gateways, connectivity and applications. This collaboration
is designed to drive the global success of LoRaWAN, a
protocol that offers bi-directionality, security, mobility for asset
tracking, and accurate localisation. The LoRaWAN standard
for secure, carrier grade LPWA networks is the first LPWAN
protocol for LPWAN solutions developers. It offers
interoperability and security for network operators deploying
large multi-tenanted open networks running multiple
applications, as well as private networks. Entire cities or
countries can be covered with a few base stations, no longer
requiring the upfront rollout and maintenance of thousands
of nodes as in traditional mesh networking, minimising
investment.
Thurayas membership of the LoRa Alliance followed its
2016 launch of its dedicated IoT/M2M service and terminal.
The Thuraya FT2225 fixed terminal works on the Thuraya
network and on ViaSats mobile satellite services network,
using ViaSats L-band high capacity satellite system. The
terminal provides efficient bandwidth usage, low-latency IP
networking, and high levels of security, supported by a 99.9
percent service level agreement.
Rapid entry
As the IoT takes hold throughout industries across the globe,
innovators such as Globalstar and Skyworks Solutions are
responding with new products that will enable faster adoption
of the new technology available to them.
November 2016 saw Globalstar launch its new STINGR
satellite chipset to the EMEA market, which integrates
Globalstars STX3 simplex satellite transmitter with a high-
performance GPS receiver and a dual band antenna, making
it easy for value added resellers (VARs) and OEMs to develop
IoT-based solutions for remote sensing, tracking and
monitoring of assets including rail cars, trucks and ships.
Using Globalstars simplex satellite network, STINGR will
provide an affordable way to transmit rich IoT data from small,
low cost devices, even when beyond the reach of mobile
coverage. The 45x47x6.3mm STINGR units small size and
affordability gives VARs and OEMs the flexibility to easily
integrate the module into a wide range of mobile asset
tracking solutions for monitoring a broad array of items and
www.satellite-evolution.com | January/February 2017
22/01/2017, 17:02
 Internet of Things....

cargo, including liquid petroleum gas (LPG) tanks, rail cars,

trucks and boats. The STX3 chip increases the reliability of
message delivery by transmitting each message at intervals,
so there is an increased likelihood of reaching multiple
satellites.
STINGR allows us to offer a complete tracking solution
in a single module, dramatically reducing the design effort
involved in building compact and efficient satellite
communications devices, said Corry Brennan, Simplex
Regional Sales Manager at Globalstar. We look forward to
working with our highly creative VAR and OEM partners
across EMEA to develop satellite solutions based on STINGR
that help organisations of all kinds leverage the power of IoT,
especially those in the multi-modal space.
Meanwhile, in January 2017, Skyworks Solutions
launched its next-generation LTE Category M-1 and NB-1
front-end solutions targeting M2M and IoT applications
requiring embedded cellular connectivity. The new multiband
modules leverage half-duplex RF operation to deliver an
integrated, turnkey solution that addresses Release 13
specifications of the 3GPP LTE standard, providing
dependable, secure, low power connectivity. These products
help OEMs to simplify the design process, shor ten
development time, meet operator requirements worldwide and
significantly accelerate time to market.
With leading cellular network operators announcing plans
to enable the latest IoT standards on their networks in 2017,
Skyworks is pleased to be pushing the performance envelope
and offering our customers a single SKU, low-cost LTE
solution that operates over multiple frequency bands and
supports migration from 2G. Skyworks modules are powering
wireless cellular communications for applications such as
wearables, action cameras, Smar t meters and other
consumer IoT devices requiring LTE connectivity, as well as
paving the way for 5G M2M communication networks, said
Carlos Bori, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for
Skyworks.
Photo courtesy of Shutterstock

www.satellite-evolution.com | January/February 2017 31

IoT.pmd 31 22/01/2017, 17:02

 ....Q&A Eutelsat

Delivering customer solutions

Eutelsat was established in 1977 to operate satellites over Europe, and its business has come on
in leaps and bounds ever since. Today, the companys fleet has grown to provide coverage
throughout the world, serving video, data and telecommunications services to commercial
customers, government and enterprise. Amy Saunders met with Jean-Franois Fenech, CEO
Eutelsat Asia, to find out more about the companys activities in Asia, and discuss recent market
developments.

Question: What can you tell us about
Eutelsats business development
over the years?
Jean-Franois Fenech: Eutelsat was
originally developed as a regional
satellite operator, and has grown
progressively into one of the world-
leading operators. Our focus used to be
primarily in Europe.
While that region is still important
for us, today it represents less than half
of our business. We have a growing
presence in the Americas, Sub-Saharan
Africa, Asia, the Middle East and North
Africa.
The company has a fleet of 39
satellites operating around the world,
which serve video, data, broadband and
gover nment markets. We have a
revenue backlog of almost four years,
mainly from our video customers who
frequently have long term contracts with
us. About 16 percent of our revenue
comes from data. Broadband services
comprise about seven percent of our
business, but this is growing through
fixed and mobile connectivity initiatives
we are driving in Europe, Africa, Russia
and the Asia-Pacific.
Question: Can you outline Eutelsats
presence in Asia?
Jean-Franois Fenech: Our develop-
ment in Asia is mainly centred at two
satellite positions: 70.5 degrees East
hosted by the EUTELSAT 70B satellite,
and 172 degrees East currently hosted
by EUTELSAT 172A. Both positions
address the Asia-Pacific region, and the

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eutelsat.pmd 32 17/01/2017, 18:24

 Q&A Eutelsat....
Jean-Franois Fenech, CEO Eutelsat Asia
combination of the two footprints
provides complete coverage of the
region. EUTELSAT 70B is a bridge
between Europe, Africa and Asia, while
EUTELSAT 172A is the bridge between
the Americas and Asia. Both are
par ticularly solicited for data and
mobility applications.
Going forward, we will leverage our
position even further with a new satellite
at 172 degrees East that will replace
EUTELSAT 172A before the end of its
life. EUTELSAT 172B, that will be
launched in the second quarter of this
year and go into service in Autumn will
improve our coverage over China and
the Pacific Islands, enhance our Ku-
band coverage for the Direct-to-Home
(DTH) market, and build more
comprehensive coverage for maritime
users. It will also include high
throughput coverage over the North
Pacific Rim to serve aircraft travelling
between the USA and Asia. Panasonic
Avionics Corporation, one of the fastest
growing providers of in-flight
entertainment and communications,
has signed a long-term agreement with
Eutelsat for this capacity. This
agreement will make Panasonic the
anchor client for the satellites high
throughput payload for broadband
services, as well as a user of its regular
Ku-band capacity for live TV.
Question: What are Eutelsats key
markets in Asia?
Jean-Franois Fenech: In Asia, most
of our current business is in data. We
plan to leverage the improved
perfor mance and coverage of the
EUTELSAT 172B to boost our offer to
our existing clients and extend it to new
www.satellite-evolution.com | January/February 2017
eutelsat.pmd 33
prospects. We believe there is a very
good outlook for satellite as long as the
industry provides services that are
compatible with certain price points.
Thats exactly what weve been working
on with our high throughput satellites
(HTS) and payloads for consumers,
which operate using the concept of
frequency reuse, just like a cellular
network.
Were building HTS with multi beam
coverage for different regions. This is
bringing down the cost of capacity to a
point where we can provide services to
end users at prices which are
competitive with terrestr ial
telecommunications networks. In
Europe, service providers using our
infrastructure are proposing
connectivity for around Euro30/month,
in line with the price of terrestrial
alternatives.
This has allowed us to capture a
great deal of the unserved areas. We
are now replicating this model in other
regions of the world, notably in Russia,
Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America.
When it comes to serving Asia, we
can go beyond services in connecting
Asian countries to intercontinental
connectivity. More than 200 Asian
channels are broadcast through our
satellites around the world.
This is one of the benefits of being
a global player; were able to bring
solutions to our customers, whenever
and wherever they want to expand their
business. We have very strong activities
with Chinese customers in Africa, for
17/01/2017, 18:24
instance, who are now considering
further expansion to Latin America with
us.
Question: How is the Asian market
changing, and where is there the
most room for growth?
Jean-Franois Fenech: In the Asian
video market, were observing the
migration from SD to HD, and in tandem,
were also seeing projects for Ultra HD.
We believe this progressive evolution of
signal quality will be an important
growth driver over the coming years.
With Ultra HD, you get a sense of depth,
and a new perception of the image.
Within the data business in Asia,
there is less IP trunking, but more
cellular backhaul. Today, there is little
satellite broadband for consumers, so
there is a lot of room for growth in this
area. In the mobility industry, demand
is growing, especially for high-speed
broadband for superyachts or big cruise
liners. People want to have the same
level of connectivity at sea that they
have at home or in the office. I think that
this will be a big demand driver in the
future. Were also in the infancy of airline
connectivity in terms of Internet speeds,
and I believe well see a lot of growth
there too. Each of those markets will
require the right amount of capacity at
an appropriate price.
Indonesia, because of its
geography, is a very promising market,
making satellite an excellent tool to
provide connectivity to the islands.
Elsewhere in Southeast Asia there are
EUTELSAT 172B. Photo cortesy Airbus Defence and Space
33

a lot of regulatory hurdles to overcome.
Without them, I think there would be a
massive influx of capacity over the area.
The market demands a lot of capacity,
but we are not able to serve it. Some
countries have relatively open markets,
such as in Northeast Asia (South Korea
and Japan for instance), but still, in my
opinion, there are some applications
where satellite should play a bigger part
in the future, such as disaster recovery
and broadband services. Terrestrial
networks there are very good, but those
who have no connectivity are frustrated
and penalised.
Question: HTS are well on their way
to becoming an established
technology in the satellite sector. Is
Eutelsat exploring other new
technologies, such as Extreme HTS?
Jean-Franois Fenech: Were looking
at all possible solutions including HTS,
very HTS, or Extreme HTS. We need to
be able to bring as much capacity as
possible in a relatively flexible manner.
Flexibility is a key success factor for us.
We try to find the optimal solution
by focusing the right amount of capacity
where its needed with in-built flexibility,
in such a way that we reach optimal
price points. Having a 1Tbps satellite
over the Earth sounds great, but it
needs to be in the right location, and
have sufficient flexibility to adapt to
changing market requirements.
34
eutelsat.pmd 34
Question: Do you think that with
more and more HTS coming online
that overcapacity will be a major
problem going forwards?
Jean-Franois Fenech: I think that the
evolution to HTS is a good thing in
general for the satellite industry, and
each of the main operators has adopted
the technology with different models.
Were confident about the future of
HTS, and of course we need to adapt
to the evolution of the market, which
runs in cycles. There are downward
cycles which are caused by slowdowns
in the global economy and slowdowns
in individual markets like the oil and gas
sector that were seeing now. This cycle
is currently impacting the data business.
However, since data is only a small
amount of our activities, were not over
exposed.
Question: Were hearing a lot about
in-orbit beam shaping capabilities.
Whats Eutelsats take on this
technology?
Jean-Franois Fenech: Eutelsat is a
pioneering company in this field with the
Eutelsat Quantum satellite. We are trail-
blazing new technology that will allow
beams to be completely re-shaped in
the air, including both frequency and
coverage. We will launch the first
satellite with in-orbit beam shaping
capabilities in 2019. This software-
based design has been developed with
www.satellite-evolution.com | January/February 2017
17/01/2017, 18:24
....Q&A Eutelsat
Airbus Defence and Space, the
European Space Agency and the UK
Space Agency.
Demand for this new concept is
coming from customers that need to be
able to refocus capacity over time to
match the evolution of their markets.
This is particularly important for the
mobility and military sectors; once a
military mission is completed, capacity
requirements in a specific area are
vastly reduced and can move to a new
zone.
With in-orbit beam-shaping, we can
also eliminate deliberate jamming,
since we can reshape the beam to null
over the jammer.
Question: Are you making any
preparations for 8K?
Jean-Franois Fenech: One thing at
a time! Were concentrating on Ultra HD
4K that is now taking hold in many
markets. 8K is currently very specific to
Japan.
4K has been adopted by the Korean
manufacturers, thereby creating a
growing installed base of displays in
viewer homes and encouraging
programmers to generate 4K content.
I believe that satellite will be the key
enabler for the introduction of Ultra HD.
It is ver y easy to star t a new
transmission scheme, which is not the
case for terrestrial.
And frankly, how many people have
a high-speed Internet connection, at
24Mbps, that is capable of streaming
4K? Satellite is the way forward for sure.
Were in discussions with many of the
Asian channels that wish to broadcast
in 4K over our fleet, so promoting that
is obviously of great interest to us. 8K
will come, but is not on the agenda just
yet.
Question: What are your plans for
2017?
Jean-Franois Fenech: In Asia, the
key milestone will be the arrival of our
new satellite at 172 degrees East. In
addition to transforming the in-flight
connectivity and live TV markets for
trans-Pacific flights, we intend to
leverage EUTELSAT 172B to offer
improved performance and coverage to
fixed and mobile customers We will also
leverage our capacity and teleport
connectivity to take clients in Asia
wherever they need to go around the
world and make the best of our
knowledge and competence available
for our community of users and
partners.
Untitled-6 1 06/02/2017, 21:27
 ....Satellite News Gathering
Photo courtesy US Army, Flickr Creative Commons

Reporting from the heart of disaster

Whether its a national disaster, major music or sporting event, or everyday news, satellite news
gathering (SNG) has become a major part in everyday life. Throughout the decades, technology
has developed and evolved so that today, our satellite broadcast equipment is advanced enough
that we can broadcast live HD footage from around the world. With it, viewers in every corner of
the Earth can stay up to date on the latest events, and get a glimpse of worlds theyll never
experience from themselves. When it comes to humanitarian disasters, such as wars or weather
events, SNG enables us to be at the heart of whats going on. Robert Bell, Executive Director of
the Society of Satellite Professionals International (SSPI), talks about how SNG has changed our
world for the better.

Disasters make news. Whether the catastrophe is an act
of nature or humanity, we want to see it with our own eyes
and share the experience of the people whose lives are turned
upside down. We watch with a horrified fascination that is
part curiosity and part compassion. Through the miracle of
moving pictures, we are connected to the lives of people we
have never met and may be moved to help them.
How exactly do disasters become news? That is, how
does video coverage get from disaster zones to your
television, your computer or your phone? In hurricanes and
floods, warfare and terrorism, one of the first things to collapse
is communications. Sometimes the networks themselves are
damaged as when the 2011 Japanese tsunami wiped out
wired and wireless communications in the Sendai region
and sometimes they are simply overwhelmed by the number
of people trying to use them. Some catastrophes take place
far from any broadband connection or optical fibre line.
Since the 1980s, the solution to bringing news from the
worst places in the world has been satellite. It was in 1984
that an entrepreneur named Stanley Hubbard, a TV station
owner and member of SSPIs Hall of Fame, assembled a
team to create the worlds first satellite truck to deliver live
news from the field.
That innovation created a global industry, worth an
estimated US$1.2 billion today, now referred to as digital
newsgathering (DNG). It uses a mix of satellite, cellular
telephone, microwave and wired broadband to transmit news
from the field to the news center, where it is edited into stories
or put live on the air. The equipment rides on trucks or cars,
in suitcases or backpacks, and it makes reporters, wherever

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satellite news.pmd 36 18/01/2017, 11:13

 Satellite News Gathering....

the first reliable information from the field. It marshals the

concern and support of millions of people, who are moved to
donate online. Red Cross officials reported that they raised
US$488 million from the public for disaster relief in Haiti. When
the tsunami struck Japan in 2011, donations to the Red Cross
added $700 million to the massive disaster relief effort of the
Japanese government.
Robert Bell, Executive Director of SSPI

It also brings the realities of war, terrorism and disaster

in the world they may be, into integrated members of the
news team.
Trying to give context
Bringing us live coverage of terrible events is a tough job. On
September 11, 2001, executive producer Susan Zireinsky,
of the CBS news program 48 Hours, was tasked with
producing the primetime coverage of the first day and night
after the fall of the World Trade Center in New York City.
Especially on that day, she recalls, you were just going to
whomever had a piece of information. You were getting
cameras up, you were putting people in place, you were trying
to wrap your brain around it. You wanted to step back and
synthesize some of the information, which is what we were
trying to do. At that point, we thought there were many more
dead, and it was still a search-and-rescue mission. It was a
very, very complicated day to try to give context to.
When the infamous Capiapo mine collapsed in Chile, NHK
of Japan arrived early and stayed until after the rescue. Roger
Hawkins, President of the satellite services company Disaster
Truck, recalls working for the network. When the rescuers
completed a hole about 18 inches in diameter to send down
food and water, NHK sent down a video camera. We showed
the miners how to use it and for two and a half weeks, they
were able to interview each other and record messages for
their loved ones, who were waiting for them to be rescued.
The same video footage, transmitted by satellite, transfixed
people the world over.
into the homes of those lucky enough to be ignorant of all
three. That can make us feel less safe but can also unite us
in powerful ways.
When the United States pushed Iraqi forces out of Kuwait
in 2003, the world saw live coverage from the Bloommobile,
a satellite-equipped vehicle that NBC News put into the field.
It was named for correspondent David Bloom, who became
a household name by reporting on the move as tanks and
trucks rolled across the desert. Sadly, Mr. Bloom died of a
pulmonary embolism in Bagdad soon after those broadcasts.
Americas Iraqi mission began with live TV coverage and
ended the same way. NBC News put the Bloommobile back
in action in 2010 to cover the last US combat brigade as it
pulled out of Iraq. The motivation then was the same as it
was in 2003, according to David Verdi, Vice President of NBC
News. We asked ourselves what our audience expected from
us in our coverage of the conflict. The unanimous answer
was that our audience expects to see this war live.
The digital newsgathering toolkit has an ever-expanding
range of technologies to capture and deliver news to your
TV, computer or phone. When journalists need to bring you
that news from some of the worst places in the world, however,
only satellite is up to the task.
Sources: A NORSAT Case In Point Disaster Truck,
MilSatMagazine , September 2014. Electronic New-
Gathering, Wikipedia, September 23, 2016. For the Pullout,
NBC Dusts Off the Bloommobile, by Brian Stelter, The New
York Times, August 18, 2010. The SNG Market, by Virgil
Labrador, Satellite Markets & Research.
Photo courtesy P.Pengsopha/Shutterstock

Mr. Hawkins was also present after a 7.0 magnitude

earthquake struck Haiti in 2010. CBS did not have any
equipment of its own close enough to Haiti to rush to the
scene, so Disaster Truck got the call. After putting their
portable satellite terminal into place, however, they could not
find a generator to power it. The stakes were high. American
star journalist Katie Courec was due to arrive to handle the
reporting assignment, so Hawkins team wired up two Haitian
taxi cabs to produce enough power for the satellite terminal
and the camera. The coverage went live on schedule.

Uniting the world

Reporting live from the field does more than satisfy the idle
curiosity of viewers. In many terrible situations, it provides

www.satellite-evolution.com | January/February 2017 37

satellite news.pmd 37 18/01/2017, 11:13

 ....Telemedicine

Maritime
telemedicine
evolves

Keeping crew and passengers healthy and safe at sea is no simple task. When an emergency or
complex illness takes place at sea, medical experts are miles away, making treatment a
challenging task. Telemedicine has been practiced in one form or another for many years, but it is
only relatively recently that satellite solutions have become more popular for delivering medical
services at sea. Ghani Behloul, CMO at Marlink, outlines the complexities of delivering high
quality medical services at sea, and explains how Marlinks new Xchange Telemed service can
bring medical treatment to the next level.

According to an article published in International Maritime
Health[1], the average direct and indirect cost of a staff member
evacuation due to a medical emergency is approximately
US$180,000. But through the use of satcom telemedicine
technology, unnecessary helicopter evacuations or diversions
could be avoided by treating crew illnesses and injuries on
board with frequent follow-up by a remote doctor. In fact, its
estimated that as many as one in two vessel evacuations or
re-routings could be avoided with better medical data.
While the need to re-route a ship due to a medical
emergency is relatively rare, the costs should it happen
unnecessarily are somewhat prohibitive. This is especially
relevant considering todays challenging maritime business
climate, which is born out of the crisis in the energy markets
and low freight rates in the merchant markets.
Its interesting to note, that at least on the satcom side,
there continues to be significant investment by the global
shipping business even in the face of challenging times. This
is in part driven by satcoms potential to enable operational
efficiencies through the smart use of new technology and
digitalisation. Additionally, and despite the current financial
situation, smart shipping companies continue to be committed
to the welfare and sustainability of their most precious
resource their people.
While satcom has long played the role of the seafarers
link to friends and family on shore, today it is also being used
to ensure the health of crew members on board. Of course,
the use of telemedicine at sea is not completely new, or
indeed totally altruistic on the part of shipping companies,
considering the cost of a vessel re-routing or downtime of
crew members. However, it can help to improve comfort for a
sick or injured person on board, so it is a significant benefit
to persuade trained and professional crew members to either
join a company or stay with it.
Another key driver for the further development and uptake
of maritime telemedicine is helping shipping companies to
meet the recent Manila Amendments to the International
Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and
Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW) by IMO and the Maritime
Labour Convention (MLC) by ILO. The latter states that
employers must ensure that seafarers are given health
protection and medical care as comparable as possible to
that which is generally available to workers ashore, including
prompt access to the necessary medicines, medical
equipment and facilities for diagnosis and treatment and to
medical information and expertise. It is widely expected that
flag states and other regulatory bodies will soon enact
legislation mandating telemedicine explicitly.

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 Telemedicine....
New approach to telemedicine
Without telemedicine, the standard process when a person
falls ill on board is for the Health Officer to call either an in-
house or external Medical Assistance Center (e.g. public
service TMAS like CIRM or private providers). The doctor
would ask for medical information to establish a diagnosis
and advise a treatment based on limited information. To
transfer relevant medical data on the patient, the Health
Officer would have two options:
1) Dictate the medical readings and describe the
observations vocally, which can be imprecise and lead
to misunderstandings considering the potential for limited
medical vocabulary and the accents of non-native English
speakers; and
2) Send an email with the data as an attachment which is
common practice today although not legally permitted,
as it does not secure patient data. Moreover, this option
might not be available as most medical devices on board
might not be digital or could be unable to export medical
files to be transferred.
In the case of emergencies, doctors would be asked to
advise upon single obser vations and non-medical
descriptions provided by officers with only basic medical
training. Hence doctors may easily recommend evacuation,
which might turn out unnecessary in hindsight. In this respect,
providing the ability for doctors to see live video of the patient,
receive live data from medical instruments and have direct
access to secure medical records is a strong argument for
the use of telemedicine at sea.
All of these needs have driven the development of a new
type of telemedicine solution from maritime satcom service
provider Marlink. The company is already established as the
largest global maritime VSAT provider[2] but its work extends
into the development of solutions to support all areas of vessel
operations and life on board, including crew welfare. Marlinks
XChange Telemed service was launched at 2016s biggest
international maritime exhibition, SMM 2016. It is a fully
integrated solution that integrates on-board medical
equipment, the communications carrier, secure patient data
storage and a flexible web portal to be used with the medical
experts chosen by the customer. The system consists of the
following elements:
1) On-board Telemedical Station with fully connected CE
certified medical equipment, intuitive touch-screen user
interface and an HD camera. Equipment provided includes
electro cardiograph, blood pressure monitor, pulse
oximeter and one or several of the following options:
Otoscope, dermascope, stethoscope, ultrasound, eye
www.satellite-evolution.com | January/February 2017
telemedicine.pmd 39
analyser, dental examination camera, glucometer and
thermometer. All medical devices are fully connected with
automatic data transfer. Marlink has established a long-
term partnership with a European CE Medical certified
Telemedicine equipment manufacturer to create a
product specifically for the Maritime market. For example,
rather than using ECG lead stickers which are common
in hospitals, considering the humid climate on board
ships, ECG clips are used instead. Other criteria were
the resistance to the vessel environment (vibrations,
power cuts) and the avoidance of consumables.
2) Marlink Satellite and Service Management: Marlink has
optimised the efficiency and security of the patient data
transfer and live video conference over broadband VSAT
satellite. Video is the key improvement for remote
consultation at sea. In order to replicate a face-to-face
meeting with the doctor, the live video consultation feature
is very easy to access via the provided tablet computer.
Managed though the XChange service delivery platform,
the Telemed service is configured to take precedence over
other applications, to ensure high availability. Moreover,
XChange Telemed is suppor ted by Marlinks 24/7
Customer Care and Global Logistics organisation.
3) Shore Medical Portal: Via the full secure web portal,
doctors access the patient medical data transferred from
the vessel and participate in the live video conferences.
The portal includes a patient file management system,
which can include information from pre-boarding
interviews (e.g. allergies, family history) and medical
backgrounds. All patient medical data is stored according
to the strictest European medical authority standards. The
doctor responding to an urgent call can view both the
current medical data as well as the patient file including
previous examinations on one central platform. The
Medical Portal can be associated to the Medical
Assistance Center chosen by the customer; for instance,
a compatible public Telemedical Maritime Assistance
Service (TMAS) centre, or an appointed doctor or a
private medical organisation ship owners may already
have a long medical relationship with. The service is also
fully flexible should the Customer wish to change medical
assistance provider at a later stage.
Meeting maritime requirements
With XChange Telemed, the Health Officer would first use
the on-board station to establish medical measurements. All
medical data is then automatically synchronised to the Web
Portal and associated to the patient file. By the time the Health
Officer has called the Medical Assistance Centre, the doctor
would have already looked at both the transmitted data and
the patient file, including medical history. The doctor may be
39
19/01/2017, 18:19
 ....Telemedicine

able to advise a treatment right away or ask pertinent

questions in order to establish a diagnosis quickly.
Additionally, the doctor can establish at any time a live video
consultation with the vessel to see the patient first hand. The
video connection can also be used to guide the Health Officer
in his examination for instance, if he needs help to operate
one of the instruments.
The benefits of telemedicine at sea are quite clear. With
live video, medical professionals can act and advise almost
as if they were on board, ultimately securing the health and
safety of sick and injured crew members or passengers.
However, the maritime industry faces its own unique
challenges.
In regards to the economics of telemedicine at sea,
Marlink has developed a business model tailored to the
preferences of the maritime community. There is no upfront
investment on XChange Telemed and the monthly
subscription fee includes all components: On-board
equipment leasing, maintenance, 24/7 customer care
support, patient data hosting, web portal access for the
onshore doctors and the live video consultation platform.
During 2016, XChange Telemed was beta tested on
several vessels of different types, operating in different
regions, with a public medical centre. The overall feedback
from the doctors and vessel crew was very positive and has
allowed Marlink to understand how the service would benefit [1]The Business Case for Telemedecine; Int Marit Health
its customers and meet their business requirements. The 2013; 64, 3: 129135; C.Henny, K. Hartington, S.Scott,
XChange Telemed ser vice launching now includes A.Tveiten, L.Canals
adaptations and evolutions which were directly inspired by [2] Marlink has been rated the No.1 in maritime VSAT revenue
Marlinks customers and doctors feedback. market share in the COMSYS Maritime VSAT Report.

Photo courtesy Agenturfotografin/Shutterstock

40 www.satellite-evolution.com | January/February 2017

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Untitled-1 1 22/01/2017, 16:35
 ....Marketing the Satellite Industry
Photo courtesy of Shutterstock

Why we need to market the satellite

industry
The satellite industry is extremely effective in marketing itself internally. Satellite operators are
well-practiced at spreading awareness of their operations to end users, while technology
manufacturers know exactly how to raise awareness of new products and their capabilities to
those who would use them. However, when it comes to the satellite sector marketing itself to the
outside the world, there is a major shortcoming, which provides opportunities to competing
technologies to enhance their position in the market. Helen Weedon, PR Consultant at Radical
Moves PR, highlights the capabilities that satellite can offer to the world at large, and how we
might better market the industry to consumers on a global scale.

Satellite is amazing: It helps us
deliver TV, even from the remotest
corner of the world, it powers transport
systems and retail payments, enables
cellular backhaul, helps drivers find the
right route, and connects rural
communities to the Internet, to name
just a few of the many use cases. In the
midst of disasters, it is often the only
means of communication which can
work, and enables the emergency
services to do their job and get to
people in need.
Satellite is used by people across
the globe every single day. The problem
is that, for the most part, they have
absolutely no idea that the technology
they are using is powered by satellite.
In many cases, perhaps that doesnt
matter, however recent challenges such
as the World Radiocommunication
Conference 2015 (WRC-15), where
valuable satellite spectrum was at threat
of being given to the mobile industry,
makes me think that perhaps it is
important after all.
As an industry, we are often guilty
of preaching to the converted. The
satellite industry publications are full of
fantastic case studies and articles citing
the brilliance of satellite, and I am by
no means saying that should stop.
Indeed, it is certainly important for those

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 Marketing the Satellite Industry....
Helen Weedon, PR Consultant at Radical Moves PR
within the industry to hear about and
share these success stories. However,
telling the industry that satellite is
fantastic will almost certainly get an
overwhelming agreement from the
entire audience. Telling Joe Public that
satellite is amazing is a whole different
ball game altogether.
Why bother?
WRC-15 saw the entire satellite industry
hold its breath waiting to see its fate. A
lot of work had gone into ensuring the
story of satellite was told well. However,
imagine how much it could have helped
our case if, for example, the general
media had been full of stories about
services enabled by satellite
technology, particularly C-band. I would
also have liked to have seen the mobile
industry publications full of stories about
satellite technology. Okay, so they may
have been somewhat reticent to help us
make a case, but I believe that we
should be making more of an effort to
work with the mobile industr y, as
ultimately we need a resolution that will
work for both. Making our case with
them seems to be a valuable way for us
to easily explain why we need the
spectrum, but at the same time we need
to recognise their challenges too.
Of course, WRC is not the only
challenge facing the satellite industry.
As other communications networks are
improving, satellite is more and more
being considered the poor relation. Take
the world of Internet connectivity, for
example. People in rural communities
told that satellite is their only option
often feel that they are being given a
raw deal. Working for a client that
www.satellite-evolution.com | January/February 2017
marketing.pmd 43
delivers satellite broadband, I have
seen many a push back from people
who genuinely think that satellite is
simply not good enough for Internet. Of
course, a few years ago, they would
have probably had a good argument,
but high throughput satellites (HTS) can
provide fast, or even superfast
broadband across the globe. Indeed,
my client has many a happy customer
now getting a good service which is
enabling them to do their job, even in
the middle of nowhere. These stories
need to be told. This perception is
echoed across the globe and in any
number of applications where we know
satellite truly does have an important
role to play. The more it is seen as the
poor relation, the more people and
companies will be looking to other ways
of staying connected.
Telling the stories
The SSPI has started the ball rolling
with its Better Satellite World initiative.
If companies from across the world and
from any part of the chain were to get
involved, supplying interesting case
studies about how satellite has indeed
created a better world, that would surely
be a good starting point. However, we
then need to ensure that the message
and stories are getting out past the
satellite community. Getting out to the
general public to convince them of the
benefit of satellite could be tricky, but it
is important. One method would be to
use one of the biggest users of satellite
to help the broadcasters. I genuinely
believe that programming about
satellites and what they enable could
be fascinating if made and presented
well. With input from some of the major
players in the satellite community,
perhaps we could make that happen.
Getting the amazing stories being
collated out to the general media is
about finding the right angle. A
technology focused magazine, for
example, could well be interested in the
way in which satellite works. These
publications would generally also need
to see technology in action, such as a
demo of satellite broadband or a speed
test. In other cases, it may be a case of
leading with the human element of the
story, such as schools in Africa being
connected thanks to satellite.
Of course, social media can also
have a huge place to play here, but it
requires the stories being told from
players across the industry to really
capture the interest across the globe,
as well as a great deal of effort to build
17/01/2017, 18:26
that community.
Coming back to the challenge of
WRC, we need to be thinking about it
now and be nicely ahead of ourselves.
I would love to see honest roundtable
discussions between key players in the
satellite industry and their counterparts
in mobile. This could be done in
conjunction with both a satellite and a
mobile publication for write-up and
perhaps even streamed as a webinar.
Not only would this strengthen relations
between the two camps, but also give
us an opportunity to put our points
across way before the next meeting is
due. Who knows, with the right experts
in the room, there may even be some
great ideas to get to a suitable
resolution for all parties.
Inspiring the next generation
I have heard a great deal of talk about
the need to inspire the next generation.
That is absolutely crucial and
something that will make a huge
difference to the long-term growth and
survival of the industry, both in terms of
attracting new talent and of making
people entering other industries want
to use satellite technology.
The point I have made many times
about inspiring the young generation is
that we very much need a hands-on
approach. Yes, we should inspire them
with stories of what satellite can do, but
they will be far more inspired if they get
to press buttons and see things happen,
and that is true of primary school
children right up to university
undergraduates. One possibility is that
the satellite industr y could host
exhibitions aimed at that generation,
featuring exciting and thought-
provoking exhibits. Another vision could
see an old London double decker bus,
with satellite dishes on top and a whole
host of demos inside, be driven from
school to school to get pupils inspired.
Sharing the load
Of course, although some satellite news
does make it out into the more general
domain, very little has been done in a
concerted effort, and marketing beyond
our industry is something that is way
down on the list of priorities for most
people. Thats understandable as there
are always more immediate things to
action. Add to that the fact that it is an
enormous task and one that will not be
simple. However, if every satellite
company did a little, we would soon
make a massive collective noise and
maybe start to change perceptions.
43
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