The news in August that Inmarsat was entering the Ka- arena with a US$1.2bn dollar investment is a very positive development. Although the new I-5 constellation won’t be operational until 2014, the announcement that a major player in MSS was investing and looking to expand into new sectors gave the industry a boost and kicked-off a greater feeling of confidence in the latter half of the year. Vizada will be maintaining a close eye on the development of the new constellation and looks forward to the opportunities that it will bring for the industry and the end-user.

At Vizada Networks, we have had a busy year, having successfully launched two new services and been engaged in an intensive technology upgrade program. Based on a sophisticated iDirect foundation, Internet Start is an IP broadband access service with guaranteed CIR and statistical burst rate that is ideally suited for customers with variable bit rate demands. It’s a turn-key offering specially designed for small and medium businesses in Africa who need a high reliability, true low cost and predictable service for Internet access. Internet Pro is an evolution of the Company’s Taide Broadband services, which was introduced as a costeffective and truly scalable Internet trunking solution optimized for large ISPs, GSM operators and medium to large enterprises in Africa, Middle East, Europe and Central Asia. Both services have had successful introductions with feedback from customers proving positive overall.

The technology upgrade program is based on the Vizada Networks proprietary JanUX platform and has yielded several improvements in the system, including significant efficiency gains as well as operational improvements. The first customer installation is scheduled before the end of the year and we will be following the new technology’s progress very closely in 2011.

In addition, there has been a strong focus on Global Field Support Program, and have certified a significant number of field engineers this year, in addition to playing a part in Intelsat’s I3 program, which is designed to support the industry’s efforts in reducing satellite interference. In terms of customers and contracts, we’ve been employed to provide our services and solutions for a wide range of applications.

Highlights this year include major extensions within our corporate customer base, our continuing work with humanitarian organizations such as Oxfam and the signing of a framework agreement with the Norwegian Defense Logistics Organization, which we announced in May.

We’re looking forward to a year of industry growth in 2011. Most of the markets we are operating in are growing. This should continue and accelerate as the impact of financial turmoil is expected to decline. We feel the SATCOM market will continue to be strong. The coexistence with fiber in emerging markets will drive bandwidth requirement in terms of volume but also in terms of reliability, so as the access to bandwidth increases, the deployment of business critical applications will increase, as well. ViaSat is very well positioned to meet this demand.

From the Vizada Networks point of view, we’re eager to deploy our technology upgrade program across our existing customers’ networks, in order that they may harness the improved services that it enables. Likewise, we expect to see our Internet Start and Internet Pro services grow in regions where they have already been well received and to enter new markets where customers have demand for high quality IP broadband and internet trunking solutions. And of course, although still sometime before operational, 2011 will bring plenty of interest in what Inmarsat is accomplishing in the VSAT market.