Interviewed by Hartley Lesser, Editorial Director, SatNews Publishers
I recently had the enjoyable opportunity of chatting with Ken Wright, the President and Chief Operating Officer of Broadpoint Inc.
Hartley
Mr. Wright, Broadpoint may still be a new name to some in the industry. Can you give us a brief background?
Ken
Broadpoint was formed in the spring of 2007 through the integration of PetroCom, SOLA Communications and Coastel Communications. The company is built on three of the satellite communications industry’s pioneers and has a heritage dating back more than 25 years in cellular and satellite communications in the Gulf of Mexico. Broadpoint combines the considerable resources of its predecessor companies and adds an extremely aggressive campaign that offers a range of services to locations around the world. In short, Broadpoint is much more than the sum of the previous companies.
Hartley
How does it feel to be working with a “newer entity” such as Broadpoint?
Ken
Honestly, it is great. Broadpoint is a natural growth progression for any company that intends to lead this industry forward. The integration has given us a wealth of resources that Broadpoint is now using to take the innovative legacies of our predecessor companies to the next level. For example, PetroCom was largely known as the creator of the first offshore cellular network, which is still functioning and covers more than 100,000 square miles of the Gulf of Mexico. We have big plans for the coming year to advance our cellular services. We will offer our clients higher broadband speeds and are also exploring alternate wireless technologies, such as WiMAX, to increase our customers’ wireless connectivity.
Hartley
Why be involved with this integration?
Ken
When you examine the industry, you note how necessary it is to consolidate or partner up in order to compete effectively. As the combination of three of the industries’ most storied providers, we now have the capital and resources to be a major player. Specifically, it has allowed us to strengthen our current offerings without starting from scratch when we expand into new markets.
Hartley
Could you give us a rundown of Broadpoint’s current portfolio of products and services?
Ken
Broadpoint provides a comprehensive range of telecommunication services that leverage our satellite expertise. In the Gulf of Mexico, as I mentioned, we offer complete connectivity via satellite and over our GSM network. Through extensive roaming agreements, our network is also fully compatible with other GSM carriers across North America as well as internationally. Broadpoint also offers digital phones, Ethernet devices, wireless modems and voice and fax units to connect customers to our network.
Our satellite services provide coverage on land and sea over our own VSAT network, which happens to be one of the industry’s largest. We serve clients of all sizes in various locations with a range of antenna platforms that include everything from small-marine stabilized units to antennas designed for high-performance, high-speed, two-way broadband communications. Our always-on, fixed cost, broadband VSAT services are especially popular with clients in the maritime industry to support business operations and crew welfare applications.
A lesser-known area where our expertise plays an important role is in disaster recovery and emergency response. We have significant experience with organizations, including municipalities and law enforcement agencies, for these services. Our Flexible Emergency Response Unit can be deployed and activated within minutes and is fully equipped to handle all communications at an emergency response site, including wireless communication, Internet, VPN and remote access.
We have strong relationships with several government agencies, including the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency and the Harris County Texas Sheriff’s Department. The Sheriff’s Department, for example, has an Emergency Response Unit (ERU) and several trailers armed with our bandwidth on demand services that’s ready at all times for any mission. This allows the sheriff’s department to immediately deploy these trailers and set up instant control centers for a range of emergency situations, including a regional event such as a severe hurricane, or a localized event such as an industrial accident.
Our Antenna and Tower Specialties (ATS) division offers operation and maintenance services for both guyed and self-supporting towers in any industry. This includes tower specification design, antenna alignments, path peaking, relamping and cellular and microwave antenna installations, among others. ATS is invaluable in helping us maintain our own networks and provides an additional resource to our clients.
Hartley
I also understand Broadpoint has become involved with the broadcasting industry?
Ken
That is correct. In recent years, Broadpoint has leveraged its expertise in satellite applications to enter the national broadcast market with our UpLit division. UpLit is the only satellite communications provider in the Gulf South to offer complete video and telecommunications connectivity. To date, we have worked closely with COX Sports Television to broadcast all of the NBA New Orleans’ Hornets games and have provided back-up network connectivity for the City of New Orleans.
Hartley
Who are Broadpoint’s primary customers?
Ken
Our core base of customers are involved in the oil and gas exploration, drilling and production business, offshore and on land. Lately, we have been quite successful servicing companies in the global shipping industry. In addition, our disaster recovery services support various government agencies and emergency response organizations.
Hartley
How would you describe Broadpoint’s role in the industry?
Ken
Broadpoint is an innovation leader. We have the unique opportunity to invest in new technologies and service platforms while more established competitors are using legacy platforms. This allows Broadpoint to offer new and more efficient services.
I also see Broadpoint as the leader in complete, integrated satellite solutions. No other company offers the array of services that we do, and no other company has the raw technical talent of our employees. Further, these solutions are not just satellite-based, but span across related industries including antenna tower services, cellular broadcasting and various wireless communications networks.
Our goal is to be a true partner to our customers by providing fully integrated solutions as opposed to commoditized products and services. We are already demonstrating this by adding services and developing products both in advance and in concert with our clients’ needs.
Hartley
I imagine the many tasks associated with the integration of three companies are beginning to wrap up as you head into 2008—what’s next for Broadpoint?
Ken
Many of our customers are international in nature with international needs. Therefore, our priority right now is the successful launch of Broadpoint’s new international division. This is an area where the resources we gained during integration have been critical. We are in the midst of getting the international division up and running to expand penetration in our core markets, as well as position ourselves to seek out new areas and customers on a global level.
Hartley
What prompted the creation of an international division?
Ken
It really was a simple decision. The markets Broadpoint are active in are increasingly global. For example, oil and gas companies and maritime companies are no longer satisfied with having to find a different communications provider in each region they work in; we are growing our business to match the expanding reach of our clients. It will also allow us to go after new business opportunities around the world, independent of our current clients.
Hartley
What kind of services and products do you plan to offer international clients?
Ken
They’ll be similar to our current offerings. Initially, the international division will be heavily focused on meeting the satellite communications needs of the maritime industry with services. We expect our primary offerings to include always on broadband VSAT services to support data and voice communications. These include Internet, Intranet, VoIP, private backhaul, email and crew welfare services.
Specifically in the international markets, we expect a stronger focus on crew welfare. Worldwide, people are increasingly used to dealing with communications technology in their personal lives via the Internet and cell phones. We will provide that same level of access to our maritime customers through our satellite network, which in turn is an attractive benefit for maritime operators when they recruit crewmembers.
Hartley
What is Broadpoint’s outlook for 2008?
Ken
We are extremely excited for 2008. The integration efforts required much of our effort in 2007. With the New Year, and certainly with the launch of the international division, we are looking to expand our services and products and growing our business in our current markets and new ones.
Hartley
What do you see as the biggest growth opportunities in the industry?
Ken
International offshore oil and gas activities and global shipping will certainly be our largest growth opportunity. I believe the industry will note this opportunity, as well. Until now, most shipping companies have been using narrow-band, pay-per-minute/megabyte Inmarsat services, to the tune of 180,000 installations. Clearly, the demand for bandwidth is growing. Such makes Broadpoint’s always on, fixed monthly fee VSAT service incredibly competitive. In the next five years, 50,000 new shipping vessels are expected to hit the market. Each one of these will need communications tools and Broadpoint will be there to provide them with full-service solutions.
Ken Wright, P.E., serves as President and Chief Operating Officer of Broadpoint. Prior to joining the company, Mr. Wright served as President and Chief Operating Officer of PetroCom. Mr. Wright was active in the build out of the GSM/GPRS/EDGE network in the Gulf of Mexico as well as the launch of the broadcast video and teleport services business unit, UpLit, which continues to operate under Broadpoint.
Mr. Wright began his career in 1992 as a Communications Engineer with professional engineering company M S Benbow and Associates. He spent the next four years working in Indonesia as a consultant to Freeport McMoRan designing telecommunications systems for a new city created to support the company’s mining operations. Mr. Wright is a native of New Orleans and holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and an MBA from the University of New Orleans.
