Even more than bridging the digital divide, it appears to IDATE the race to ultra broadband has become the next main challenge for satellite players, as the public and private sectors are moving towards this objective. Switch to superfast broadband is spurred by the rise of the digital home…which leads to increased demand for bandwidth.

High resolution commercial satellite imaging is now a sufficiently mature technology which can provide near-real time monitoring of a broad range of man-made land use and cover activities, and is an important geographical tool for the modern GIS professional.

Over my years in the broadcast and satellite industries I continue to see the usual, rather mundane approach to monitor and control and its operation. It has occurred to me that in the world of Network Management Systems (NMS, as such is now referred to) they are, in reality, far behind with their technology and thinking.

Jonathan Weintraub joined MTN Satellite Communications (MTN) in 2008 with the charge of expanding MTN’s business portfolio via entry into new market segments. He has spent his career advising and managing growing companies. MTN, recognized as the industry leader in maritime VSAT services for cruise lines and the luxury yacht market, has sharpened its focus to serve other verticals — commercial shipping, offshore energy, government, and aviation. Under Weintraub’s leadership, MTN has grown, and continues to aggressively grow its global infrastructure and portfolio of innovative products and services to meet customers’ communication needs worldwide and in diverse markets.

Are linear channels giving way to online, on demand content? Has the commoditisation of broadcast technology liberated a new generation of creative talent, or caused broadcasters headaches in standards, quality control and rights management? How can national cultural archives be conserved and made widely available? With the transition to HD only just under way, how can we consider new display standards like stereoscopic 3D?

Leonardi da Vinci is credited with stating... “Iron rusts from disuse; water loses its purity from stagnation... even so does inaction sap the vigor of the mind.” And that’s why the satellite industry embraces and attends trade exhibitions and seminars, to prevent idea stagnation and to learn about all of the new technologies that can assist and drive business to even greater heights.

Network and application infrastructure continues to get more complicated, with new technology advancements such as advanced web applications and a growing workforce of employees located in branch offices, tele-commuters, and mobile workers. Adding to this complexity are enterprise initiatives to centralize IT resources, while the decentralization of employees continues to increase. Just when you think you have it all figured out, something new is certain to come along.

There is no doubt that today we are facing a new and exciting way to consume TV content as interest in 3DTV is growing. This technology is currently spreading within the digital production and post-production arenas, and broadcasters are becoming concerned about how to distribute future 3DTV content to consumers through the various Digital TV platforms such as satellite, cable, IP networks and terrestrial.

Since the launch of Spacecom’s first satellite in 1996, the AMOS satellite constellation has provided connectivity to the growing markets of Central and Eastern Europe and the Middle East from its 4 degrees W orbital “hot spot” that links the U.S. East Coast, the Middle East and Europe via Spacecom’s single-hop Atlantic Bridge. With the AMOS-2 and AMOS-3 satellites for in-orbit redundancy and total service reliability, Spacecom continues to solidify its presence as an emerging global leader of satellite broadband services to Europe and beyond.

Over the past 15 years, much progress has been made among high power amplifier (HPA) manufacturers in the area of prime power to output power conversion, also known as conversion efficiency. These improvements have resulted in significant savings of electrical costs, as well as reductions of size and weight, and have been introduced in response to a market which is demanding any, or all, of multiple frequency capabilities, greater mobility, greener Earth stations and greater restrictions on electricity use. The most significant improvements have been made in traveling wave tube amplifiers (TWTAs), thus resulting in the continued popularity of the technology despite the advent of solid state power amplifiers (SSPAs) and subsequent improvements to those products since their inception.

Today, service providers are focused on building global networks, capable of delivering seamless and guaranteed connectivity that supports voice, data and video applications in any business, geographical or communications environment. This often requires hybrid networks that combine satellite, terrestrial and wireless infrastructure to provide end-to-end connectivity. It also means extending full terrestrial-grade connectivity to vehicles of all shapes and sizes that traverse the globe, and keeping them connected as they travel thousands of miles across multiple footprints, often without an onboard satellite technician.

Founded in 2003, Pactel International provides high-grade communications solutions for corporate and government clients throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Pactel’s particular specialty is in creating reliable networks for remote sites and rural locations across Australia, Indonesia, and the Pacific Islands.

From its rich heritage, Skyware Global is a new and dynamic player in the SATCOM space, offering OutDoor Unit (ODU) terminal equipment for Direct-To-Home (DTH), Consumer Broadband, and Enterprise VSAT applications in new ways that begin to bridge the digital divide between those with high speed cable/fibre/dsl access — and those without such access.

It has been the toughest of tough years for Dublin-based Solaris Mobile. CEO Steve Maine has had to struggle with a faulty S-band antenna on Eutelsat’s otherwise perfect W2A craft, then negotiate an insurance claim while at the same time conducting rigorous tests as to what portion of the mission could be salvaged.

There are clear benefits to providing training for customers before they are deployed in the field, particularly when using mobile satellite communications. Eric Jan Bakker looks at the advantages of Vizada’s NGO training programme.

If you want to make air traffic management more efficient, more reliable, and more environmentally sound, look up. That’s the conclusion of the latest white paper from the Space Foundation, Solutions from Space: Faster, Safer, Greener Commercial Aviation, which details how space technology is dramatically improving air traffic management.

Since the advent of satellite broadcasting, cost-effective operations and consistent, high-quality, viewer experience have continued to be the main priorities for content owners and producers. Technical advances including state-of-the-art video delivery products and signal transmission products continue to play a significant role in the improvement, evolution, and future of satellite broadcasting.

There is an increasing demand for broadcasters and service providers to more efficiently broadcast and transport audio, video and data content. Encoding of both video and audio is evolving to meet the varied quality needs of diverse networks and consumption styles.

When Image Media Farm (IMF) of Vancouver, British Columbia, was bidding to provide the media coverage for the Vancouver 2010 Torch Relay, they knew it was going to be a tough job. The flame was to visit more than 1,000 communities in 106 days. Although the flame would be transported by air to the northern most latitudes, the majority of the time would be taken up by a road trip from St. John’s Newfoundland, at the Eastern tip of Canada, to Vancouver on the Western coast — that’s a route of more than 20000 Km / 12000 Miles.

In 2008, former Pixar and Fox executive Simon Bax and Bill Tillson, President of Broadcast Cable Services, Inc., formed Broadcast Facilities, Inc. with the intent to acquire broadcast facilities throughout the U.S., Asia and Europe.

Rock band Dire Straits’ chorus “I want my MTV” became an international hit in 1985 and a spot on prognosticator of television’s global expansion. Two years later, MTV Europe was born. MTV Asia and MTV Africa followed soon thereafter in the 1990s — some of the earliest customized feeds focused on quenching insatiable viewer appetites for localized programming.

Today, satellite broadcasters are contending with a vastly diverse and complex set of media devices and distribution options. This new and dynamic environment, called Media 3.0, demands access, reach, and the flexibility to publish premium content and establish brand equity on any consumer device.

There has been recorded activity on the sites of Arqiva’s Teleports at Crawley Court in Hampshire and Chalfont Grove in Buckinghamshire for more than 1000 years – with both sites mentioned in the Domesday Book. But while the historic nature of the sites makes for good stories, it is what has happened over the past few years – and what will happen in the years to come – that will determine how the sites leave their mark in the history books.

For operators of IP trunking or Backhauling networks, profitability is a permanent challenge: one has to keep up with the ever increasing demand for IP traffic, cope with a limited supply of satellite capacity in regions where satellite services are most needed, and deal with eroding prices of competitive terrestrial services in other regions.