SatMagazine (SM)
Please tell our readers about your Company’s business focus, and history, within the various European market segments.
Intelsat was created in 1964 to serve the requirement for international voice transmission. During that time, we established a strong relationship with all of the major European telecom operators—we are pleased to still count many of them as our customers today. We provide much more than voice connectivity these days, with our focus on meeting the growing demand in satellite communications from all of our media, network and government customers. This covers a wide range of applications, including DTH platforms in Eastern Europe, cellular backhaul, VSAT, maritime and aero applications.
SM
What European SATCOM sectors do you believe offer the most potential for Company growth and why?
Jean-Philippe Gillet
In the media business, the number of new DTH entrants in Eastern Europe and Russia offers a good opportunity for satellite operators. The growth of alternative distribution platforms, including DTT, IPTV and mobility, also provides opportunities.
In Western Europe, the increase in HD distribution and content delivery from Western Europe to other parts of the world provide the best opportunities for the satellite sector. On the network side, cell backhaul continues to be a steady business, and the growth in demand for mobile communications remains strong.
SM
How will the European markets impact global, as well as your Company’s business opportunities?
Jean-Philippe Gillet
European cable systems and DTH platforms attract content from around the world, and the globalization of European content drives business worldwide. We are able to support this two-way globalization with our satellite and terrestrial infrastructure. Take, for example, our Galaxy 19 multicultural programming platform. As Europeans migrate to other locations around the world, this drives the need for ethnic DTH programming. Our Galaxy 19 satellite, working with the IntelsatONE fiber infrastructure, delivers content from around the world to the United States, allowing consumers to enjoy content in their native language.
SM
What obstacles do you see facing your Company in the European market? How do you plan on overcoming such challenges?
Jean-Philippe Gillet
The continually shifting DTH landscape creates challenges for satellite operators in Europe. We will closely monitor the DTH eco-system and be prepared to offer flexible solutions. We need to also keep strengthening our relationships with key providers in this region. There is also the potential for a surge of capacity that could result in over-supply in Europe, so we will watch this closely.
SM
What new technologies/products will your Company be working on and/or releasing over the next few months that will drive additional business in Europe?
Jean-Philippe Gillet
Intelsat announced in June the Intelsat EpicNG platform, a high performance satellite platform based on an open architecture, designed to deliver carrier-grade, dedicated high throughput capacity to meet the growing bandwidth needs of our customers in all regions. It will combine our spectral rights with the technical advantages of spot beam technology and provide high performance capacity to our customers with an architecture that gives them a greater level of control and freedom of choice over hardware and service attributes, allowing more opportunity to develop new service offerings and grow their businesses.
Initially comprised of Intelsat 29e and Intelsat 33e, Intelsat EpicNG will use multiple frequency bands, wide beams, spot beams and frequency reuse technology. The Intelsat EpicNG satellites will provide four to five times more capacity than our traditional satellites. The expected throughput of the satellites will vary according to the application served and satellite, but is anticipated to be in the range of 25-60Gbps. Intelsat EpicNG will be complemented by Intelsat’s existing satellite fleet and IntelsatONE terrestrial network. The two satellites, which are expected to launch in 2015 and 2016 respectively, will serve all of the world’s populated continents.
The EpicNG satellites will bring increased capacity designed to support maritime, aero, enterprise network, cell backhaul, military and DTH applications.
About the author
Mr. Jean-Philippe Gillet is responsible for leading Intelsat’s sales effort in Europe and the Middle East. Prior to joining Intelsat in 2003, Mr. Gillet served for five years as Vice President, International Sales for Globecast North America (France Telecom Group). In that role, he was responsible for the strategy, development and sale of Broadcast Video Services to all international customers. Prior to that position, he served three years as Globecast’s Director of Sales for Europe, the Middle East and North America. Prior to his time with Globecast, Mr. Gillet served as Sales and Marketing Manager for France Telecom from 1990-1995. In that role, he was responsible for the sale of Broadcast Video Services in Europe and Video Services in Asia.