SM
Please tell our readers about your Company’s business focus, and history, within the various European market segments.
ORBIT Communication Systems, Ltd., a subsidiary of Orbit Technologies Ltd. (TASE: ORBI) was founded in 1950 as an Israeli cooperative association. In 1988, it became a public company traded on the Tel-Aviv Stock Exchange. Orbit is a leading provider of mission-critical communication systems and related services for both commercial and defense/government customers, addressing the application needs of satellite communications, Earth observation, and C4ISR. ORBIT has 60+ years of experience and more than 3,000 maritime systems deployed and operating worldwide.
A good portion of Orbit’s growth is fueled by the demanding operational requirements of commercial and naval vessels and their adoption of always-on broadband communication systems. In addition, existing and emerging global security threats are driving increased worldwide demand in the defense/homeland security market for remote sensing, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance solutions using intelligence assets, such as imaging satellites and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
SM
What European SATCOM sectors do you believe offer the most potential for Company growth and why?
Ofer Greenberger
Orbit serves two main markets...
– Commercial Market: Demand for mobile satellite communications has grown significantly, driven by two primary trends. First, the vast array of rich content and applications available over satellite networks (e.g., Internet access, enterprise resource planning connectivity, private networks, public clouds and television broadcasts) is creating demand for always-on connectivity. Second, end-user devices have evolved from voice-centric, or simple location tracking communication tools, into data-intensive productivity and entertainment tools. The current penetration of satellite systems into the maritime broadband market is low, accounting for about 10 percent of the market based on industry sources and is expected to increase at a rapid rate over the next five years.
– Defense Market: Existing and emerging global security threats are driving increased worldwide investment in C4ISR functions, which, in turn, transmit increased amounts of mission-critical data over satellite and other communications systems. Without the use of C4ISR equipment, even the most powerful military force will be tactically disadvantaged. As a result, the market for C4ISR systems is expected to be strong.
SM
How is your Company coping with euro fluctuations?
Ofer Greenberger
Orbit is a global player with customers in North America, Asia and Europe. Given our global sales orientation, we are less affected by euro fluctuations than companies selling only in Europe. In addition, Orbit’s supply chain is geographically diversified, which also serves to mitigate the effects of currency fluctuations in Europe.
SM
How will the European markets impact global, as well as your Company’s business opportunities?
Ofer Greenberger
A growing number of vessels, especially in Europe, are shifting from legacy narrowband satellite communications to broadband satellite communications, effectively addressing the limitations of the incumbent narrowband solutions. Orbit is well positioned to cope with this dramatic change, and our Maritime SatCom systems are widely deployed in the European market as well as in the global market. Orbit operates an extensive and diverse channel partner network in Europe that serves the local European market as well as the global market, due to the nature of the maritime business.
SM
What obstacles do you see facing your Company? How do you plan on overcoming such challenges?
Ofer Greenberger
The key business challenge in the Maritime SATCOM market is to find the “killer” application that will drive widespread adoption of broadband communication. Today, broadband is still considered by many as “cost critical.” The challenge is to identify the data-hungry applications that perform mission-critical functions and reduce costs. Such applications could increase operational effectiveness or enhance efficiency via intelligent analytics.
SM
What new technologies/products will your Company be working on and/or releasing over the next few months?
Ofer Greenberger
ORBIT recently launched the OrBand™ system in mid-2011, a compact C-band maritime VSAT system built specifically to overcome the limitations of traditional C-band systems. OrBand is differentiated from competing solutions by its extraordinarily small footprint, outstanding RF performance, strict regulatory adherence and support of multiple optional RF feeds—it is backed by EutelSat’s standard-M characterization and ANATEL’s homologation certificates.
The OrSat™300 is ORBIT’s latest innovation and is tailored to meet the high-speed, two-way broadband communications needs of the maritime market. The 1.15m (45”) system is built to support a wide range of configurations with different RF packages (Ku- or Ka- or X-) and BUC power levels, and complies with the most stringent environmental standards.
About the author
Ofer Greenberger joined Orbit in April 2012, bringing with him over 20 years of international business management experience within the hi-tech industry. Prior to joining Orbit, Mr. Greenberger served as President of KLA-Tencor (Israel) with business responsibility for more than $300M. He was responsible for Lithography Control within KLA-Tencor and for the KLA-Tencor organization in Israel. Mr. Greenberger joined KLA-Tencor in 2003 as division vice president. In 2005, Mr. Greenberger, while with the Israeli division, received the KLA-Tencor global award for strategic thinking and execution.