News Analysis

The Price of 'Free-to-Air' Satellite TV

by Bruce Elbert, President Application Technology Strategy, Inc.

with Michelle Elbert

Satellite TV is the biggest money maker for the overall satellite industry, creating investment, subscriber base and wealth. It rests on the solid revenue footing from a food chain that ranges from the end user paying for subscriptions to networks that collect from advertisers and affiliates like TV stations and cable systems. However, we are witnessing a new business model that provides a free service to end users who only need to buy reception equipment consisting of a dish with a digital set-top-box. This is not unlike C-band backyard dishes of the US from the early 1980s, before HBO began to scramble their signal.

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Of Exabytes, Petabytes and Terabytes: What the Millennial Generation Means for Satellite Service Providers

by Elisabeth Tweedie

Not too long ago when someone got on the internet the chances were it was to do email or to search for information. In other words communication was mainly one to one and users were primarily consumers of information. With a few exceptions these were not time sensitive pursuits and were heavily biased towards downstream communications. Not any more. Many users have become participants creating, sharing and commenting on content. This will come as no surprise to anyone with children in their teens or twenties, as this change in usage is being driven by them – the Millennial Generation. Accounting for 48% of the world population makes them numerically the most significant generation so whatever they do has an impact.

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PIPEs Financing: Filling the 2009 Cash Gap in the Satellite Industry

by Tom Watts, CEO Watts Capital Partners

The current credit crisis and global recession has pressured satellite industry balance sheets around the world. The question, "Will they run out of cash?" has been asked with increasing frequency about many satellite companies that just months earlier looked forward to seemingly bright futures. While the public equity markets and many sources of debt financing have closed to satellite companies, the market for PIPEs, or Private Investments in Public Equity, offers a potential solution. In fact, the PIPEs market already has been the financial savior of at least one high-profile satellite operator.

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Sirius Satellite Radio Staves Off Bankruptcy...For Now

Facing a US$ 175 million debt payment  Feb. 17, embattled US satellite radio operator, Sirius Satellite was bailed out by mogul John Malone of Liberty Media Corp. which has substantial interests in the leading satellite DT provider in the US, DirecTV and in the satellite broadband service, WildBlue. Sirius earlier announced that if it was unable to restructure its debt or come to an arrangement with a third party, it may have to declare bankruptcy. The Malone rescue was just in time and not only did it stave of bankruptcy for Sirius but a rival bid from DirecTV’s competitor, Charlie Ergen of Echostar, who has been buying up Sirius debt.

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A Stimulus Package for the Satellite Industry?

On February 17, 2009, US President Barack Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 into law which provides for a US$ 787 Billion economic stimulus package. Some of that money may filter to the satellite industry. Specifically, two items may be of interest to satellite companies-the US$ 7.2 Billion in grants to bring broadband internet service to rural areas and the US$ 1 Billion for NASA, which includes $400 million for space exploration.

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Thriving in the Teleport Business

Many industry observers are quick to note that the teleport business which has been undergoing considerable consolidation in the last few years is not as viable a business as it used to be. One relatively new entrant to the teleport business is trying to disprove the doubters.

 

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Challenges Facing the Teleport Sector

by Virgil Labrador, Editor-in-Chief

Los Angeles. Calif., February 2, 2010--The teleport business is a US$ 15 billion-a-year segment of the global satellite industry or roughly 15 percent of the industry revenues, according to the World Teleport Association (WTA). But no other segment of the industry has undergone so many changes as the teleport business in recent years . While the basic function of teleports remains to provide connectivity between the ground and the space segment, teleports have been providing many ancillary services that are constantly changing due to market demands and customer requirements.

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Reaching Out to the "Other 3 Billion"

by B.H. Schneiderman

Editor, Latin America

In these challenging economic times, it’s encouraging to know that there are still visionary companies that have ambitious plans aimed not at the most saturated, advanced countries but in the underserved developing countries. Denver, CO-based O3b Networks (registered in St. John, Jersey, Channel Islands) headed by Greg Wyler is one such company. Unlike other companies before that were high on ideals and low in practicality, O3b Networks, which stands for the "Other 3 billion," seems to know have a sound business plan to back up their lofty goals.

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Commercial Satellite Industry Set to Grow Even in Troubled Economic Times

New NSR Report Projects More than 1,500 New Transponder Leases in Next Ten Years, and Revenues to Hit US$12.9 Billion

With many industries around the world in the doldrums due to the current economic crisis, NSR's latest multi-client market research report released December 3rd, 2008 entitled the Global Assessment of Satellite Demand, 5th Edition, projects that the commercial satellite transponder leasing market should emerge relatively unscathed. This new NSR report provides the industry's most complete examination of commercial satellite supply and demand in all regions and for each application over the next ten years.

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160 MSS Satellites Will Launch by 2018 According to NSR

Mobile Satellite Services Sector Enters Heavy Launch Phase amidst Financial and Economic Uncertainty

"The next ten years will rival the heydays of the late 1990s for the MSS industry with the launch of up to 160 MSS satellites," stated Claude Rousseau, Senior Analyst for NSR and author of the report. "That total does not count the number of FSS transponders in C-, Ku- and X-band that will be also available to the mobile satellite market. However, despite positive launch and supply trends, the stakes have never been so high given the turbulence in global financial and economic markets, which may affect demand."

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