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Satellite ExSatellite ExSatellite ExSatellite ExSatellite Executive Briefecutive Briefecutive Briefecutive Briefecutive Briefinginginginging January 15, 2010 1

by Virgil LabradorEditor-in-Chief

Cont Cont Cont Cont Contentsentsentsentsents (Continued on page 4)

Vol. 3 No. 1 January 15, 2010

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From the EditorOpinion ColumnsMarket TrendsFeatured Event: PTC 2010Vital StatisticsSatellite Markets 25 Index

3 11 14 16 18 19

by Elisabeth Tweedie

(Continued on page 8)

At the beginning of 2008 Carlsbad, CA-based equipment manufacturer ViaSatstartled the world with the announcementof ViaSat-1. Startling not only because ofthe capacity of the satellite, announced at100Gbps, (but now increased to 125Gbps)represented a ten fold increase on existingKa-Band satellites, but also because ViaSatwith no operating experience was planningto enter a market dominated by two majorplayers: WildBlue and Hughes. These twooperators currently have just under onemillion subscribers between them.

In 2009, ViaSat made another surprising, butvery logical move, when in October itannounced that it would acquire WildBluefor $568 million. Or maybe not sosurprising; from the beginning Viasat CEOMark Dankberg had indicated that ViaSat 1would provide wholesale services and hewould be happy to have WildBlue (a currentcustomer) as a retail service provider.Couple this with the fact that Tom Moore,President of ViaSat-1 - and from the end ofDecember now President of WildBlue again- was one of the co-founders of WildBlueand its President and CEO until 2005 andremained on the Board until he joined ViaSatjust after ViaSat-1 was announced andsuddenly the move doesn’t seem sosurprising after all.

WildBlue meanwhile was busy being toosuccessful and upgrading its ground

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The satellite industry, or at least theoverwhelming majority that were still

in business or were still employed at thestart of the new year, breathed acollective sigh of relief for havingsurvived 2009--one of the worstyears since theGreat Depressionof the 1930s.The industry cantake heart thatnot only has itsurvived 2009--ithas gone throughan entire decadein a betterposition than itstarted.

It will be recalledthat the first decade of the newmillennium was anticipated with a lot ofpromise but actually started with adownturn caused by the telecom andinternet bust of 2000-01. That led to a“back to the basics” approach taken bymany satellite companies concentratingon their core businesses and focusing ontheir anchor markets for satellite servicessuch as the video and broadcast market.

The first decade of the new milleniumwas bookended by two major downturns

3-D technology has been the buzz inrecent trade shows including theConsumer Electronics Show (CES)last week in Las Veagas.

and saw a lot of consolidation amongsatellite companies that made a few a lotbigger and lessened the number of smallercompanies and start-ups. The amazingthing is that despite the fact that four ofthe last ten years were marked bydownturns in the economy as a whole, thesatellite industry grew consistently at an

average annual rateof 7-10 percentduring the 2000s.C o n s o l i d a t i o nmade some verylarge companieslarger but it alsodid not renderextinct smallcompanies thatcontinued to thriveinto this newdecade.

So what can weexpect from the

new decade of the 10s or the “teens”?

I think the name of this new decade mightbe the key to its development. The real

Gilat Satellite Networks

Gilat Satellite Networks is a leading provider of satellite communications products, services and solutions. For over 20 years, Gilat has been at the forefront of VSAT technology and continues to be an innovator and developer of new satellite technologies. Gilat’s solutions serve the communications needs of carriers, enterprises, governments, service providers and consumers around the globe.

Gilat’s SkyEdge™ and SkyEdge II platforms provide added value to operators and service providers through excellent performance, integration and easy deployment, enabling the effi cient delivery of broadband data, voice and video services. The newest addition to Gilat’s SkyEdge II portfolio is NetEdge™, a dedicated solution for multi star networks, specifi cally designed to meet the needs of corporations and cellular backhaul applications.

For more information, please visit www.gilat.com.

• Corporate HQ (972) 3 925 2000 • Australia (61) 3 9866 6877 • Brazil (55) 21 2142 6600 • China (86) 10 6787 5857 • Colombia (57) 1744 9494 • India (91) 120 4670600 • Indonesia (62) 21 526 7670

• Kazakhstan (7) 7272 596575/7 • Mexico (52) 55 110 016 00 • North America (1) 703 848 1000 • Russia (7) 495 981 0965 • South Africa (27) 12 344 0240 • Thailand (66) 2 634 1780 www.gilat.com

The Gilat logo and SkyEdge are trademarks of Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. or its subsidiaries. This brochure is being provided for informational purposes only. The details contained in this document, including

product and feature specifications, are subject to change without notice and shall not bind Gilat to a specific product or set of features related thereto. DVB is a registered trademark of the DVB Project.

Boundless Experience in Satellite Communications

Satellite markets ad_1209.indd 1 17/12/2009 16:32:36


Vol. 2 No. 5 April 1-15, 2009

IndustrIndustrIndustrIndustrIndustry y y y y TTTTTrrrrrendsendsendsendsends,,,,, Ne Ne Ne Ne News ws ws ws ws AnalAnalAnalAnalAnalysisysisysisysisysis,,,,, Mar Mar Mar Mar Markkkkket Intelliget Intelliget Intelliget Intelliget Intelligence and Opporence and Opporence and Opporence and Opporence and OpportunitiestunitiestunitiestunitiestunitiesEDITORIAL STAFFVirgil [email protected]

Peter I. GalaceEditor, [email protected]

Howard GreenfieldContributing Editor, Europe, Middle Eastand Africa (EMEA)[email protected]

Contributing Editors:

North America: Bruce Elbert, Dan Freyer,Robert Bell, Elisabeth Tweedie,Lou Zacharilla, Tom Watts

Latin America: B. H. Schneiderman

Europe: Martin Jarrold, Roxana Dunnette

Asia: Tom van der Heyden

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A New Decade

© 2010 No part of this publication may bereprinted or reproduced without prior writtenconsent from the publisher.

From the Editor

AAE System..................................18www.aaesys.com

Application Technology Strategy.....4www.applicationstrategy.com

Gilat Network Systems.....cover & 2 www.gilatnetworks.com

ND SatCom..................................20 www.ndsatcom.com

PTC 2010.......................... ...17 www.ptc.org/ptc10

The SpaceConnection.............6 www.thespaceconnection.com

The Satellite Guide.................9www.satellitemarkets.com/node/34

W.B. Walton Enterprises.........7 www.de-ice.com

Adver Adver Adver Adver Advertisertisertisertisertisers’ Indes’ Indes’ Indes’ Indes’ Indexxxxx

The atellite industry can take heart in getting through not just another year, albeit a very difficult one, but another decade.

With most indicators pointing toward a recovery this year andthe recession finally behind us--the prospects for this new decadeare very encouraging indeed.

We at Satellite Markets and Resarch have also reached a major milestone inour evolution as we face our third year of operation in 2010. We believe thatwe have reached a critical mass in terms of subscribers, sponsors and partnersthat will carry us through this new decade. Our unique offering of analysisand research delivered in multimedia formats at no cost to our readers isobviously meeting an unserved demand among the decision-making segmentsof the industry.

A unique feature of our service is that all our editors and contributors areexperienced analysts and consultants that have extensive hands-on industryexperience. We have been through some of the things you are going throughnow with your business. We strive to provide balanced, objective informationand analysis that can be used to improve our readers’ bottom line. We’vemade some important changes to our format and content over the years andwe will continue to do so in the years to come with your feedback and support.

In behalf of all our staff and contributors, I would like to take this opportunityto thank you all our readers, subscribers, advertisers and partner organizationsfor helping us get to this point. For our part, we will endeavor to continue toprovide you with actionable market intelligence and help identify the keytrends and opportunities in this exciting industry.

Satellite ExSatellite ExSatellite ExSatellite ExSatellite Executive Briefecutive Briefecutive Briefecutive Briefecutive Briefinginginginging January 15, 20104

Trends to Watch...from page 1

Cover Story

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teens or teenagers of the 90s and the2000s who grew up in those decadeswill now join the workforce or arestarting to move up the ladder. Therewill be a lot more teens coming up inthis decade who have never read anewspaper or anything printed for thatmatter. This 18-35 demographic willbe driving demands on the telecominfrastructure with the mantra of gettingbroadband access “anytime, anywhere”and at blazing speeds. What this meansfor the satellite industry is that thedemand for bandwidth will onlycontinue to increase in the comingdecade which would translate into moredemand for satellite services andproducts.

I hesitate to make predictions but it’s asafe bet that bandwidth demand willonly increase in the coming decade notonly for the consumer sector but forother sectors such as the governmentand military.

One thing we learned from the mostrecent downturn is that study after studyaffirrmed that consumers worldwidestick to their cell phones and internetservices even in hard times. Amongother neccesities, consumers ranktelecom and broadband services highamong their priority list. Studies showthat most consumers would turn offtheir cellphones and internet last amongother utilities.

I’ve compiled a list of key trends towatch in this new decade that willimpact on the satellite industry. It willbe interesting to see them unfold.

Convergence, Mobility and Lots andLots of Bandwidth

The 1990s and 2000s were full ofbuzzwords like “convergence” and“triple play” and even “quadruple play”(video, audio, data and voice). The 10swill most likely see these buzzwordsturn closer to reality. With over 3Billion mobile phones in the world

today reaching over 50% of the population--consumers are demanding morefunctionalities to their handheld devicesthat will only drive more bandwidthdemand.

In the broadcast market, the 2000s saw therise of High Definition (HD) TV which isnow in about half of US homes. HD,together with will likely be the standard forbroadcasts in new decade just as colortelevisions replace black and white sets inthe 70s.

Lately the buzz has been 3-D technologyin major trade shows such as IBC inAmsterdam in September and theConsumer Electronics Show in Las Vegasto start off 2010. The success ofblockbuster movies such as Avatar hasfuled interest in 3-D technology and majorcompanies such as Sony, Toshiba andPanasonic have announced ambitious plansto launch 3-D TV sets commerically in late2010.


But the jury is stil out on 3-D technology.3-D was first developed in the 1950s andrecently reintroduced to consumers. Insome trials such as during a DallasCowboys NFL game in December, fansweren’t that enthusiastic. The maindrawback to 3-Dtechnology are the glassesyou have to wear in orderto view 3-D, whichviewers foundcumbersome andobtrusive. A technologythat will allow 3-D viewingwithout glasses is still in anascent stage ofdevelopment.

With consumers havingjust invested in new HDsets in the last two years, itwould be a hard sell tohave them switch to anexpensive 3-D set in thenext few years. What wewill likely see in the nextdecade is that HD will takeoff to near ubiquity in thefirst few years while 3-D,if it does overcome sometechnical and market issuesstarting to take root in the second half ofthe decade. If 3-D does not take root,however, there is always Ultra-HD (withup to 5 times the quality of HD) whichis starting to gain inroads.

Watch the Commercial Space Market

Changes are in the offing in the way theUS government approaches theexploration of space. The new Obamaadministration has charted a course ofrspace exploration that will emphasizethe use of commercial companies andencourage private investment in space.

One satellite launch company hasalready benefitted from this policy. El

Segundo-Calif.-based Spacex received areported $1.6 Billion contract to transportcargo to the International Space Station.

With the dramatic technologicaldevelopments from the private sector in

recent decades--it just make more sense toprivatize space exploration. With morecontracts going out to private companies,space could do what the military andgovernment markets did to the satelliteindustry in the last decade. Space can be amajor market segment for satellite productsand services.

Opportunities for the satellite industry maycome from an unexpected segment of thecommercial space sector. WhenSpaceshipOne won the X-Prize severalyears ago for successfully demonstratingthe viability of commercial space travel,analysts were predicting that commercialspace travel can do for other industries what

the introduction of air travel did duringthe early part of the last century. Theywere saying that commercial spacetravel will give rise to many alliedindustries and revive the sagging partsof the aerospace sector. I fully

subscribe to thisview, except that itwill take longerthan than the nextdecade forcommercial spacetravel to reach acritical mass. Atthe unveiling of theSpaceship2 (SS2)spacecraft in theMojave desert lastm o n t h , V i r g i nG a l a c t i cannounced that itwill launch its firstcommerical serviceby the end of 2010.Virgin Galactic isprojecting that itwill have 500passengers whowill pay $200,000each for the two-hour flight during

their first year of operation and 50,000passengers within 10 years.

Not exactly overwhelming numbers,but the development of commercialspace travel will no doubt spur someancilliary benefits to the satelliteindustry. For one, there will be somecrossover technology that the satelliteindustry can share and develop togetterwith the commercial space sector. Weare already seeing a direct impact onthe satellite industry of VirginGalactic’s foray into space tourism. InJuly 2009, Virgin Galactic signed a$280 million deal with Abu Dhabi’sAabar Investments for a 32 % stake intheir company. The investment is

Sir Richard Branson, CEO of Virgin Atlantic posing in frontof Spaceship2 (SS2) during its unveling last month. SS2 isscheduled to fly its first commercial mission in late 2010.

Cover Story


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United States

10530 Victory Blvd.North Hollywood, CA 91606 USATel. +1-818-754-1100 Fax +1-818-754-1108e-mail: [email protected]

103 Carnegie Center 3rd Flr. Suite 321Princeton, NJ 08540 USATel. +1-609-955-3338 Fax +1-818-754-1108

Canada

1601 Telesat Court, Section B-107Ottawa, Ontario K1B5PA CanadaTel. +1-800-565-1471 Fax +1-613-742-5650

Mexico City

Torres Esmeralda IIBlvd. Manuel Avila Camacho 36,Flr 10 y 12Col. Lomas de Chapultepec,Del. Miguel HidalgoMexico D.F., C.P. 11000Tel: +52 (55) 9171 1725Fax: +52 (55) 9171 1699

earmarked for development of arocket that wil launch small satellitesinto orbit. That makes for a veryinteresting launch services market inthis new decade that alrady has seensome competition from start-upcompanies such as Spacex.

The Emergence of “BRIC”Countries

The global economic has seen in thelast decade the emergence of the so-called “BRIC” countries of Brazil,Russia, India and China. Theemergence of these countrieseconomically has led to theirassertion of their new foundinfluence into the space sector.Russia, which had a colorful rivalry

with the US during the cold war hasthree major satellite operators:Intersputnik, Russian SatelliteCommunications Company (RSCC) andGazprom Space Systems. That’s twomore than the US which legally has onlyone satellite operator--SAT-GE,although it could be argued that Intelsatwhich has its major operations andcorporate headquarters in Washington,D.C. is a US-based company (Intelsatis a Bermuda-registered company.)

China and India accelerated their spaceprogram in the last decade with mannedspace missions and announced plans toland missions to the moon and Mars inthis new decade. With US exportcontrol restrictions still in effect,Chinese and Indian companies havebeen slowly gaining market share in the

satellite manufacturing and launch servicessector. China and India are also positioningthemselves as low-cost alternative to the majorproviders based in the US andEurope.

Brazil is also emerging as a space power.Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio de Silvarecently announced that it plans to launch itsown satellites by 2012 in the sprawling launchfacility their are building in Alcantara in theAmazon region. Brazil is forming a joint-venture with a Ukranian company for launchservices.

Watch out also for the tiny country of Israel.Israel has a vibrant space sector with manyservice providers and manufacturers. Theyare particularly strong in the defense sector.The Israel-based satellite operator, AmosSpacecom will be launching satellites in the

Cover Story


Virgil Labrador is theEditor-in-Chief of SatelliteMarkets and Researchbased in Los Angeles,California. He is the author

of two books on the satellite industry andhas been covering the industry for variouspublications since 1998. Before that heworked in various capacities in the industry,including a stint as marketing director forthe Asia Broadcast Center, a full-serviceteleport based in Singapore. He can bereached at [email protected]

next few years that will give it completeglobal coverage, joining an exclusive clubof only a handful of operators with trueworldwide coverage.

Going Green

Although not exactly wht you may call a“smokestack” industry- the satellite industryis renowned for its breakthroughtechnologies such as solar panels and long-lasting lightweight batteries that providepower for satellites in space for up to 20years. The industry however is growingmore conscious of its responsility for theenvironment, thanks in part to efforts byindustry associations such as the WorldTeleport Association (WTA), the SSPI andthe GVF among others (se article by LouZacharilla on page 12). Look for moreefforts to make satellite service providers onthe ground more environmentally-friendly.

Conclusion

The preceding list of trends are by no meansexhaustive. The trends are not meant to bepredictive of events or outcomes but merelya guide to where things may be heading andwhat opportunities may arise as a result.

Apart form saying that the satellite industrywill still be here in 2020, there is really nocertainty on what could happen between thenand now. The satellite industry has alwaysbeen dynamic in the midst of changingconditions. Alan Kay, a renowned computer

scientist, perhaps said it best: “The bestway to predict the future is to inventit.” So to be certain of the future, onecan develop a new product or solution

and in the process make one’s owndestiny.

Cover Story


Feature

Broadband Stimulus Funds...from page 1

equipment in order to increase capacityin certain beams, leasing capacity onAMC-15 and also looking for means tofund a second satellite. So fromWildBlue’s point of view, a potentialgiant competitor who was threatening toseriously undercut consumer broadbandpricing has been eliminated and if allgoes according to plan it will have a nextgeneration satellite early in 2011, a yearahead of Hughes. Meanwhile fromViaSat’s point of view, it now has anexperienced operator – WildBluewas named “Broadband Operatorof the Year” at Satellite BusinessWeek earlier this year - as part ofthe team, gateways and access to awell established distributionsystem. I think that is what isknown as “win-win” situation.

The ViaSat-WildBlue move waswell publicized and details can befound on both companies’websites. There have howeverbeen several other less publicizedstrategic moves in the satellitebroadband world. These are thepartnerships that have been formedin order to apply for funding underARRA (American Recovery andReinvestment Act).

Under this Act $7.2 billion wasallocated to provide broadband forunder and unserved areas, $2.5 billionis to be distributed under the auspices ofRural Utilities Service (RUS) of theUSDA. This program is known as BIP(Broadband Initiatives Program). $4.7billion is to be distributed by the NTIA(National Telecommunications andInformation Administration) and theirprogram is known as BTOP (BroadbandTelecommunications OpportunitiesProgram).

Over 2,200 applications seeking over$28 billion in funding were received inthe first round which closed in August.Interestingly the major telcos werenoticeable only by their absence. Thelarge volume of applications causeddelays in the approval process but thefirst awards totaling $182.7M wereannounced on December 17th. $173Mof this is for middle and last mileprojects. Approximately one third of theawards came from the RUS. Given that

the magnitude of the awards is relativelylow it is hardly surprising that none ofthe awards announced so far involvedsatellite communications. However itwas originally stated that up to $4 billionwas to be awarded in this round, so wecan expect more announcements in thecoming weeks.

Originally it was intended to have threefunding rounds, but this has now beenreduced to two, but as yet there is no datefor the beginning of the second. The

RUS and NTIA issued a joint RFI(request for information) seeking publiccomments on issues relating to the firstround. These comments had to besubmitted by 11/30, so presumably thedates and procedures for the next roundwill not be announced until commentshave been considered. The four majorsatellite contenders (Echostar, Hughes,ViaSat and WildBlue) submitted jointcomments in response to this RFI. It isstill intended to award all funds by

September 2010.

Between them, ViaSat, WildBlueand Echostar and Hughes appliedfor just over $1.8 billion infunding. The level of detailsupplied in the summaryapplications varies considerably.

ViaSat joined forces withEchostar and submitted anapplication under the imaginativename of Satellite BroadbandARRA Application LLC. Thiswas to fund ViaSat-1a. Theapplication states that the designof the satellite which will have a15 fold capacity increase overexisting satellites (ViaSat-1 wasannounced at more than 10 fold)has been completed, amanufacturing contract is inplace and the satellite has been

fully licensed with the FCC. ViaSat-1ais intended to provide service to 20 states,mainly west of the Mississippi, including15 of the 18 with lowest populationdensities and 7 of the 11 with the lowestprimary health care shortage. Thecompanies requested funding from BIP(a loan of $276M and a grant of $207M)or BTOP (a grant of $415M). Four levelsof service are proposed ranging from alifeline service of 1Mbps down and512kbps up costing either $8.75 if funded

ViaSat, WildBlue, Echostar and Hughesapplied for just over $1.8 billion in fundingfrom the American Recovery andReinvestment Act which aims to broadenbroadband access in rural areas. (photocourtesy of WildBlue)


The Satellite Technology Guide for the 21st Century

by Virgil S. Labradorwith chapter contributions fromJohnM. Puetz, DC Palter and DanielB. Freyer.

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The Satellite Technology Guide for the21st Century clearly explains in non-tech-nical terms the basics of satellite commu-nications technology and how it works.This book also provides a historical back-ground of the industry, its current status,market prospects, trends and the futureof satellite communications.

Fully illustrated with graphs and tables, the book con-tains appendices including a glossary of terms and alist of industry resources.

Chapters include: A Brief History of the Satellite Com-munications Industry; Overview of the Satellite Com-munications Industry; The Basics of Satellite Commu-nications; The Space Segment; The Ground Segment;Satellite Services; VSATs; Satellites and the Internet;The Future of Satellite Communications.

An indispensable guide to the basics of satellite tech-nology and the global industry. No other book in themarket today provides a more comprehensive view of

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by BTOP or $13.75 a month if fundedby BIP to a T2 Plus service providing6Mbps in both directions. Subscriberprojections provided in the summaryapplication project just over 1 millionhouseholds, 124,000 businesses and10,000 strategic institutions by 2016.Costs are calculated at $114 per un/underserved home passed and $350 perhome served.

Echostar had another dance partner andalso submitted an application withWildBlue. This went under thesomewhat more creative name ofEchoBlue Rural Broadband. Echoblue’ssatellite would have the capacity to serveover 1.5 million subscribers in the 48contiguous states and provide speeds ofup to 15Mbps down and 5Mbps up.Infrastructure costs work out at less than$35 per rural unserved home passed andless than $366 per home served. Theapplication was filed with BIP andrequested a grant of $130 million and aloan of $400 million.

Both Echostar and WildBlue alsosubmitted smaller independentapplications to provide immediateservice. Echostar asking for $100million split equally between a loan anda grant. It appears that the applicationis to BIP in the first instance, with arequest to BTOP if BIP rejects theapplication. Under this programEchostar will use unused capacity onAMC 15 and 16 to serve approximately100,000 households. In a secondapplication for $28 million Echostarasked for a grant from BTOP for atraining and equipment program toincrease awareness and availability ofbroadband. WildBlue submitted twoBTOP applications both for $15 millionto provide education, training and


subsidized equipment in CO, WY andAZ. For both these applicationsWildBlue partnered with OneEconomy.

Since all these applications weresubmitted before the announcement ofViaSat’s purchase of WildBlue, bydefault ViaSat now has an interest inprojects totaling over $1 billion – asdoes Echostar.

Although Hughes and WildBluesubmitted joint comments prior to thesubmission of applications, there wereno joint applications from the twocompanies; Hughes submitting threeapplications on its own. Two of thesewould provide service on the existingSpaceway satellite subsidizingequipment, installation and subscriptionfees. Reading the summaryapplications it is hard to see (but muchis blacked out) if the offering differs inany way from the standard Spacewayservice. There is however in bothapplications a reference to a pool ofservice credits to be applied on a stateby state basis in proportion to thenumber of terminals provisioned underthe program. The application filed withBIP is for a grant of $74 million and aloan of $76 million, and the one filedwith BTOP is for a grant of $398million.

The third application is with BTOP andis for $101 million for a next generation100Gbps satellite providing downloadspeeds of 5 to 20Mbps. This is the samesatellite that Hughes announced in Junegiving a launch date of Q1 2012. Sinceone of the criteria for approval is thatan applicant has to demonstrate that theproject wouldn’t be completed in thetimescale (3 years) without federalfunding Hughes must feel they havesome pretty convincing reasons why

two months later the launch datecouldn’t actually be met. Customersfiled a lawsuit against Hughes in Juneof this year alleging that broadbandspeeds received were much slower thanpromised. It remains to be seen whetherthis will have any impact on theirapplication or those of the other satelliteapplicants.

Spacenet submitted applications totaling$86 million for grants to provide servicein MT, TX, CO and ID from existingsatellites. There were also several otherrelatively small applications includingone for $37 million from SkyTerra forhandheld equipment for public safety.

Two applications for new satellites camefrom relatively unknown companies.One was from AtContact who are askingBIP for a loan of $286 million to buildStimUSAt to serve the 48 contiguousstates. AtContact was founded by DavidDrucker (co-founder of WildBlue) andtherefore cannot be ignored. The secondapplication came from NativeBroadband Satellite who are seeking agrant of $221 million to provide servicein Alaska and Hawaii. Strangely thereis no summary of their applicationavailable. Native Broadband’sApplication lists an email address atCouncil Tree Investors who show AlaskaNative Broadband as one of theirportfolio. Alaska Native Broadband wasformed as joint venture with Cricket and

Elisabeth Tweedie has over 20 years experience at the cutting edge of newcommunication and entertainment technologies. She is thefounder and President of Definitive Direction a consultancythat focuses on researching and evaluating the long termpotential for new ventures, initiating their development andidentifying and developing appropriate alliances. During her10 years at Hughes Electronics she worked on every acquisitionand new business that the company considered during her timethere. www.definitivedirection.com She can be reached at:

[email protected] +1 310-292-0755 or +44 (0)7768 610574.

Feature

acquired PCS licenses in 9 markets.Cricket subsequently acquired thesubsidiary of ANB that held the licenses.Council Tree have not responded to myrequest for more information about NativeBroadband Satellite.

Conclusion

Obviously not all and maybe not any ofthese applications will be funded so it willbe interesting to see how enduring thesenew alliances prove to be.

Artist conception of ViaSat-1sceduled to be launched in 2011.With a announced capacity of a125Gbps, the satellite representsa ten fold increase on existing Ka-Band satellites. (image fromSpace Systems/Loral)


Opinion

Robert Bell is Executive Director of the WorldTeleport Association, which represents the world’smost innovative teleport operators, carriers andtechnology providers in 20 nations. He can bereached at [email protected]

The Year of Living Dangerously” is a great 1983 filmby Australian director Peter Weir about an Aussiejournalist (played by Mel Gibson) covering political

turmoil in Indonesia during the reign of Sukarno. He getscaught up in the chaos of an abortive Communist revolutionand manages to escape, barely, with his life.

The movie came to mind when I was asked to write aboutthe past year and the year ahead. Starting in late 2008, theGreat Recession rolled across the economic landscape ofthe industrialized nations like a tidal wave, bringing theglobal financial system to the brink of collapse, destroyingjobs and torching real estate markets. But if you were inthe satellite business, it was less like a tidal wave and morelike whitecaps whipped up by a stiff breeze. Euroconsultpegged 2008 revenue growth for GEO satellite carriers at11% and forecast in September 2009 that the world willbuild and launch nearly 1,200 satellites in the next 10 years,50% more than the last decade, for everything fromcommunications and science to military and meteorologyapplications. NSR expects transponder leasing to grow 4%per year over the next decade, led by video distribution andDTH, cellular backhaul, Internet access and mobile satelliteservices. Spacecraft in orbit are not the whole industry –not by a long shot – but they signal its direction.

And it doesn’t sound so bad, does it? Yet when you talkedto people this year, it was all worry all the time. Companiesmade preemptive cuts to costs, including headcount. Theydeferred investment decisions. New spending was out. Let’sjust keep doing what we’re doing today and wait for theskies to clear.

It’s an understandable reaction. When you drive on thehighway or motorway and an electronic sign says“Congestion ahead,” what do you do? Youslow down, even though there’s nocongestion where you are. The funny thingis, you create congestion as the faster trafficbehind you starts piling up.

In some markets and regions in our business,there was definitely “congestion ahead.”

Customers put off investment decisions and it rippledthrough the systems integration side of the business as wellas causing the deferral of new service starts. The 2009revenue figures for carriers, teleport operators andtechnology providers will doubtless show the effect. Butcompared to the memorable recession of 2001-2002, causedby the collapse of the telecom and dotcom bubble, this wasa walk in the park. With financial markets recovering andearly signs of returning vitality in the “real economy,” itseems likely that 2010 will bring better times and putdeferred projects back on line.

But here’s what I wish. I wish that, in the first quarter of2009, we had all checked in with John Chambers, the CEOof Cisco Systems. When the telecom bubble burst in 2001,Chambers admitted publicly that his company was stymied.Founded in 1984 and growing up with the Internet, Ciscohad never seen a serious recession. “We have no visibility,”he said, meaning that the business plan had to be set asidewhile he and his team ran the company on gut feel. Andwhat did Chambers’ gut tell him to do? Keep investing.Cisco kept putting money into R&D, product developmentand acquisitions right through the stomach-wrenchingplunge into the abyss and back up the other side. In 2001,Cisco had $22 billion in revenue. That fell to $19bn by2003, when the company’s headcount dropped by 10%.But by 2006, the company was doing $28bn a year, andtwo years later, Cisco racked up almost $40bn in revenue.That amazing growth surge was made possible, I believe,by decisions made while the company stared into the abyss.While everyone else pulled back, Cisco kept its head,invested wisely, and built a foundation for marketdominance.

I know that some companies in the satellite business havekept their heads and continued investing, while others havenot. As growth accelerates over the next few years, I expectthe differences to become visible to us all.

The YThe YThe YThe YThe Year of Thinking Wear of Thinking Wear of Thinking Wear of Thinking Wear of Thinking We we we we we were Going to Livere Going to Livere Going to Livere Going to Livere Going to LiveeeeeDangerouslyDangerouslyDangerouslyDangerouslyDangerously

by Robert BellExectuive Director, World Teleport Association


Opinion

Depending on whose science or projections you believe,the world is melting, its waters rising and its futurelooking a lot like the movie “2012.” It may well be.

Among the many stepping forward to help save it, the globalteleport industry is now taking its turn.

With more governments and businesses beginning to addresseither the “inconvenient truth” of a planet heading toward aclimactic, anthropomorphic catastrophe, or else theexaggerated claims of one that is simply doing what planetsin a volatile planetary system do, the satellite industry hastaken its first step. It is a step based on a simple premise thatrequires no debate: the need for better financial results.

In a new nine-page reportbeing prepared forinternational release by WorldTeleport Association (“TheGreen Teleport: the BusinessCase for Sustainability” –www.worldteleport.org), thechallenge of global warmingis defined as a good businessproposition within the serviceof a popular cause. OnDecember 1st, the associationunveiled its Teleport EnergyManagement Campaign, thefirst of its kind in the satelliteindustry. The initiative will make available key energymanagement resources to its members. These resources willinclude data from a members’ survey; a members’ forum onthe subject next year at the law firm of Paul Hastings and thisnew report. WTA will also handout the industry’s first “GreenTeleport” Award on March 16th at itsannual awards luncheonnduring the Satellite conference in Maryland.

The introductory paragraph of its report states the rationalefor its initiatives clearly, “It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to

tackle one of the biggest challenges facing a teleport operatortoday. More like an accountant.” The report, authored byExecutive Director Robert A. Bell, provides a highly practicaloverview, details near-term solutions and outlines a long-termapproach. It puts the $13 billion teleport industry, whichproduces nearly one-fifth of the world’s satellitecommunications revenue, squarely in the camp of the “greenmovement.”

Once the domain of fringe political parties and championedby baby boomers for whom the Woodstock Music Festivalwas its generation’s moral equivalent of the hajj, the energymanagement industry is today formed by a body of scientificdata from respected sources like the Goddard Institute for SpaceStudies and the U.N’s Intergovernmental Panel on ClimateChange (IPCC). IPCC’s 2007 report (endorsed by 2,500scientists in 130 nations) concluded that humans are causing

most of the currentwarming.

With its backbone ofengineers and its cautious,technical approach tobusiness management, theteleport industry hasembraced the issue in anattempt to get a grip onrising costs andcompetitive pressures.

Its approach is the rightone, according to industry

leaders. Teleport energy costs are soaring. The world’s majorteleport facilities spend between USD$300,000 and one millioneach year to power their operations. The WTA report, basedin part on work done by former GlobeCast America CEO MaryFrost, states that a combination of easy steps, which rely oncommon sense as much as a technical or strategic initiative,are immediately available. These can be followed by morecomplex decisions about investments in new technologies.

“...There are so many obviousthings operators can do to cutenergy-related expenses and, overtime, turn a cost center into aproducer of revenue...”

TTTTTeleporeleporeleporeleporeleports Go for the Greents Go for the Greents Go for the Greents Go for the Greents Go for the Green

by Lou ZacharillaDirector of Development, SSPI


Lou Zacharilla is the Director of Developmentof the Society of Satellite ProfessionalsInternational (SSPI). He can be reached [email protected]

Raising the “Energy IQ”

A combination of energy audits, increases inthe “energy IQ” of teleport staff, investmentsin new systems such as virtual servers andmodular generators and a willingness to lookto “off-the grid” investments is the proscribeddiet advocated.

According to Frost, basic energy conservationpractices and operational efficiencies can cutthe average teleport energy bill by 20-40%.

“I have been to many teleports over theyears,” said Frost. “There are so manyobvious things operators can do to cut energy-related expenses and, over time, turn a costcenter into a producer of revenue”.

As a member of WTA’s board of directors,she brought the issue forward within WTA.She believed so strongly in the potential ofthe energy management industry that she leftthe teleport industry to launch a start-up firm, Power to ChangeUS. The company has worked with WTA, at no cost, to helpshape its comprehensive energy management program. Powerto Change US is focused on helping organizations generatesustainable efficiencies and new revenues from energyconservation.

Referring to WTA’s energy audit program, which will beavailable on the company’s website, Frost noted that a facilityaudit will first pick low hanging fruit from the cost side anddeliver visible, near-term energy savings. It puts money backinto the operational side of the business.

WTA hopes that alongside the audit, employee educationbecomes prevalent. The days of employees with space heatersat their feet in July (due to inefficient cooling systems) canend by July 2010. Programmable thermostats and automatedlight fixtures are “easy and affordable ways to increase comfortand decrease costs.” From there the real work begins.

If a previous generation of satellite and teleportindustry leaders were defined by the work many didon programs such as NASA’s Apollo 11 and thedeployment of a global fleet of satellites whichushered in the information age, it is hoped that thecurrent generation will pursue equally innovativecontent distribution, but leave as its legacy an end of

Going Green...Today, teleports represent a $13Billion sector of the global satellitecommunications industry. Teleportspay power bills ranging from $300,000to over $1 million per year per teleportwhile energy prices continue to beunpredictable and spiral upward. Thecurrent electrical distribution grid isovertaxed, making more frequent brownouts and blackouts likely;increasing per-kilowatt-hour costs appear inevitable. A recentbenchmarking survey of three teleports in the U.S. revealed thatit’s possible to save 20 – 40% in a facility’s power bills, accordingto the World Teleport Association.

the anxiety over a planet in peril. Teleport operators such asArqiva, GlobeCast, Crawford, TIBA and hundreds of otherswill not arrest the problem individually, or even collectively.However, they now have a chance to contribute.

More information on the Teleport Awardsfor Excellence, the Green Teleport resourcesand WTA’s Member Forum can be found onthe WTA web site at www.worldteleport.org


Market Trends

NNNNNorororororth America, the Wth America, the Wth America, the Wth America, the Wth America, the Waning Staning Staning Staning Staning Star in the Satellitear in the Satellitear in the Satellitear in the Satellitear in the SatelliteConsConsConsConsConstellation-NSRtellation-NSRtellation-NSRtellation-NSRtellation-NSR

The satellite industry, NSR included, has not been shy inrecent months about trumpeting the relative success thesector has had in sliding through the recent global

economic turmoil relatively unscathed. It is certainly true thatthe satellite industry as a whole has managed continued stronggrowth in the face of the worst economic crisis since the GreatDepression of the 1930s. Still, the world “relative” is keybecause there have been some signs of weakness in a few keymarkets with North America, interestingly, seeing perhaps thegreatest negative impact ofany region from the point ofview of commercial satelliteoperators operating therein.

A perfunctory scan ofquarterly report pressreleases from the two majorsatellite operators in theNorth American market,SES and Intelsat, does notappear on the surface toindicate any weakness in theregion. However, commentsand detailed reading of SECquarterly reports does revealsome of the softness beingseen in North America.

Yet, supply in North America (especially C-band supply) isnot nearly as tight as it is elsewhere in the world. It is true thata number of key cable headend satellites serving North Americaare full or nearly so. Yet, there are also a number of C-bandpayloads in North America with relatively low fill rates.Further, the shuttering of the IP Prime service in North Americaprobably released a substantial amount of free C-band capacityinto the North American market, and this was likely in partwhat Mr. Rigolle was alluding to for the region. It is muchharder to push up capacity pricing in a market where there isstill available capacity and many broadcasters are launchingnew channels on already existing capacity they have undercontract by simply taking advantage of their analog migration.

NSR remains positive over the longer-term for growth potentialin the North American C-band market for a number of reasons.First, the analog conversion process is slowing as there arefewer and fewer analog channels or feeds to convert, and this

means that any new channel launch in the future will likelylead more directly to the need for media clients to leaseadditional capacity. Plus, as the economy in North Americarecovers in 2010 and 2011, NSR expects a spurt of newchannels to go on air as delayed channels are rolled out andnew players seek to enter the media market in North America.

Turning to the North American Ku-band market, the leadingmarkets here are broadband and networking services, DTH

and videodistribution &contribution. LeasedK u - b a n dtransponders forbroadband Internetaccess services havedeclined in 2009 forNorth America asHughes has beenslowly returningcapacity to satelliteoperators as it growsits HughesNetsubscriber base on itsSpaceway-3 satellite,plus the majorcorporate VSAT

networking market slowed considerably in 2009 as manycompanies have put off plans related to new VSAT networksor upgrades/expansion of existing VSAT networks.Fortunately, the corporate VSAT market will likely see aturnaround in 2010 and 2011, as with C-band videodistribution & contribution, as economic conditions in theregion improve.

So yes, the North American market has dimmed somewhat in2009, and this has no doubt had a real impact on players inthe market. Yet, as described above and detailed in greaterdepth in NSR’s Global Assessment of Satellite ServicesDemand 6th Edition study, some of the market issues in NorthAmerica are independent of the overall economic conditionsand would have occurred even if times were good all around.Plus NSR is very confident that there are no real systemic,long-term issues in the North American commercial capacityleasing market, and within a few quarters the North Americanregion will likely wax bright again for satellite operatorsserving the region.


Market Trends

UK ConsumerUK ConsumerUK ConsumerUK ConsumerUK Consumers Lead in Digits Lead in Digits Lead in Digits Lead in Digits Lead in Digital Media Adoptional Media Adoptional Media Adoptional Media Adoptional Media Adoption

UK consumers are continuing to embrace digitalcommunications services and lead internationally as adigitally advanced nation, new Ofcom research reveals.

Ofcom’s International Communications Market data providesa snapshot of the £548 billion communications market in twelvemajor economies in the five years to 2008 and looks at take-up, availability, pricing and use of broadband, landlines andmobiles, TV and radio in these and the four fast growingeconomies of Brazil, India, Russia and China.

UK sees highest year-on-year increase in TV watching

Among the 11 comparator countries for which data wereavailable, average TV viewing increased by 1.1 per cent tofour hours a day in 2008. However, there was a mixed picture,with average viewing having fallen in France, Germany,Canada, Poland and the Netherlands during the year.

The UK witnessed the highest average increase in TV watchingduring 2008, up by 3.2 per cent to 3.8 hours a day. This washigher than the average (3.5 hours per day) across the Europeancountries surveyed, but still slightly less than viewers in Italy,Poland and Spain. US viewers consumed the most televisionin 2008, watching on average 4.6 hours a day, up 1.8 per centfrom 2007, whilst viewers in Sweden continued to watch theleast at 2.7 hours a day, although this was a 1.9 per cent increaseacross the year.

UK has the highest proportion of digital TV households

The proportion of primary TV sets that had been converted todigital continued to grow in 2008, with the average among ourcomparator countries increasing by seven percentage pointsto 67 per cent during the year. The fastest rate of conversionwas in Spain, where over 18 per cent of households migratedto digital services in 2008.

Of the countries surveyed, the UK remained the country withthe highest proportion of households with digital TV on theirmain set, at 88 per cent in 2008, up 3 percentage points in theprevious 12 months in the run up to switchover. The US wasnext with 76 per cent of households having digital TV, up by 6percentage points on the previous year, closely followed bySpain which had the highest year-on-year increase of 18percentage points, with 74 per cent of households havingconverted to digital by the end of 2008.

The UK had the second highest household take-up of digitalterrestrial television services at the end of 2008 at 38 per cent,second only to Spain (45 per cent) among the 12 comparatorcountries. At the same time, UK household digital satellitetelevision take-up in the UK (36 per cent) was the third highest,behind Ireland and Poland.

UK is second highest texting nation in world, second toUSA

Growth in text messaging continued in 2008, with totalmessaging volumes increasing by 43 per cent to 1.1 trillion,an average of 123 messages a month per mobile subscription,among the 11 comparator countries for which figures wereavailable.

The UK had the second highest volume of outgoing textmessages among our comparator nations in 2008 at 83 billion,second only to the USA at 830 billion. Despite having thesecond highest overall volumes of texts in 2008, the UK onlyhad the fourth highest average monthly text messages permobile subscription in the year, which at 92 was lower thanin the US (262), Ireland (163) and Poland (150).

Broadband growth is slowing

Growth in the number of broadband connections continuedin all of our 12 main comparator countries in 2008, althoughthe average rate of growth more than halved from 20.9 percent in 2007 to 9.1 per cent. This was significantly lower thanthe 40 per cent average growth among the BRIC countries(Brazil, Russia, India, and China) also covered in the report.

Over the five years to 2008 the UK had the second highestgrowth in broadband lines per person among our 12 maincomparator countries, at 23 connections per 100 people.During the same period the highest rate of growth was in theNetherlands at 25 connections per 100 people.

Ofcom research into the prices consumers pay for theircommunications services has found that prices in the UK havegenerally fallen since 2008, and that prices comparefavourably to those available in other countries.

Ofcom Chief Executive Ed Richards said “The report showsthat UK consumers have benefited from competition in theform of lower prices. Innovation means that the UK is wellplaced in the take up and availability of digital services.”


Featured Event

The next Pacific Tele-communications Conference,PTC ’10, will again focus on a

hot topic for many in thetelecommunication and IT industries,“cloud computing”. Whileseemingly esoteric to many,especially some in thesometimes insular satellitesector, cloud computing iscoming to dominate thethinking of planners andimplementers in manytelecommunications and ITsectors. The conference, to beheld January 17-20, 2010, inHonolulu, Hawaii(www.ptc.org), will bring theconcept of cloud computingdown to earth and examine itsimpact in a variety of ways, includingthe challenges and opportunities itpresents to the satellite sector.

Making the first effort to bring “thecloud” and the guys “in orbit” togetherwill be the World Teleport Associationand Society of Satellite ProfessionalsInternational organizations (WTA andSSPI), which have organized a morning-long workshop on Sunday, January 17.The workshop will focus on how satelliteservices can be integrated into theemerging world of cloud computing.Mark Dankberg, chairman and CEO ofViasat, which plans to launch its own100 Gbps satellite early in the newdecade, will describe that project, how

it will build onto the recent acquisition ofWildBlue, and future prospects for highcapacity satellites. Other speakers fromiDirect, Cisco and Hughes NetworkSystems will address such questions as the

risks and rewards of ground vs. spacebased routers. Gary Hatch, President &CEO of ATCi and Alan Young, CTO ofSES World Skies will discuss the impactof IP on content distribution and how thesatellite industry is staying ahead of thecurve; and Stephen Yablonski , ofGlobecom Systems, who will discuss newconcepts for satellite-based contentdistribution in a cloud-driven world.

The second day of the conference will alsohave a significant satellite focus. Industryleaders will appear in three differentsessions, giving their views on the state ofthe industry and how it will adapt andcomplement the emerging cloud

computing model. A special luncheonpanel will focus on challenges andcontributions in meeting increasingoperator requirements from keyinfrastructure suppliers. Jean-Yves Le

Gall, Chairman and CEO oflaunch industry-leaderArianespace and GwynneShotwell, President ofSpaceX, the emerginglaunch challenger, will joinArnold Friedman and EddieKato, theSenior VicePresidents, Marketing andSales, respectively, at SpaceSystems/Loral and ThalesAlenia Space. They will befollowed immediately bythe annual headline Asia/Pacific satellite leaders’

panel session, chaired by Susan Irwin,of Irwin Communications. This yearthe panel will feature Peter Jackson,CEO of AsiaSat; Baozhong Huang,Vice President of China’s consolidatedindustry leader, Sinosat; and AndrewJordan, President & CEO of SAT-GE,as well as others.

For those seeking complimentaryinformation and to have it allexplained further, PTC’10 will featurea variety of top experts from industryleading companies, both big andsmall, who will examine theimportance and impact of cloudcomputing around the world andregion.

PTC 2010Hilton Hawaiian VillageHonolulu, Hawaii, January 17-20, 2010

PTC 20PTC 20PTC 20PTC 20PTC 20111110 to F0 to F0 to F0 to F0 to Focus on ‘Cloud Comocus on ‘Cloud Comocus on ‘Cloud Comocus on ‘Cloud Comocus on ‘Cloud Computing’:puting’:puting’:puting’:puting’:What’s in it for Satellites?What’s in it for Satellites?What’s in it for Satellites?What’s in it for Satellites?What’s in it for Satellites?

Satellite ExSatellite ExSatellite ExSatellite ExSatellite Executive Briefecutive Briefecutive Briefecutive Briefecutive Briefinginginginging January 15, 2010 17 PLEASE VISIT WWW.PTC.ORG/PTC10 TO REGISTER FOR PTC’10.

Embracing the Cloud:

Enabling Connectivity and Innovation17 – 20 January 2010 Hilton Hawaiian Village® Beach Resort & Spa Honolulu, Hawaii USA www.ptc.org/ptc10

A fundamental shift is occurring in the telecommunications and ICT industries. Ever more applications and services are moving from dedicated networks and end-user devices to servers on the Internet. No facet of either the telecom or ICT industries will remain untouched by this transformation.

PTC’10 will highlight the impacts of the rapid evolution of cloud computing for communications carriers, capacity providers, providers of undersea cables and satellite services, application developers, media and content providers, and end users.

For more information please visit www.ptc.org/ptc10.

CONFIRMED FEATURED PARTICIPANTS INCLUDE

ANDREW KWOK, SVP, International Business, Hutchison Global Communications Ltd, Hong Kong SAR China

DIARMID MASSEY, VP, Carrier Services — Global Markets, Cable & Wireless Worldwide, Singapore

CHRISTIAN MICHAUD, SVP, Product Marketing and Business Development, Tata Communications, Canada

KATHRYN MORRISSEY, EVP, AT&T, USA

ELI NOAM, Professor, Economics and Finance, Columbia Business School, USA

RAJ PATEL, VP, Infrastructure and Operations Strategy, Yahoo!, Inc., USA

ROBERT PEPPER, VP, Global Technology Policy, Cisco, USA

EDWARD ROGERS, President, Cable & Telecom, Rogers Communications, Canada

SHIGEO TANI, Director-General for International Affairs, Global ICT Strategy Bureau, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC), Japan

RODRIGUE ULLENS, CEO, Voxbone, Belgium

JIDONG ZHAO, SVP, China Unicom, People’s Republic of China

HELMUT ANGST, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Deutsche Telekom North America, Germany

SHAI BERGER, Co-Founder and CEO, Fonolo, USA

SUREEL CHOKSI, CMO, Level 3, USA

PETER COFFEE, Director of Platform Research, Salesforce.com, USA

JEANNIE DIEFENDERFER, SVP, Global Engineering and Planning, Verizon Business, USA

SCOTT FORBES, VP, Technology Ventures, GE, USA

MALIN FRENNING, SVP, TeliaSonara and President, TeliaSonara International Carrier, Sweden

VIJAY GILL, Senior Manager, Engineering and Architecture, Google, USA

FRANK FAWZI, CEO and Chairman of the Board, IntelePeer, USA

OFER GNEEZY, CEO and President, iBasis, USA

TREN GRIFFIN, Strategist, Advanced Strategies & Policies, Microsoft, USA

MIKE HILL, VP, Enterprise Initiatives, IBM, USA

MIKE JAMES, Director of Systems Engineering, MetaSwitch, USA

MATTHIAS KURTH, President, Federal Network Agency, Germany

Pacific Telecommunications Council

www.ptc.org

Please visit www.ptc.org/ptc10/ for an up-to-date list of confirmed program participants as well as for the complete program.


380

400

420

440

460

480

HughesNet WildBlue

473

420 No. of Subscribers

(in thousands)

Service Providers

Subscribers to US Satellite Broadband Services(as of end 4th Qtr 2009)

(source: company sources)

300

320

340

360

380

Thuraya Globalstar Iridium

360,000

389,000

359,000

No. of Subscribers

(in thousands)

Service Providers

Subscribers to Satellite Phone Services(as of end 3rd Qtr 2009)

(source: company sources)


The Satellite Markets 25 IndexTM is a composite of 25 publicly-traded satellite companies worldwide with five companiesrepresenting each major market segment of the industry: satellite operators; satellite and component manufacturers;ground equipment manufacturers; satellite service providers and consumer satellite services. The base data for theSatellite Market Index is January 2, 2008--the first day of operation for Satellite Market and Research. The Index equals1,000. The Satellite Market IndexTM provides an investment benchmark to gauge the overall health of the satelliteindustry.

© 2009 Satellite Markets and Research, Satellite Executive Briefing and the Satellite Market IndexTM are trademarks of Synthesis Publications LLC. Synthesis PublicationsLLC is the owner of the trademark, service marks and copyrights related to the Index. This newsletter does not constitute an offer of an investment product. SatelliteExecutive Briefing makes no representation regarding the advisability of investing based on the information provided in the Satellite Markets IndexTM. All information isprovided ‘as is’ for information purposes only and is not intenteded for trading purpose or advice. Neither Satellite Executive Briefing nor any related party is liable for anyinformational error, incompleteness or for any actions taken based on information contained herein.

Comparison of Indices Index value Percentage Change (January 11 ’10) Jan. ‘09 Jan. ‘08Satellite Markets 25 IndexTM 985.53 20.61% 1.87%

S & P 500 1136.52 21.23% 23.11%

Satellite Markets 25 IndexTM

Price % change fromCompany Name Symbol (Jan 11) 52-wk Range 52-wk High

Satellite Operators

AsiaSat 1135.HK 11.30 -4.07% 6.60 - 12.80 11.72%Eutelsat Communications ETL.PA 22.97 4.41% 14.90 - 22.98 0.07%Hughes Communications Inc. HUGH 26.99 3.93% 7.77 - 31.52 14.37%Inmarsat ISAT.L 684.00 5.72% 378.25 - 717.50 4.67%SES SES.F 15.50 9.15% 12.76 - 16.38 3.67%

Satellite and Component Manufacturers

Boeing BA 60.75 13.98% 29.05 - 62.31 2.50%COM DEV International Ltd. CDV.TO 3.86 17.33% 2.52 - 4.15 6.99%Lockheed Martin Corp. LMT 75.88 -3.05% 57.41 - 87.06 12.83%Loral Space and Communications LORL 34.73 2.30% 8.90 - 34.89 0.46%Orbital Sciences Corp. ORB 16.26 29.56% 11.60 - 18.95 14.12%

Ground Equipment Manufacturers

C-COM Satellite Systems Inc. CMI.V 0.32 -4.48% 0.19 - 0.39 17.95%Comtech Telecommunications Corp. CMTL 37.55 29.53% 19.56 - 44.40 15.50%CPI International, Inc. CPII 13.80 43.60% 5.67 - 14.48 4.70%EMS Technologies, Inc. ELMG 14.64 14.20% 12.00 - 25.10 41.67%Viasat VSAT 31.85 4.60% 15.90 - 32.94 3.31%

Satellite Service Providers

Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. GILT 5.67 31.86% 2.74 - 5.60 1.25%Globecomm Systems Inc. GCOM 7.90 -1.50% 4.29 - 8.57 7.82%International Datacasting Corp. IDC.TO 0.33 22.22% 0.20 - 0.43 23.26%ORBCOMM Inc. ORBC 2.53 7.20% 1.16 - 3.23 21.67%Skyterra Communications SKYT.OB 4.89 0.41% 0.80 - 5.00 44.75%

Consumer Satellite Services

British Sky Broadcasting Group BSY 36.50 1.50% 22.15 - 38.54 5.29%The DIRECTV Group DTV 33.77 5.90% 18.81 - 34.42 1.92%ECHOSTAR Communications DISH 21.24 1.68% 8.79 - 22.18 4.28%Globalstar, Inc. GSAT 1.16 45.00% 0.19 - 2.00 42.00%Sirius XM Radio Inc. SIRI 0.6894 9.43% 0.05 - 0.78 11.60%

% Change from2-Weeks Ago

The Satellite Markets 25 IndexTM


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We at ND SatCom are committed to excellence and our promise to provide tailored satellite communication services to fit the precise needs of each individual client. For more than 25 years, ND SatCom has been creating new possibilities for customers in more than 130 countries worldwide.

Engineering excellence. Technical innovation. Next generation networks.

// www.ndsatcom.com //

// 25 years of Engineering Excellence //

/ Government & Administration Solutions

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Company Profile

Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. (NASDAQ: GILT) is a leading provider of satellitecommunications products and services. For over 20 years, Gilat has been at the forefrontof VSAT technology and services and continues to be an innovator and developer ofnew satellite technologies. Gilat’s solutions serve the communications needs of carriers,enterprises, governments, service providers and consumers around the globe.

Gilat provides VSAT-based networks and associated professional services through its business unitGilat Network Systems, (www.gilatnetworks.com). Gilat Network Systems has shipped over 750,000VSATs to a large and diverse customer base in more than 85 countries and offers a full range ofsatellite communications products and solutions:

• SkyEdge™ and SkyEdge II: Advanced, high performance cost-effective and flexible VSATsystems supporting diverse needs. Gilat’s SkyEdge II is a multi-service platform enabling thedelivery of high-quality voice, broadband data and video services for diverse environmentsincluding enterprises, rural networks, cellular backhaul and government network applications.SkyEdge II is a standards-based system using DVB-S2 and DVB-RCS. With better efficienciesand full adaptivity for both the inbound and outbound channels, it provides higher performancethat serves the growing requirements of end-users. Gilat’s diverse portfolio of SkyEdge II VSATsare all supported by a unified platform, offering service providers the most suitable product fortheir application needs as well as the flexibility to evolve their networks. The newest addition toGilat’s SkyEdge II portfolio is NetEdge™, a dedicated solution for multi star networks, specificallydesigned to meet the needs of corporations and cellular backhaul applications.

• Value-added solutions for specific markets and industries, integrating the open SkyEdge andSkyEdge II systems with other technologies and applications.

• Turn-key projects to help rapidly create and implement fully functional communications solutions.

• Outsourcing for cost-effective network operations.

Gilat also provides managed VSAT and hybrid network services for business, government andresidential customers in North America through its subsidiary, Spacenet Inc.(www.spacenet.com).

In addition, rural Internet and telephony services primarily in Peru and Colombia are offeredthrough Gilat’s business unit, Spacenet Rural Communications (www.spacenetrural.com)

Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd

satsatsatellitellitellite bre bre broadbandoadbandoadband

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