Satellite Conference at the NAB 2007 Highlight Opportunities in IPTV, HDTV and Enterprise Markets
From left: David Myers, Senior Vice-President, Spacenet; Joe Amor, General Manager, Microspace Communications; Mahesh Bhave, President, AAE Systems and Larry Taylor, ViaSat, speaking at the “How Business and Government Get Payback from Multimedia Applications” session at the Satellite and Business Theater conference at NAB.
Las Vegas, NV, April 19, 2007 - Satnews Daily - The Satellite Business Technology Theater held at the Central Hall of the annual National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada from April 16-19 highlighted the many opportunities for the satellite industry in the growing HDTV, IPTV and enterprise markets.
The broadcasting market, which has traditionally been one of the mainstays of the satellite services market, is undergoing revolutionary changes with the demand for high bandwidth services such as IPTV, Mobile TV and HDTV. The was the overarching theme of the NAB show this year and the Satellite Business Theater conference held in the trade show floor explored various ways in which the satellite industry can capitalize on the many opportunities in the new media environment. As one speaker put it ”people want their video, anywhere, anytime and to any device.”
“Bandwidth begets bandwidth,” said David Myers, Senior Vice-President of Spacenet, emphasizing that new mobile and IP applications would only drive more demand for satellite services. Speakers at various sessions addressed many different themes including “Capturing IPTV Opportunities in Satellite,” “Terrestrial Wireless Carriers Want Your Satellite Bandwidth,” “ How Satellite Service Providers Can Win the Value-Added Game,” and many others.
In the session on “Business Fundamentals for Reaching Niche TV Audiences via Satellite” chaired by ATCi President Gary Hatch, he said a new paradigm has evolved for delivering content to various devices. Satellites can play a vital role in delivering this content to the consumer according to the various speakers which included Andrew Dale of the Any Dale Co.’ Emrah Ozcan , CEO of Home2US Communications and Jonathan Feldman, SVP of GlobeCast Americas. “Niches are riches,” said Andy Dale, emphasizing the need for reaching the right niche audience for a satellite delivered channel to be successful.
The conference was held from April 16-19 and featured speakers including Ron Samuel, CEO of Eutelsat; Mike Antonovich, President of the Space Connection; Mary Frost, CEO, GlobeCast Americas; Robert Zitter of HBO; Dick Tauber of CNN, among others.
The Satellite Business and Technology Conference at the NAB is organized by the Society of Satellite Professionals International (SSPI) and the World Teleport Association (WTA) and sponsored by Intelsat and SES Americom.
Two sessions moderated by Jimmy Schaeffler, Chairman of The Carmel Group offered a unique look at satellites as they relate to Internet Protocol TV (IPTV) and the distributing Internet and mobile channels.
Capturing IPTV Opportunities In Satellite," on April 16, included Robert Phelan, SES-Americom SVP and Amino General Manager Roy Kirsopp. Aimed at carriers, teleports, integrators and technology providers, this session captured several of the key elements of IPTV today, including costs, marketing, competition and technology, indeed with a slight lean toward the latter. Phelan exhibited a prototype of a mobile IPTV phone and TV, which operated flawlessly during the onstage demonstration. Kirsopp and his company, Amino, headquartered in the United Kingdom, were uniquely important in the sense that they hail from the European continent, where in many countries, especially France and England, IPTV has made or will soon make significant steps toward becoming a future "killer application."
The Wedneday, April 18 panel brought together experts Bill Squadron, Esq., Sr. VP for SES Americom; Barry Hobbs, VP from Datapath; and Tim Floerchinger, VP, Network Sales, from Comtech EF Data. Dubbed "Distributing Inrternet and Mobile Channels," this second hour-long session by The Carmel Group focused additional resources toward what many call the "other killer app" today (in addition to IPTV), i.e., mobile hardware and software. Hobbs predicted a marked increase in video services as a percentage of total bandwidth used, on all levels, including consumer, commercial and Internet. Squadron and Floerchinger, for their part, were also quite bullish on the future of mobile services development, particularly as it relates to the future generations of users.
The NAB is the largest broadcasting conference and expo in the world with over 100,000 attendees this year, over 20 percent of whom are from outside the U.S.
