Home >> News: January 21st, 2016 >> Story
Satnews Daily
January 21st, 2016

 Exploring Seamless, Mobile Connectivity @ GVF's Connectivity 2016 Event


[Satnews] The opening event in the GVF-EMP calendar for 2016 will be the third program in the series ‘Connectivity’, and will take place in central London on 16th February.

The context of GVF Connectivity 2016: Air, Sea, Surface, and Rail: Evolving the "New" New Verticals is that of being connected to the Internet, whenever you want, wherever you are, wherever you’re going to, and however you’re getting there, with broadband data speeds that meet the service delivery goals and user expectations of today’s rapidly evolving digital telecommunications marketplace—a marketplace that has directly engaged with ever greater personal geographical mobility.
 
Sponsored by Inmarsat and Advantech Wireless, and with the support of the Airline Passenger Experience Association (APEX) and the Broadcasting & Satellite Network—the UK Affiliate of the SSPI (BSN-SSPI), the event will feature a keynote presentation from Joe Leader, Chief Executive Officer, APEX, entitled 'Airline In-Flight Connectivity: The New Paradigm of Passenger Experience'.

The program will also feature a keynote presentation from Andy Lucas, Chief Technology Officer, Harris CapRock Communications, entitled ‘Merging Broadband Satellite, Fiber & Wireless into Seamless Ecosystems & Unified Value Chains’.

The program of GVF Connectivity 2016: Air, Sea, Surface & Rail: Evolving the "New" New Verticals will examine key themes in technological developments, service trends, and market evolution that feature on the path to a universal connectivity ecosystem, with particular, though not exclusive, reference to the latest developments in the satellite communications marketplace which are focused around the orbiting of more-and-more high throughput satellite (HTS) payloads into orbit, as well as other plans for the launching of constellations of small satellites offering broadband access from Low Earth Orbit (LEO). HTS payloads have already changed the paradigm of satellite communications capabilities in the realms of the satellite-only connectivity solution, but are also bringing a vastly enhanced dynamic to the wider realms of the satellite and terrestrial hybrid solution—solutions used in the corporate, enterprise, government, military, consumer, and other, sectors.
 
One theme of the London GVF Connectivity 2016 program will center on the future of mobile backhaul. Satellite networking has always been an imperative for extending the typical service area of terrestrial cellular wireless systems. Now, with more of the world having 3G – and much of it looking forward to a 4G and LTE near-future, and then to 5G – and with mobile network operators (MNOs) wanting (a) new backhaul architectures that are robust and flexible enough to accommodate shifting traffic loads on cell sites without massive bandwidth over-provisioning, and (b) the segmentation of macro-cells into smaller (femto-, pico-) cells, there are new challenges for the satellite backhaul vendor. So, we will ask, “What does the future hold in store for demand for mobile backhaul?”
 
The 2016 event will build upon the agenda of the previous two ‘Connectivity’ events, and will be presented across four panel sessions: Technologies; Services; Mobile & the Cloud; and, Developing Applications & Building User Verticals.
 
Key themes to be explored in the panel sessions will include:

  • Merging Broadband Satellite, Fibre & Wireless into Seamless Ecosystems & Unified Value Chains
  • Seamless Integration for Evolving Multi-Communications Connectivity
  • The New Value-New Revenue Opportunity in Growing the Mobile Applications Connectivity Market: Innovative Aero & Maritime Connectivity
  • The M2M/IoT Applications Environment
  • Does VSAT have a Role in IoT?
  • OneWeb: Affordable Access for Everyone
  • The Challenges of HTS & Future VSAT Networks
  • Cyber-Security/HAPS (High Altitude Pseudo Satellites)
  • Multi-Comms Connectivity: eCall & its Evolution
  • Connecting Strategic Information – Comms-on-the-Move and Comms-on-the-Pause with Apps
  • Updates on Regulatory issues for Mobile & Cloud Services
  • In-Car, In-Flight, Aboard Train – Connectivity Models & New Frontiers Connectivity
  • GEE Vision 2020
  • Applications for Transport of Dangerous Goods

Other themes to be confirmed shortly. Also featured will be the following speakers (alphabetical by organization):

  • Betty Bonnardel-Azzarelli, Managing Director, AB5 Consulting; Director, BSN-SSPI
  • Brendan O’Mahony, Director, Market Access & Licensing, Access Partnership
  • Mark Lambert, Managing Director, Europe & Vice President, Sales & Marketing, Advantech Wireless
  • Joe Leader, Chief Executive Officer, Airline Passenger Experience Association
  • Pierre Hayaert, Head of Strategy, Astrium Services
  • Julian Hewson, Director, Strategic Accounts, Europe, Global Eagle Entertainment
  • Martin Jarrold, Chief, International Programme Development, GVF
  • Andy Lucas, Chief Technology Officer, Harris CapRock Communications
  • David Howgill, Applied Technology Consultant, Huckworthy
  • Denis Sutherland, Business Development Director, iDirect
  • Alvaro Sanchez, Sales Manager, Satellite Monitoring Systems, Integrasys
  • Jean-Philippe Gillet, Vice President, EMEA Sales, Intelsat
  • Tony Azzarelli, Vice President, International Regulatory & Policy Affairs, OneWeb
  • Paul Febvre, Chief Technology Officer, Satellite Applications Catapult
  • Nick Burrett, Regional Director, Northern Europe Data & Mobility Services, SES
  • Martin Coleman, Executive Director, sIRG
  • Julian Kell, Director, Sales, EMEA, Telesat
  • Christian Bergan, Vice President Sales & Marketing, TSAT

Other panelists/speakers are yet to be confirmed
 
Chairman of Connectivity 2016, Martin Jarrold, who serves with GVF as Chief of International Programme Development, said, “Multiple-tens of Mbps connectivity services have become commonplace in office and home environments, but, increasingly, for an ever-growing proportion of an ever-more demanding user base, this is not enough, particularly as the user-to-device/terminal relationship continues to migrate away from interfacing with desktop/laptop PCs with local hard drive data storage, and towards interfacing with tablets and smartphones with increasing volumes of data storage in the Cloud. This migration places an overwhelming emphasis on the opportunity for Internet connectivity and access to multimedia services whilst the user is entirely mobile, whether pounding the urban street, taking a country stroll, driving a vehicle, riding a train, flying on a plane, or taking a trip across the sea.
 
Paul Stahl, Executive Director of EMP, said, “This seamless connectivity expectation, and the objective of universalizing a seamless connectivity experience, goes way beyond the practical and commercially-sustainable geographical boundaries of today’s 3G and 4G wireless networks. At the practical deployment level this can only be achieved with a combination of different wireless telecommunications/broadband access technologies – a combination that will increasingly engage the most mobility-enhancing and nomadic communications technology of all, satellite.