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Satnews Daily
July 12th, 2017

GVF and COMSYS to Combat Threats and Celebrate Opportunities at VSAT Congress


Nothing can be resolved unless people discuss their concerns, pros and cons, and that is what GVF and COMSYS are making available to those involved in the VSAT realm. This is an invitation to the VSAT industry.

Billions of dollars in government, enterprise and consumer broadband business are riding on the successful development of VSAT-based satellite communications strategies to support next-generation applications. How those strategies will address major challenges—from value-chain disruption to new technologies and competition—will be the focus for delegates attending the VSAT Congress to be organized jointly by the Global VSAT Forum (GVF)  and COMSYS on November 14-15, in Washington, D.C.

“We see a great many changes happening that will severely threaten the current structure of all aspects of the satellite business,” said Susan Bull, COMSYS Senior Analyst and a Co-Founder of the Global VSAT Forum. “At the same time, we also see developments and opportunities that offer the chance to rapidly evolve VSAT services and strategies to meet these threats and strengthen the competitive position of the business.”


David Hartshorn, Secretary General GVF

David Hartshorn, Secretary General of the Global VSAT Forum, said: “We believe that the VSAT industry needs to come together to discuss how we will combat the threats and leverage the opportunities—this is our reason for creating The VSAT Congress.”


Susan Bull, Senior Consultant COMSYS

Key areas to be addressed by industry leadership at the VSAT Congress include:

  • Considerations regarding VSAT operator strategies, hybrid solutions, industry verticalization and future ground segment infrastructure all of which are expected to fundamentally change the current ecosystem.
  • Competing telecom solutions and the possibilities of collaboration versus competition.
  • A realistic consideration of the likely evolution and effects of bandwidth pricing trends.
  • Opportunities for future development beyond established mobility applications including cellular backhaul, IoT/SCADA, education and financial and a general re-enablement of the enterprise service segment.
  • VSAT’s role in addressing the need for rural connectivity and how poor, rural populations can be served economically.
  • Cybersecurity requirements, standards and interaction.
  • How lower latency HAPS and non-GEO constellations will change the competitive environment.
  • The role and importance of flat panel, conformable, electronically steerable antennas.
  • Forecast timescales and levels for satellite-related technology developments versus competing technology solutions.

 

 “By global business standards we are a small industry and we all rely on each other to advance and prosper, despite also often being potential competitors,” Susan Bull continued. “As an independent VSAT consultant I was encouraged to create the GVF and as you are well aware, Dave Hartshorn came in to head it up for the past 20 years. We, Dave and I and the GVF and COMSYS, are developing the VSAT Congress to be a mutually beneficial and worthwhile conference for our industry above and beyond anything else.”

“We are currently putting together a speaker and discussion panel line-up to address the subject matter we consider important,” Hartshorn added. “Should you have any interest in participating or supporting the event or suggesting other issues that should be addressed, we would be interested to hear from you.”

For more information and to view the 2017 conference program, visit the VSAT Congress website