CASBAA concludes its 10th Satellite Industry Forum

In his opening address, Osamu Inoue, Senior EVP, Group President, Satellite Business Group of SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation stressed the importance of flexibility within the satellite communications industry:

"The key to our success in the long run will rely on the ability to constantly monitor and adapt to changing market dynamics." He highlighted that the industry must move forward to develop new market segments in order to continue its success.

Keynote speaker Jean-Yves Le Gall, Chairman & CEO of Arianespace addressed the importance of partnerships within the industry and welcomed the competition from other launch service providers. After the 50th Ariane 5 launch, the company is looking forward to welcoming Soyuz and, eventually Vega, into the launcher family, giving even more flexibility.

The major demand drivers in the APAC region were identified during the panel sessions at the Forum. HDTV was earmarked as the key driver to push the satellite communications business forward, especially the sports content in HD. However, some broadcasters remained uncertain about the immediate returns that can be made from major investments in HD channels.

Jonathan Spink, CEO of HBO Asia said: "A lot of people built capacity on the theory that we will build HD content up¦. While there has not been a huge clamour for HD, we expect it will increase year by year. We will be looking to do more. It is a chicken-and-egg situation."

Referring to news channels, Ian Carroll, EVP & GM of Turner Broadcasting System pointed out that the business case for HD news channels is still difficult for some broadcasters to justify: "As soon as a news story breaks, you have a trade-off between speed and quality. Speed is still the most important thing. It is a big technical challenge to get expensive equipment operational fast in places with bad power and infrastructure."

Most broadcasters agreed that satellite remains their dominant long-haul delivery platform in the region, even though fiber alternatives may increase. During a panel discussion, Matteo Altobelli, Marketing Director of Eutelsat identified satellite technology as the best form of delivery: "Satellite has a very big advantage over wireless and wire line. It is the means to distribute your signal to millions of customers at a reasonable price."