CommunicAsia 2011: Intelsat’s Terry Bleakley Discusses Trends and Opportunities in Asia-Pacific

Terry Bleakley, Intelsat’s Regional Vice President for Asia-Pacific, recently attended the CommunicAsia forum, the region’s largest knowledge-based ICT platform. Held in Singapore, the event was the perfect venue for Bleakley to discuss some of the trends he sees as current or future key opportunities.

Bleakley noted that during the past 15 years the region has spectacularly grown and developed. Not just economically, but also in terms of demography, infrastructure, and social structure. As such, two complimentary trends have been set in motion in the content provision industry; on one hand the globalization of content, where programmers look to expand their reach to multiple regions, and on the other the other hand the regionalization of content, where target markets’ natural fragmentation must be addressed through tailored content.

Technologically speaking, the High Definition video (HD) market (live feeds, syndication, and processing services) has reached maturation in North America and Europe while growth is still ongoing in Asia and Latin America. This phenomenon accompanies the explosion of DTH, the expansion of hybrid satellite/fiber solutions, and the growth of mobile media applications.

These trends are already pushing satellite heavyweights to reassess their overall strategies, not only on the type of solutions they offer, but also on the way they offer them. According to Bleakley, Intelsat has long been prolific in both media and network services, which makes it strategically well-placed to effectively transform these trends into full-fledged opportunities.

From Intelsat @ CommunicAsia 2011 (Singapore)

IntelsatONE, for instance, was designed to answer customers' unique needs: a fiber solution, fully integrated with access to satellite, enabling customers to efficiently move content from one region to another and then distribute to cable headends or other distribution points, maximizing the number of 'eyes' for their content.

Bleakley concluded by reiterating Intelsat’s commitment to delivering robust and versatile solutions in order to durably and efficiently integrate its presence in the region.

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CommunicAsia 2011: Intelsat’s Rick Abbasi Talks Mobile Satellite Solutions

Rick Abassi, Intelsat's Senior Product Marketing Director for Network Services, spoke on a panel at CommunicAsia 2011 on the topic of mobility.

From Intelsat @ CommunicAsia 2011 (Singapore)

During the panel discussion he emphasized the company's focus on global C-band and Ku-band mobility for maritime and aeronautical applications. He also articulated Intelsat's approach to the mobility market: offering services and capacity via select distribution partners that serve maritime customers.

Here are some photos of the event, the discussion, and Intelsat's booth at CommunicAsia 2011 (Singapore):

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CASBAA 2011: Intelsat’s Jay Yass Reflects on the Future of the Satellite Industry

Jay Yass, Intelsat’s VP for Global Accounts and Strategic Sales, participated in a panel discussion on the future of the satellite industry at CASBAA 2011 on Monday, 20 June.

Yass acknowledged his peers’ optimistic projections of tumbling satellite costs and skyrocketing consumer bases, but also recognized that some of his customers’ reluctance in investing in exciting, yet uncharted, technologies was not completely unfounded.

According to Yass, while the future does indeed seem bright for an industry that can only thrive in one of the most successful regions in the world, significant challenges remain. Only a clear strategy can avoid these obstacles, and such a strategy will involve a diversification of assets.

From Intelsat @ CASBAA 2011 (Singapore)

“In order to stay relevant for the next ten years we will have to avoid commoditization. Innovation will be the key driver of change, and change – when it is wanted, instigated, and controlled – is good for business”.

Innovations in the realms of mobile Internet, maritime broadband, hybrid technologies, and multipoint satellites are some of the key future strategic strongholds Yass identified for the satellite industry.

He concluded by reasserting that the future of the industry relies on partnering with customers to support their adaptation to upcoming new technologies, and to add value to their services in an up-and-coming region.

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CASBAA 2011: Intelsat’s Dave McGlade Presents Challenges and Opportunities for the Satellite Industry in Asia-Pacific

Dave McGlade, CEO of Intelsat, delivered the keynote address at the 2011 Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA) event on Monday, 20 June.

Noting that the region’s development has only but started, he urged attendees to get ahold of the countless opportunities it offers: “Satellite-based solutions will be part of the unparalleled growth in DTH, broadband, and mobile phone subscribers. Intelsat expects to be there, and so should our customers”.

But succeeding in the competitive Asian media market – one in which programmers fight for viewership like never before – will require various adjustments from both programmers and providers.

First and foremost, adjustments to regional subtleties: “Asia-Pacific is not just one large market, but a subset of geographically dispersed nations. As a whole, the region does represent a significant potential audience. But the populations within the countries – sometimes even within provinces of a same country – do not consume the same things at the same pace”.

According to McGlade, a second important adjustment is the one that determines cost efficiency. Intelsat’s customers are being asked to deliver more content, to more locations, and on increasingly smaller budgets. They thus require a more efficient path to get programming in and out of the regions they serve, while finding a cost-effective way to enter new markets.

From Intelsat @ CASBAA 2011 (Singapore)

These two complex factors – regional diversity in tastes, means, and needs, combined with the search for versatile and cost efficient methods to deliver content – have led Intelsat to develop a hybrid satellite-terrestrial delivery solution to its media and network customers: “Satellite is not always the best, nor the most cost efficient transport method for every requirement. Our terrestrial network, IntelsatONE, was built to provide our customers with an infrastructure with the same reliability standards as our industry leading satellite network that regularly achieves exemplary availability”.

Such continued investment has allowed customers to access Intelsat’s assets in the Asia-Pacific region and around the world. It has also shown Intelsat’s commitment to facilitating technical, logistical, and operational procedures for media customers who want to focus on their programming while their content is being reliably delivered through the most efficient channels.

McGlade’s concluding remarks focused on the challenging yet promising times ahead for companies that aim to become regional providers with global capabilities: “Customers want regional knowledge with global know-how. We are a global company with a dedicated local team in each region. Not only does each satellite have a specific regional mission, its dependability is guaranteed by a dedicated sales and customer support team”.

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