Intelsat INSIDER - December 2012    On the Move: Intelsat Advances Its Mobility Business An Interview with Intelsat's Most Recent MSS Convert, James Collett It is a classic ‘chicken or the egg’ question:  which came first - broadband for mobility, or mobility needing broadband?  Perhaps it doesn’t matter.  What’s clear is that ‘On the Move’ certainly cannot be satisfied with a pay by the drink, 486 kbps service.  The end user wants broadband, and whether in the air or at sea, Intelsat is already delivering connectivity that’s about to become even better.    James Collett, Intelsat’s new Director of Mobility Services, joined the company in October 2012 with more than 18 years of industry experience, including most recently in the Mobile Satellite Sector (MSS). He recently spoke to Intelsat Insider about his views on the industry and Intelsat’s growing services for the mobility segment, including our Ku-band global mobility platform, scheduled for completion in the first quarter of 2013.   When will consumers have access to broadband Internet speeds on an airplane or cruise ship?   Panasonic Aviation, Gogo, Row44 and MTN are already delivering that capability to their respective airline and cruise customers, powered by the Intelsat network. Specifically, Panasonic and MTN are Intelsat EpicNG anchor customers, and will supercharge their offerings in the future when the new platform is deployed.  Because Intelsat EpicNG is backwards compatible, the operational transition will be seamless as well.  The flexibility of the Intelsat EpicNG platform will allow us to continue meeting the needs of our customers in the mobility segment as demand grows. What types of opportunities exist for value-added service providers and network operators serving the mobility sector? We are seeing growth opportunities in both our traditional mobility segments – cruise ships, offshore, etc. – as well as in a bevy of areas that are new for VSAT.  And this new market potential is very broad as the following examples show:  In the commercial aviation sector, opportunities vary from cockpit services to meet safety and operational imperatives, to consumer-based services where passengers are looking for a connected experience similar to what they have at home, en route to the airport and at the airport.    In the maritime sector, we estimate there to be 20,000 large merchant ships that are addressable by VSAT, of which only about 5,000 are fitted with VSAT today.  Again, it is a combination of business (bridge communications, engine monitoring, cargo monitoring, etc.) and consumer applications that are fuelling the demand for a broadband solution on-board.   In the government space, new opportunities for mobile connectivity are presenting themselves to us – on land, at sea and in the air. UAVs in particular are driving strong growth in mobility, as they require sophisticated sensors with high-bandwidth requirements. UAVs are projected to grow bandwidth requirements extensively in the years ahead. What is the difference between Intelsat’s current Ku-band mobility platform and Intelsat EpicNG? Potential customers of broadband mobility solutions are typically looking for three key attributes: coverage, throughput and price performance.  The coverage piece of the equation will be complete with the planned launch of Intelsat 27 in early 2013, providing excellent North Atlantic coverage and giving Intelsat the preeminent global Ku-band coverage among operators.    Intelsat EpicNG will provide the perfect complement to our global mobility network, delivering high throughput satellite capability to those regions where mobility customers tend to congregate, ensuring they are catered to with plentiful capacity and a positive broadband experience. When Intelsat completes its global broadband mobility platform in early 2013, what will this mean for customers who do business on a worldwide basis?    Customers will be able to retire one of the main objections levelled at Ku-band mobility, that of a ‘patchwork quilt of disparate networks’.  Once our global broadband mobility network is complete--whether it’s a globally trading merchant ship, an aircraft flying long haul or a rapid deployment government vehicle--all will be able to move seamlessly across the globe without missing a beat – or perhaps more importantly without dropping a byte!  And with handovers between beams of just a few seconds, seamless connections are guaranteed. In fact, Intelsat General Corp. recently demonstrated the capability to simultaneously send secure video and high-speed broadband signals to and from an in-flight aircraft, automatically switching beams across four satellites over three continents.    In This Issue... › An Update from Latin America and the Caribbean › Ku- vs. Ka-Band – Separating the Hype from the Facts › Case Study: Media Customers Deploy Disaster Recovery Plans during Hurricane Sandy › The Battle to Safeguard C-band Spectrum › On the Move: Intelsat Advances Its Mobility Business › Improved Trouble Ticketing System to Enhance Customer Experience › Panasonic Aviation Chooses IntelsatOne to Complement Satellite Network › ABC's Rich Wolf Wins 2012 SSPI Mentor Award › Intelsat Assumes Full Ownership of Intelsat 28 Satellite › Intelsat to Relocate U.S. Headquarters to Northern Virginia in 2014     www.intelsat.com  intelsatinsider@intelsat.com  contact us