Global
Satellite
Industry
Eyes
Billion
Dollar
Opportunities
in
Australia
The
global
satellite
communications
industry
is
eyeing
enormous
opportunities
in
Australia,
as
its
national
government
prepares
to
spend
billions
of
dollars
on
both
KA-band
satellites
to
deliver
12Mbps
broadband
to
its
expansive
land
mass
and
an
extensive
programme
to
supply
digital
television
signals
across
the
country.
The
global
interest
in
the
Australian
market
was
confirmed
last
month
when
over
130
senior
satellite
executives
from
global
firms
in
America,
Asia
and
Europe
converged
on
Sydney
to
attend
the
Australasian
Satellite
Forum
on
21
April.
The
forum
was
a
joint
presentation
of
news
website
Talk
Satellite
and
the
Australian
telecommunications
daily
Communications
Day.
"The
Australian
market
has
always
punched
above
its
weight
in
global
terms
and
it
is
becoming
increasingly
important
to
satellite
firms,"
said
Kevin
French,
principal
of
Talk
Satellite.
"It
is
one
of
the
first
nations
to
designate
satellite
as a
central
technology
to
deliver
broadband
as a
universal
service".
"Australia
literally
has
billions
of
dollars
of
opportunity
on
offer
with
potential
contracts
for
2
new
Ka-band
satellites
as
well
as
an
extensive
digital
television
programme
to
fill
terrestrial
blackspots,"
said
Grahame
Lynch,
director
of
CommsDay.
"But
not
only
is
the
satellite
industry
interested
in
the
dollars
on
offer
but
more
fundamentally
for
the
proof-of-concept
that
Australia
offers
as a
testbed
that
could
see
satellite
recognised
as a
mainstream
delivery
vehicle
for
universal
broadband
globally."
Under
the
government's
plans,
satellite
will
be
used
to
deliver
broadband
to
up
to
7%
of
the
population
in
areas
outside
towns
and
cities
which
will
be
served
mainly
by
fibre.
People
in
remote
areas
without
access
to
terrestrial
digital
TV
will
also
be
guaranteed
satellite
service
under
the
government
plans.
The
Forum
heard
speakers
such
as
Andrew
Kernans,
who
heads
spectrum
planning
at
the
Australian
Communications
and
Media
Authority
and
Dr
Reg
Coutts,
an
expert
advisor
to
the
Australian
government
on
its
planned
National
Broadband
Network
as
well
as
the
chief
executives
of
Australian
satellite
firms
Optus
Satellite
and
Newsat
as
well
as
senior
executives
from
the
likes
of
SES
WORLD
SKIES,
Intelsat
and
Reach.
Commenting
on
the
event,
Newsat
CEO
Adrian
Ballantine
said:
“It
was
great
to
see
the
global
satellite
community
visit
Australia
for
what
was
clearly
a
world-class
forum.
I
was
delighted
to
participate
in
the
event
and
have
the
opportunity
to
not
only
discuss
NewSat
and
Jabiru’s
intentions
but
to
also
hear
about
the
successes
of
our
contemporaries.”
Thales
Alenia
Space's
Martin
Jean-Baptiste
said:
"Thales
Alenia
Space
congratulates
Talk
Satellite
and
CommsDay
for
having
organised
the
first
Australasia
Satellite
Forum
which
was
excellent
for
understanding
the
key
issues
driving
the
Australian
satellite
market.
Key
people
involved
in
the
Asia-Pacific
satellite
industry
were
attending
the
event
and
it
was
a
great
opportunity
to
share
information
with
different
actors
of
the
value
chain
of
the
satellite
sector."
Space
Systems/Loral's
Dawn
Harms
said:
"The
Australasia
Satellite
Forum
provided
an
environment
that
was
highly
conducive
to a
valuable
exchange
of
ideas.
It
is
events
like
this
that
bring
the
industry
together
and
help
us
deliver
high
value
to
the
people
who
depend
on
satellite
communications
every
day"
And
the
director
of
Optus
Satellite,
Paul
Sheridan,
said
"The
Comms
Day
Australasia
Satellite
Forum
offers
a
great
platform
for
satellite
providers
from
all
over
the
world
to
catch
up
on
the
latest
industry
news.
This
year
we
saw
an
impressive
number
of
international
participants
in
attendance
making
it
one
of
the
most
valuable
satellite
conferences
I
have
attended."
The
first
Australasia
Satellite
Forum
was
held
on
21
April
at
the
Four
Seasons
Hotel
in
Sydney.
Platinum
sponsor
was
Optus
Satellite,
Gold
sponsors
were
Intelsat,
Space
Systems/Loral,
IPStar,
Thales
Alenia
Space
and
Newsat
while
Reach
was
a
silver
sponsor.
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