A Competitive Analysis for Creating
New
Teleport Business Through the 1990's
Terra Firma Technologies
1825 Cherryville Road, Littleton, CO 80121
Tel (303) 762-9540 Fax (303 762-9541
Executive Summary Table of Contents I. Introduction II. Video, Voice, and Data Services and Markets General Telecom Industry Perspective Satellite Industry Perspective A. Satellite Video Private Video Networks Educational Video Networks Business Television Networks Entertainment Video Programming Narrowcasting to a Plethora of Special Interest Audiences Latin American Subscriptions Cable / Broadcast / Entertainment Television Networks News Feeds and Specialty Feeds B. Worldwide Voice Market General US Regulations International Message Toll Services US Domestic Message Toll Negatives C. Data Networks III. Summaries of Market Findings Revenues IV. Integrating Technologies Digital Compression Fiber Optic Linking V. Space Segment (Domestic and International) Satellite Services Worldwide Growth of Satellite Systems Technical Hurdles for Growth Political / Regulatory / Sociological Hurdles Satellite Investments and Third World Development VI. Analysis of a Teleports Sphere of Influence Table of Solutions Technical Limits and Opportunities Business Based Limits and Opportunities Likely Markets to Target Government Trade and Commerce Tourism Higher Education Ethnic Programming NAFTA and the National Information Infrastructure VII. Introduction to Teleports Global Role of Teleports Current US Teleport Trends Non-US Teleport BusinessThe Strengths and Weaknesses of Satellite Communications
VIII. Footnotes
by illuminating the business, technical, regulatory, historical, and competitive environments within which teleports generally exist. Concrete answers to many of these questions may not be obtainable in the near term, and will depend heavily upon the initial conditions of the teleport facility at the time of procurement or upgrade. But this report will reveal business factors which can guide investors to more specific answers to their many questions.
Although this report focuses on revenue numbers in the industry, it also includes background material on the teleport industry and on satellite communications, briefly discussing the historical context of teleport services. Material mentioned throughout this report as footneted references will be key to many details and should be consulted as business plans are being formulated. But they are also mentioned to indicate the breadth and magnitude of the existing satellite-based market. A general cost model is provided which addresses typical levels of service needed to cover new investments.
By any one's measure of success, the telecommunications industry is booming, and all indications point to accelerating growth opportunities in most market segments. Fortunes are being made through innovation, where new services are developed in the worldwide atmosphere of privatization and deregulation within the telecom industry. By judicious use of powerful new terminal equipment and transport system technologies, the rewards of lower cost and higher revenues can be realized.
The question of how good a competitor a new or renovated teleport would be depends largely on the intrinsic capabilities of staff, the strength and foresight of the management and the investors [these comprising the strengths and weakenesses of the internal environment], and the extrinsic markets in which the teleport will operate [these comprising the opportunities and threats of the external environment].
The staff must include a well-connected marketing manager with a keen understanding of the primary teleport markets; local and regional competition; the ever-present economic risk factors; and the environment for both the initial major lines of business and for high probability adjunct business opportunities.
The staff must also include a technical manager capable of handling day-to-day, bread-and-butter operations, while possessing sufficient experience to know how to develop facilities for new market opportunities. The technical manager must also be able to design, add to or modify the facilities for new service offerings, to understand required return on investments, and to weave marginal new service offerings into the existing operations, turning them into profitable ventures.
The investors must have the strength and foresight to augment their initial investments until the staff and the facilities sufficiently support themselves, and growth in old and new markets is clearly underway.
Without a proper overall assessment and an informed and aggressive pursuit of available market segments, understanding of their direction and their operational costs, a poorly made investment could lead to ownership of outdated facilities unable to effectively compete in a dynamically changing marketplace, and unsuccessfully operated by discouraged staff members.
Although there still seems to be a business at a low to moderate level performing classic US domestic video teleport functions, the telecommunications industry of the 1990s and beyond holds potentially far greater rewards as the scope of telecommunications shifts to a global platform. This report is intended to be both a roadmap and a checklist for moving into the future.
Our goal is to present a road map which can be used to identify and navigate the coming changes in a dynamic industry. The compilation of source data allows us to show past, current and future trends as seen by other industry professionals. Our own analysis provides a unique spin on expectations and projections to provide the reader an opportunity to:
A key feature of this report is the presentation of a low and high estimate range of available revenues from various market service segments. The ranges presented here are bounded by the negative and positive influences (current and foreseeable) affecting the given segment, with appropriate explanation provided immediately or referenced elsewhere within the report.
Elements of Discontinuity
Each of these will be discussed in separate follow-on sections.
Generally speaking, the US telecommunications industry is a rapidly growing industry, with recent and current revenues demonstrating that fact. The following was gleaned from an overall industry revenue summary of the then-recently closed 1993 and projections for 1994: [Note: FSS = Fixed Satellite Services; MSS = Mobile Satellite Services]
More specific data on satellite service revenues by FSS and MSS categories can be extrapolated. For instance, combining the Fixed Satellite Service and Mobile Satellite Service revenues:
Video Services, including entertainment, education, BTV and news feeds, can then be extrapolated from the FSS revenues:
The International segment of the FSS revenues are as follows:
The MSS portion of the combined FSS/MSS revenues provide the following further derivations:
Private Video Networks
Private Video Networks are generally defined as on-premise, "self-contained" communication networks used by a single business group or corporation. Generally, the majority of equipment and expertise is internal to the organization and network, and do not often call for "outside" services such as those offered by a teleport. Typical Private Network communications uses point-to-point and point-to-multipoint video teleconferencing with some voice and data transfer.
There may be a market for any teleport organization in assisting with the start-up phases of a particular Private Network in both the central uplink facility as well as the development of multiple remote-site facilities. Much of this, however, tends toward hardware support projects as opposed to pure service operations. Revenues produced from equipment and services to the Private Network industry in North America appear to be in a steady but low-incline growth phase.
We believe that the potential market share available to a new entrant for this particular service to be in the range of 2 % to 5%:
Educational Video Networks
Educational video networks are generally defined by point-to-multipoint broadcast of instructional programming for academic courses, covering Kindergarten through grade 12, college, and some professional training not covered in BTV. Many such systems have in-place downlinks and are dependent on "outside" service providers, such as teleports, for uplink feeds and program turn-around services. The potential growth in this segment is high, as educational concerns and distance learning techniques become priorities for domestic and global societies.
We believe that the potential market share available to a new entrant for this particular service to be in the range of 8% to 12%:
Business Television Networks
Business Television (BTV or BusTV) represents another high-growth potential communications mode. Business Television refers to the use of program distribution that is commercial in nature but does not occur on Private Networks. Much of this market is steady use, occasional programming, such as training seminars for sales people and product demonstrations for potential customers. Revenues for BTV services are projected to grow tremendously over the next five years. The revenue amounts shown below are for North American BTV usage:
On a world wide scale, BTV has an equally steep growth projection for both European and Asian industry, estimated to be approximately $1 Billion by 1995. [14] As multi-national corporations increase and expand, the international scope of BTV will correspondingly increase.
We believe that the potential market share available to a new entrant for this particular service to be in the range of 5% to 7%:
Entertainment Video Programming
The most extensive distribution system for US entertainment programming is the Cable Television Industry. And even with the advent of Direct Broadcast Satellites (DBS), with the massive number of available channels from the new industry, there will be a niche for specialty program distribution that is not sufficiently general to appeal to the majority of viewers. But there are businesses to be built in a new category of cable fare called Ethnic Programming. Ethnic Programming caters to ethnic groups in a region or neighborhood of a certain city who want to see programming from their native lands and/or enjoy standard programming in their own language, or view topics of colloquial interest.
Opportunities should be sought in both transmission and reception of such programming should a region have one or more large ethnic groups, or have something ethnically unique which originates within their own area. Eventually someone will be originating programming from the US for the primary consumption of American Nationals in many locations overseas, and / or be involved in re-distributing a downlinked program for US-based foreign nationals. Some "private Cable-type programming" for specialty markets and special interests will require teleport services. This is especially true in the growing markets of cable TV to third world or lesser-developed countries.
Certain technical or operational difficulties which are common to any broadcast media can be encountered in such services since the signals from different countries do not adhere to political boundaries. In addition, incompatible video formats such as PAL, SECAM or NTSC may complicate useful reception of ethnic programming transmission. Since different countries, often even neighboring countries within a single satellite footprint, may use different video formats, a dual feed or format conversion process may be required.
One entirely US-based enterprise serves as an example of narrowcasting. The "Tavern Channel" was a specialty program package intended for bars wanting to show action sports on a continuous basis. It had a solid reason for its existence and a wide market. It eventually failed, but its demise was reported to be management and administration oriented, and not viewer reluctance or lack of market interest. This type of specialty programming may always have an eager audience and lucrative market demand.
Latin American Subscriptions
As entertainment television expands on a global scale, the growth possibilities are practically limitless. For example, the following statistics apply to the Latin American cable TV market, where the overall base customer market is currently at 6 million subscribers. The growth rates of Latin America to capture the potential market can be seen as typical for many newly opened market in select developing countries:
Cable / Broadcast / Entertainment Television Networks
Subscriber payments for entertainment television have continued to grow, even in times of so-called recession. Couple this with the planned addition of new delivery channels and new types of services to be added to cable, and the Cable TV Industry is due to slowly but surely saturate the domestic and global market. As domestic markets flatten their growth curve, as is indicated below, foreign markets become the primary targets for cable industry expansion. Subscription rates will continue to climb at a steady rate within the US, despite recent FCC re-regulation. In foreign markets, however, growth can be expected to be exponential.
Further investigation yields the following additional figures for US cable TV subscriptions:
We believe that the potential market share available to a new entrant for this particular service to be in the range of 0.02% to 0.5%:
News Feeds and Specialty Feeds
The category called Specialty Feeds or Occasional Use Feeds refers to those program feeds which occur on an on-demand basis, and cannot be predicted in advance as to WHEN they will occur, although there is a probability factor which can be used to determine that they will occur at least SOMETIME. Fast-breaking news stories centered around natural disasters, for instance, comprise a high number of news feeds. Stories of a human interest nature are often the subject of the specialty feeds. Although this type of feed cannot be scheduled in advance, teleports can predict that, garnering a portion of the information flow within their markets, they can control a certain percentage of these events that eventually occur. The following revenue numbers are not at all unusual for teleport operators to add into their planned revenue stream without knowing for certain the exact time or nature of the feed itself:
We believe that the potential market share available to a new entrant for this particular service to be in this general magnitude, given that there is sufficient local interconnection and on-site antenna capacity.
To support these levels of occasional use video or other types of service, we present the following scenario:
Order-of-Magnitude Incremental Cost - Occasional Use Services
Assume Capital Cost of Totally New Uplink Facility $750,000
Assume Revenue of Occasional Use Operation $200 / hour
Assume Cost of Occasional Use Operation $100 / hour
Assume ROI Needed 20 %
Transmission Hours / year $150,000 / ($200-$100) = 1,500 hours
Hours / week approximately 30
Hours / day approximately 6
Order-of-Magnitude Incremental Operational Cost Assumptions
Hours per year 1,500 transmission hours
Technicians Needed 2 each
Technician Cost per Hour $74,000 / 1,500 = $49.33 / hour
Sales Commissions @ 10% $200 / hour * 0.1 = $20.00/ hour
G&A Allowance per service $38,000 per year
$38,000 / 1,500 hours = $25.33 / hour
Power / Utilities $8,000 / year
Summary Cost / hour @ 1,500 hr/yr. $49+$20+$25+$6=$100
Order-of-Magnitude Incremental Revenues
1,500 hours / year * $200 / hour = $300,000 / year
or
$300,000 per year / 12 months per year = $25,000 / month
It is probable that a hard-working marketing staff for a new teleport could support six hours per day of transmission and such business can probably be found. This is not much traffic. Additionally, based on a 24-hour day, the facilities are only required to be utilized about 25% of the time, so growth in service is quite possible above this level.
It is also intuitive that if the facilities did not cost $750,000, if the number of technicians could be cut in half initially, and some management time could supplement both the sales and operational effort using G&A funds, that the initial traffic would not have to be as high as 6 hours per day to provide a decent return on investment.
General US Regulations
Although professional legal counsel needs to be sought before considering any businesses in the international voice arena, there are some broad principles which can be stated. US Government regulations on International Private Lines (IPL's) do temper the potential market. Before launching into provision of private line services, many legal and regulatory hurdles must be cleared in the US and in the foreign country of interest. As far as the US government is concerned, IPL's may be connected to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) at one or both ends where no resale or third party usage is involved. Conversely, resale is possible for private line services not connected to the PSTN at either end. Resellers of PSTN private lines are regulated as common carriers by the FCC.
International Message Toll Services
Based on studies and projections from mid-1992 data, the presentation here is believed to be conservative, based on extrapolations of current industry trends. A primary way to analyze the available international telecommunications traffic is to focus on International Message Toll (IMT) figures. These represent minutes of communications traffic which originated in location A bound for some international destination location B. The original measure of IMT was intended to be voice traffic, but as circuitry becomes digital, these numbers represent any switch traffic capable of being carried on voice-grade lines, which now means dial-up fax and data traffic.
In the information provided below, the total world-wide minutes of international message toll are given for a three year period (note the projections for 1993).
Important to understanding this table are the following assumptions made in preparing the above data as it applies to the US satellite service industry:
This number varies widely around the globe, with some countries having a much higher ratio of satellite-to-terrestrial trunking due to the state of the communications infrastructure of that country, their access to terrestrial and satellite systems and undersea gateways, and the restriction and regulation placed on their international communication traffic by Postal, Telephone and Telegraph (PTT) entities.
Through the INTELSAT consortium, members own their own satellites and ground systems and are often seen as communication bottle-necks when attempting to move international telecommunication traffic via non-member facilities. Although in recent years (e.g., from 1989 to 1993), the capacity on INTELSAT-owned satellites has been unavailable due to maximized capacities, and market share during that period began to move to private, regional non-INTELSAT satellite carriers. Despite this fact, and the growth of regional and international satellite systems capable of carrying IMT, it is estimated that INTELSAT may still carry as much as 70% of the available US (and global) satellite traffic, although market indicators show a future reduction in this percentage as private systems come on line. Of total IMT revenues, then, a maximum present market access by Other US Carriers to international satellite IMT appears to be about 30% of the available satellite revenue for US IMT traffic.
We believe that the potential market share available to a new entrant for this particular service to be in the range of 0% to 2%:
US Domestic Message Toll Negatives
Telecommunication services within the US have stabilized to a point that entry into the carrier market is nearly prohibitive. Dominant carriers, e.g., AT&T, MCI, and Sprint, have well developed market segments and, while there is still ongoing erosion of the AT&T base, losses are falling primarily to the other two dominant carriers. Attempted entry into the domestic US telecommunications market by trying to establish a competitive Point of Presence (POP) is practically unrealistic.
The only role reasonably available to new entrant teleports in this area is in support services to a dominant carrier, perhaps in a joint venture to provide direct satellite trunking into very specialized locations of the globe that literally have no other access. It would be difficult, without an in-depth study, to identify such market niches, and the existence of such, if found, would de facto indicate that they would become highly competitive markets as soon as they were developed.
Just as a point of reference, the general US Domestic Long Distance Carrier market can be described as below. Note that the figures are for the overall market and do not distinguish between satellite-carried and fiber-carried traffic, although an estimate is that much less than 10% of US domestic long distance traffic is routed by satellite:
It may be of interest, as a general yardstick for the domestic telecom arena, to note that terrestrial Common Carrier costs for a voice-grade circuit can be as little as $0.08 per mile per month or less, depending on the bulk capacity under contract.
The data services market represents a potential for the highest growth rate sector in the telecommunications industry, mainly due to the adaptation of all forms of communication into digital format, and the proliferation of computers connected to local area and wide area networks. Included in this category is new Digital Audio services.
One of the key outgrowths of digital transformation has been the emergence of the Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) industry. It is versatile and adaptive, providing cost effective telecommunication solutions to a variety of industries, with the size and portability of the units playing a key role in its rapid acceptance and growth.
VSAT revenues show phenomenal growth rates and continued growth trends well into the future.
Even though a typical application for a VSAT network would be a private network setting, there is ample room for Teleport involvement in a number of areas:
What VSAT brings to the table are the versatile, robust, multi-point to multi-point and remote access capabilities.
We believe that the potential market share available to a new entrant for this particular service to be in the range of 5% to 8%:
Taking the previously indicated revenue streams available to a new entrant into the teleport business could net in the near term the following average likely revenue amounts for this business:
Under an assumption that there could reasonably be 20 market entrants (new to the industry or an existing entity with a changed focus) in the coming year to 18 months, all equally qualified to capture market share, the available revenue opportunities could be 5% each, which equates to about $3,645,000. This assumes a level playing field with conventional services marketing by each of the entrants.
However, chances of dramatically increasing market share can occur through the development of an aggressive Marketing Plan for the teleport. Elements of the proposed Marketing Plan might include:
These Marketing Plan elements, if carried out successfully, should lead to market prominence. It would be reasonable under these conditions to project a market share as high as 15% of the available potential new-entrant revenues, or $10,000,000 annually.
One of the more important business decisions which faces the modern teleport is the level of investment in and rapid adaptation of up-to-date technologies. The technologies that can assist in keeping a teleport more competitive include the ability to save on space segment costs by transporting signals using less bandwidth, and using the freed-up bandwidth to generate additional revenue streams. The technologies also include the provision of wider connectivity and interoperability. These technologies provide for cost efficiencies over earlier technologies, and include all-digital transmission with flexible routing and interconnectivity with wideband fiber optic transport and distribution systems.
Digital Compression
Using advanced processing capabilities of economical new digital signal processors, (or DSP chips), video and audio signals can be encoded in such a way as to compress more information into a transmission channel than was previously possible. Current technology in digital compression easily provides an 8:1 compression ratio, effectively allowing the content of eight channels down a transmission path originally intended for one channel. Near-term advances should have this compression ratio up into the 10- or 12- to-1 channels in the relatively near future.
The impact of digital compression on the transmission industry will be significant. Through the use of this technology, for example, in-orbit satellites suddenly have potential for double, triple or even quadruple their planned capacity with no change to the satellite itself. The trick to making money, as was stated before, is then to use this additional capacity for additional revenue services. Just to employ digital compression without increased levels of service, simply cuts into the bottom line by an amount equal to the cost of the compression equipment. It must be understood that most video compression systems which fill up single satellite transponders with multiple full motion video signals must transmit all these signals from one single earth station.
In certain instances, the use of purely digital signals over systems designed for analog relay does not produce the full advantage of compression as does circuitry specifically designed to provide digital transmission. Conversion of a teleport to full compression capable technology, from analog or even from uncompressed digital, can cost in the range of $1 Million for equipment upgrades to operate with these high compression algorithms. [3.5]
Fiber Optic Linking
In sharp contrast to the scenario of the early 1980's, where teleports and satellite traffic was seen in competition and conflict with the then-growing threat of fiber optics, satellite transmission is now seen as complementary to the high capacity, high speed, high bandwidth trunking technologies of fiber optics by providing supporting point-to-multipoint and point-to-remote point access. Also, recent on-board satellite design technologies have responded to these earlier perceived "threats" with the capability for higher bandwidths, higher power levels, on-board switching and fully digital architecture for DSP.
Satellite Services
Domestic and International satellite systems are currently categorized in terms of their coverage and access. At present and into the near future, systems which operate in the regions accessible by most mainland US-based teleports can generally be described as International Systems, Regional Global Systems, and Foreign National Systems.
Worldwide Growth of Satellite Systems
Projections for communication satellites show positive worldwide growth, with the Pacific Rim being the fastest growing region in the near term, but with significant coverage of Central and South America and, eventually, Africa occurring by the turn of the Century. There are a great number of Geostationary satellites which are visible from any point in the continental United States. In many instances where line-of-sight to the specific satellite is blocked, an intermediate operating agreement, or perhaps an ally, would be needed. Such an alliance might include an entity on the either Coast of the United States who does not have, but wants, access to trade-off niche markets available to the new entrant teleport.
Worldwide estimates for communications satellites between 1994 and 2007 show in excess of 15 new satellites launched into orbit per year [25] with some launch service projections showing numbers at least 50% higher [26]. The typical communication satellite under construction is a hybrid, which means it operates in more than one frequency band. A hybrid satellite typically has 24 transponders in C-Band with 36 MHz bandwidth each, and 10 to 12 transponders in Ku-Band with 72 MHz bandwidth each, and a few L-Band transponders.
Technical Hurdles for Growth
There are several technological hurdles that challenge the growth of satellite communications, the two key ones occurring hand in hand: frequency congestion and orbital slot congestion. A large number of satellites operate on exactly the same frequencies. This presents an interference problem for both the adjacent satellite and the ground station attempting to communicate with the satellite. The placement on the Geostationary arc, as authorized by the Federal Communications Commission for the United States, currently provides spacing between satellites at 2¡ intervals. This "crowds" the arc, which can be seen as a finite natural resource. Globally, there are only 180 slots at 2¡ intervals, ( i.e. 360 / 2, or only 360 slots at 1¡ intervals. And 1¡ spacing would be totally impractical for all but the largest dishes and highest frequencies of interest.
All of the Latin American countries have aspirations of fully using locations on the Geostationary arc which the US considers "its own" domestic arc. Although many of the Latin American satellites that will provide National or Regional services will be "pointed away from" North America, potential interference at the Geostationary arc positions are still problems. Due to the growing on-board power of the satellites and the growing number of satellites assigned to practically the same orbital locations, the future requires solutions to these problems.
In general, two engineering techniques are being used to address these problems: data compression and frequency re-use. Data compression eases the problem in the near term by decreasing the number of satellites required to serve the growing demand. Frequency re-use techniques such as cross-polarization and narrowly focused spot-beams can decrease interference to lower, more acceptable levels. And although these measures may appear to provide solutions for the present, the problems of frequency and arc congestion will remain contentious into the future.
Political / Regulatory / Sociological Hurdles
In addition to technological problems, the problems of language and cultural barriers, and the difficulty in obtaining landing rights in foreign locations are looming on the horizon.
Regarding language and cultural barriers, both the programming content and, more importantly, the operations staff and initial business negotiating team that offer services to foreign areas are constrained by their command of the language and their understanding of the nuances of the local culture.
Regarding landing rights, each sovereign nation has control over the communications systems which operate within its boundaries. Each inbound or outbound service must be licensed to operate within that country. Often this is difficult to obtain due to complicated regulations, the monopoly of the PTT, and many "self-protective" practices in the foreign countries. This last item pertains to the fear that a loss of economic resources as well as a loss of cultural identity may occur if foreign entities are given too much access to such a powerful medium as telecommunications.
Most foreign telecommunication organizations are under current control of Postal, Telephone, and Telegraph (PTT) administration. Even though the world-wide trend is toward deregulation of unreasonable or unnecessary government controls and privatization of the state-owned systems, this conversion has been and will continue to be a slow process.
The INTELSAT consortium is another hurdle, where the members band together to discourage competitive entry into the market. Specific areas that are impacted by the process of obtaining foreign operating authorizations are an inability to obtain reasonable local connections with the PTT and Intra-Country and cross border tariff restrictions and barriers.
The need to privatize PTT systems is an ongoing and global trend, which unfortunately is itself often bogged down in government bureaucracy. One key reason for this push for privatization is that the profit motive is lacking in the subsidized PTT, taking the competitive edge away from new services. It will be hard to "change course" in ways of doing business for methods that have been in place since inception of the electronic communications industry some 40 or more years ago.
By far, the key overall factor of success in working within a foreign market is knowledge of the local culture and the ability to move within the established social, political, and economic arena as a local business entity. This will generally require direct affiliation with foreign nationals in partnership arrangements.
These hurdles in Latin America have been documented, including the difficulties of obtaining reasonable interconnect access fees in several countries. There is deep concern that US or European or Asian based international long distance competitors will "cherry pick" the more lucrative long distance and international service markets, leaving little for the national companies to work with in developing more generally available telecommunications infrastructure.
Basic local services in Latin America do not account for anything near the average 42% of revenues generated by US RBOCs, which presents a new economic paradigm for US carriers attempting to enter foreign markets. For instance, domestic long distance accounts for almost 50% of the annual revenue of two telecommunication entities in Argentina, indicating little or no "local connection" revenues in a relative sense. [27]
Satellite Investments and Third World Development
There have been instances which exemplify the success of opening international telecommunication markets. These examples also show the level of intense competition when this occurs. For example, with the "opening up" of Pacific Rim regions employing new satellite services, there has been an accompanying heavy investment in the telecommunications and associated infrastructures of the Pacific Rim countries.
Other examples of the growing use of satellites are abundant for primary communication services in areas where little or no services existed previously. For instance, as the former Soviet countries attempt to upgrade their systems, satellite service growth has occurred with regularity. It is a trend which can be seen as a typical pattern for third world and underdeveloped countries lacking in-place communications infrastructure and having distance and isolated locations concerns:
The global perspective provides an overall picture of the markets available. But some locations are obviously better situated for some markets than for others, and the available or planned ground facilities of the teleport offers some opportunities while preventing others.
In considering some of the many market opportunities, i.e., solutions which solve problems for businesses, and in which satellite teleport operations play a natural role, include the following, and many others:
Table of Solutions
Problem
Satellite Teleport Solution
Order tracking and inventory balance
Point-of-sale data collection
Advertising and promotion
CATV Ad insertion
Shipping / movement of goods
Real-time tracking and communications
International corporate business
Point-to-point private lines
Corporate independence / autonomy
Private network ownership, operation
Natural resource exploration
Direct access / temporary services
Remote construction site logistics
Immediate voice, data broadcast
High-risk remote ventures
Instant progress data, updates, feedback
Disaster recovery
Data restoral, infrastructure repair
Geographically separated work sites
Enterprise networking, conferencing
Direct consumer merchandising
Satellite sales promotions
Multi-site data / program distribution
Inexpensive small terminal network
Voice, video and data mix
Digital multiplexing and transport
Technical Limits and Opportunities
The facilities at many start-up or expanding teleports may not be extensive, and may need to be upgraded to provide competition at high levels of service. Typical teleports have grown to 10 or more antennas with the electronics to support them in order to provide flexibility and high volume in potential service offerings. There is a "critical mass" which occurs between what facilities are available and what services can actually be provided. With insufficient plant facilities and flexibility, many otherwise bona fide opportunities cannot be captured. With too few facilities, any additional or new business opportunities which occur at peak hours must be turned away.
There are technical limits on teleport operations both from the ground based facilities and the satellites visible. All teleports cannot see all satellites. The satellite orbital locations in the table below are just a few, illustrating a range of visibility for a location roughly centered in the continental US.
CONUS means the CONtinental US, i.e., the 48 contiguous states.
Very detailed listing of these and other satellites, their characteristics, and types of traffic carried on them are available from such sources as The World Satellite Directory by Phillips Publishing Inc., or The World Satellite Annual by MLE, Inc. A major conclusion is that the paths of communication available to the domestic US teleports do not seem to be technically limited. Most of the developed world and much of the undeveloped world, including Africa and the lower Americas, Europe and/or Asia, are but a single satellite hop away from most locations.
Business Based Limits and Opportunities
As with any business, the recipe for success or failure rests on many factors. However, the following generalization presents several common reasons for failure and success:
Failures
Failures have generally occurred in the teleport industry due to one or more of the following factors:
Successes
Success is often attributed to:
Likely Markets to Target
From our perspective, there seem to be several categories of business which have natural potential in the telecommunications market:
Government
One of the key industries for local employment in many locations is the state and local government. Government services sector is often one of the third largest employer. Catering services to government agencies is a logical first step in business development.
Trade and Commerce
The details of each specific location must be analyzed to identify the key areas of inter-dependency in the commercial sector.
Tourism
Tourism is often a key trade area and bears close investigation.
Higher Education
Hospitals, universities, and research organizations place heavy emphasis on the development of any region's telecommunication needs. As these industries require a means to both share their current expertise and call in outside sources of expertise, the teleport can easily facilitate these needs on a domestic, regional or international basis. There is a strong trend among educational institutions to leverage the teacher talent and facilities which they do possess by employing electronic technology. Satellite distribution is one of the most natural methods of providing education, and where real-time feedback is needed, telephone or satellite based return channels are readily employable.
Ethnic Programming
Drawing on the uniqueness of the culture and population in a specific target location, there may well be a wealth of materials which could be developed and packaged under the category of ethnic programming. Distribution or access to this type of programming is definitely within the operational parameters of the teleport. [31]
NAFTA and the National Information Infrastructure
There are, additionally, two new market forces which need to be assessed for a better understanding on their real potential. They are: NAFTA and NII. Because of the immediacy of the Canadian and Latin American markets, a location-sensitive assessment must be made for the teleport under consideration.
Although the National Information Infrastructure is awaiting stronger definition, the implications of the national Information Highway should provide a key growth source for teleport activities. Coupled with the high government base of operation in the area, this should provide activity for an information node.[32]
The so-called Information Superhighway will in large measure consist of distribution plant of fiber, coaxial cable, wired, and wireless technologies, with switching of diverse applications by combinations of public and private switching systems. Teleports will have a role in the super network and will compete effectively with other technologies by providing flexible gateways to the global market. Teleports will not directly compete, nor have to compete, with optical fiber.
The advantage fiber has over all previous broadband technologies is that it does not have to be rebuilt between its end points whenever higher speeds or upgrades to network architectures are modified. A terminal equipment change to higher speeds is often all that is necessary to provide a tenfold, hundred fold, or more increase in information carried between these points. But fibers remain fixed between the same two points once installed. The Information Superhighway will consist of hundreds of millions of point A to point B fiber and metallic links interconnected through switches of various kinds to pass information. Satellite technology, by contrast, remains simple, independent, and flexible end-to-end, from A to B, wherever they are.
The Information Infrastructure Task Force (IITF), a group of committees and analysis groups, has recently been established by the Clinton administration. The focus of IITF will be on the various bills now in legislation addressing the direction of the NII: the need for interconnection, nondiscriminatory access, universal service, and access for the disabled. Additionally, a central focus, which may fit in well with the posture of the educational resources to be found in the local region, is a stated goal that "by the year 2000, all of the classrooms, libraries, hospitals, and clinics in the United States will be connected to the National Information Infrastructure (NII)."
On a national basis, the fourth-highest area of employment is higher education (after federal and state government and primary industry). Much of the emphasis of the NII is on bolstering education and research. For example, S1040, Technology for Education Act, "seeks to encourage the use of new technologies in education with sections dealing with the Internet and other network activities; HR 2639 provides grants and other appropriations for the NII developments. [37]
It is important to put the concept of the "Teleport" into historical context in order to appreciate the rapid and successful growth which has occurred. In fact, the very nature of teleports and their perceived function has changed dramatically from their inception in the early 1980's to their present configurations. [1]
Teleports were first seen as cost-shared facilities with co-located capital equipment items providing remote access to the Geostationary arc from an area away from any nearby urban centers. This original need for the teleport was driven by cost sharing and avoidance of radio frequency interference (RFI). The concept was quickly adopted by real estate developers as a way to draw clientele away from the cities into some nestled hide-away free from RFI but designed with plenty of available office space. That particular approach to combined teleport and real estate development has met with little success in the US. However, there is evidence that elsewhere in the world, the concept has taken on a strong practical application.
In contrast, the teleport of the 1990's and beyond is seen as an integral part of the entire domestic and global communications infrastructure, including support and enhancement of the terrestrial optical fibers, cable and microwave. An all-encompassing definition of teleport now includes reference to seamless transportation of information in a central hub configuration, providing some value-added services to the communication process. [2]
While the early 1980's saw teleports of two or three antennas with a shared microwave relay back to the user premise, today's average teleport has been described as comprised of "10 to 20 antennas ranging in size from 3.5 to 11 meters" with a direct link to some major communication distribution system.[3]
Global Role of Teleports
As the modern world is knitted and woven together into a tightly structured information matrix, teleports will have an important role providing direct single hop connection between otherwise isolated locations. For developing countries, satellites are catalysts for growth, bypassing inefficient and outdated local facilities to keep multinational firms in touch with the world. Companies operating in developing foreign countries are expected to seek out and increase their reliance on teleports to assist them with custom communication one-stop-shopping and to assist them in interconnecting their suppliers, financiers, customers, and others with whom they communicate globally and regionally.
Current US Teleport Trends
As early as 1982, the list of active teleports was probably less than two dozen, with considerable argument as to which facilities were actually qualified to use the name. Today, as referenced through the listing put together by Via Satellite Magazine in their August, 1993 issue, the number of facilities in the US providing uplink capabilities and qualifying themselves as teleports is now well over 200. Refer to this valuable resource for a listing of teleport facilities.
Today, nearly every state in the union sports a teleport facility. Those toward the eastern seaboard serve domestic and European traffic. Those toward the western seaboard serve the Pacific Rim and domestic markets. Most are technically capable of serving all North, Central and South American countries through various satellites.
Current service capabilities span a wide array. Nearly all teleports generally cater to video, audio, and data as opposed to specializing in any of the three, although there are teleports with specialized or limited service provisioning. On-site video production and audience viewing facilities are useful in some locations which are either close to the businesses they serve or are otherwise easy to access physically.
Regular program distribution, occasional use or ad-hoc distribution services and news feeds are widely furnished by teleport operators. The more desirable types of services are the regularly scheduled feeds, particularly those using a long block of time per transmission. Better yet are full time feeds running round the clock requiring multiple simultaneous channel uplink and downlink. Teleports can and do satisfy these requirements in many instances.
Flexibility in ground-based facilities, i.e., the ability to switch transmit and receive electronics between antennas, a relatively large number of antennas, multi-band operation, and the ability to quickly re-point antennas, are paramount in successfully establishing and building occasional use services, news feeds, and program turn-around services.
Most teleports can easily provide turn-around services, i.e. receive programs or feeds on one satellite and re-transmit the material at the same time or delayed, on the same or different frequencies, to a different satellite, and reach varied destinations, networks or audiences. To successfully accomplish this requires a variety of antennas and associated electronics. Turn-arounds are done on multiple frequency bands, e.g., C-band to Ku-band, and may involve video format conversion between countries using differing TV standards. Adjunct services to turn-arounds which teleports can frequently provide include data or program material encryption, addition of program "marquees" using video character generators, and addition of a subcarrier for second language program audio.
Teleports also engage heavily in direct connection to major distribution networks. Some teleports provide program audio for distribution to radio networks. These services are useful both for real-time activities such as radio sports broadcasts, pre-recorded material for piped music systems in office buildings, restaurants, and other public places, and specialty program feeds for CATV systems, radio networks or other uses of audio services.
Some teleports have committed to purchase major blocks of satellite transponder time, and in some cases have even entered into full time leases of one or more satellite transponders. This provides a distinct advantage for the teleport. They can bundle usual ground-based services with the sale of transponder time. The advantage to the teleport's customer is the speed and convenience of one-stop shopping and a favorable rate for transponder time. The customer does not have to take time to arrange for each service independently -- an extremely important advantage for a news story.
The advantage to the teleport is a competitive edge over other providers who can offer only ground-based services. The financial risk involved is not selling sufficient time on the transponder to cover the cost of the commitment, but available transponder time does not have to be used only by the procuring teleport. Time segments alone can be leased and anyone else in the footprint can help pay for the overall space segment commitment.
Interconnectivity to other telecommunications facilities is critical to the survival of a teleport. Interconnection within the teleport's immediate geographic region must be available on very short notice for occasional feeds, and means to provide rapid last mile connections to local broadcast stations and other customers must be available, complete with backup facilities, if necessary.
Teleports have opportunities to package and uplink special programming for organizations that want to widely distribute information or entertainment or use narrowcast means. This includes educational material for universities, commercial material for businesses, or other programming whose sponsor desires satellite-based distribution.
Video and audio post-production and tape editing are frequently provided by teleports as adjunct services to satellite transmission, and can be a valuable source of revenue to support technicians who can perform these activities between satellite feeds.
Event coordination for multiple site teleconferences, for example, can be a side business for teleport personnel. Videoconference arrangements for transportable uplinks, downlinks, viewing rooms, video monitors, catering, and satellite time are currently offered by many teleports.
Teleport competition has come from some unexpected sources whose primary business is not telecommunications. An example includes universities which, after installing studio facilities for educational purposes, end up adding satellite transmission facilities and selling services outside the educational community in competition with a local or regional teleport. They often cannot afford uplink equipment electronics, however, and thereby represent a less capable competitor. A similar competitive class includes television stations with on-site satellite facilities.
Another unexpected, but often effective, competitor to teleport businesses can be enterprises that normally originate cable TV programming, i.e., 24 hours per day transmission sites. These may have satellite expertise, spare time, spare electronics , spare antennas, the required capital, and a desire for supplemental income with minimal additional effort, personnel, or investment.
Non-US Teleport Business
Worldwide, teleports are usually a much different type of facility in terms of their reasons for being, their ownership, their opportunities, their origins, and their regulatory and market environments. Contrasted to the US teleport industry, which is often characterized as individual entrepreneurs pursuing cut-throat business, teleports in developed foreign countries are typically large joint ventures of telecommunications and non-telecommunications businesses and real estate developers, in concert with local government agencies who all realize the value of high-tech environments.
Many foreign teleports exist in an environment where government support and subsidy provide economic and regulatory opportunities not available to their US teleport counterparts. Additionally, many foreign entities are working without the embedded facility base which we are already used to and enjoy here in the US. There are severe limitations in many national distribution networks, where they may still be developing, if not improving, the communications infrastructure. What most countries have falls far short of the level of service enjoyed by US teleports and the general commercial and social implications of telecommunications network nodes.
There are several organizations which could help a new or re-structured teleport learn from and align with the worldwide teleport industry. One such entity is the World Teleport Association (WTA). This organization, headquartered in New York, includes representatives from many of the largest and most successful teleports from around the globe. This resource should be investigated further.
The primary stated goal of WTA is to provide services to teleports and other member organizations that are engaged in information movement, information management, and economic development, in order to help them serve their customers and constituents more effectively through aggregating services. The WTA charter fosters an oversight for technical compatibility and provides assistance in many international business-related issues, including representation in foreign and domestic communication tariff discussions, local interconnect arrangements, and other items important to teleports. For more information about the World Teleport Association, call (212) 432-2028.
Foreign teleports in general compete for the same types of markets which are analyzed in this report. Their service segments are similarly delineated by video, voice, and data traffic. In developed nations, teleports can represent an important economic advantage to the city in which they are built. For seaports and trading companies, a teleport can provide service to streamline logistic support. If the local City Government and Chamber of Commerce could clearly understand the roles, opportunities, and advantages of having such a facility, they can become powerful allies in developing trade-related business.
The Strengths and Weaknesses of Satellite Communications
Pure satellite communications still has its strengths and always will, even if optical fiber should become ubiquitous. Neither medium can serve all needs. There are intrinsic weaknesses for each. Satellite communications' strengths and weaknesses are included here as a tool to evaluate the best fits between potential teleport markets and that portion of teleport technology which involves satellites.
Strengths
One characteristic which makes satellite transmission a clear winner over other technologies is in point-to-multipoint applications. Examples are numerous, from feeding cable television head-ends all over the country, to providing multiple site business or academic instruction. Another example is very small aperture terminal (VSAT) data communications operating in a hubbed network configuration. The numbers of multipoint terminals can be increased or decreased independently, usually without cost impact to the existing network, and generally with a positive contribution to its revenue or its value to the user.
One variation of point-to-multipoint applications are multipoint-to-multipoint applications which satellite transmission generally also serves very well. Examples are multiple site teleconferences in which large numbers of sites participate with all others, or corporate data networks where operational control and management information systems are distributed among many sites.
Other applications which make satellite transmission clear winners over other transport methods are in remote services where it is not feasible to run a cable or wire, or arrange for a ground-based radio connection. Examples are pipeline control, offshore oil operations, operations where population is sparse and temporary, or operating in very difficult terrain or environmental conditions. Remoteness may even be relative to a single point in time when communications is needed, and even though the application might be urban in nature, alternate facilities built to it would be too late to serve the need.
Satellite communications are well suited to situations which are needed rapidly. Facilities can be set up to meet narrow-or wide-band communications needs almost instantaneously. They are also well suited to communications which are temporary, often being disassembled just as easily and rapidly as they were deployed. Commercial, morale, and military communications during Operation Desert Storm typified such characteristics both in rapid deployment of relatively wideband communications facilities, and in dismantling the facilities at the end of their use.
Weaknesses
There are many applications in which satellite communication systems and methods do not fit the needs well. When compared with the time it takes for a signal to travel a few hundred miles between user terminals on the ground, there is inherent excess delay in the signal having to travel 45,000 miles extra to and from the Geostationary satellite. After being processed at the receiver, some applications require a response to be sent back 45,000 miles to the originator.
In the example of a typical voice telephone call, this delay each way is on the order of 1/4 of a second. When users at each end of the link need no interaction this delay is not even noticeable for communications When interaction is necessary, and the information comes in short bursts from alternate ends of the link, the delay can frustrate people communicating verbally, and can reduce some data transactions to a crawl, resembling the "hurry-up-and-wait" phenomenon familiar to people in waiting lines with long service times.
Some people feel satellite antennas are offensive looking. One cannot set up an antenna just anywhere. Consider the ordinances against private dishes in many covenanted neighborhoods, and certain zoning restrictions imposed by municipalities. Even though a satellite dish may provide a better picture or cheaper service or more variety to a television viewer than is available via the cable TV system, a satellite solution is not always viable.
Satellite facilities of a class typical to teleport operations require a high amount of maintenance compared to fiber or cable systems. This is particularly true of those whose antennas and other associated parts must move, and/or whose electronics use high levels of electrical power and generate heat.
Satellite facilities have significant bandwidth limitations, although not necessarily with respect to a given single application. Most users do not have single applications which require higher bandwidths than possible to deliver over satellite facilities. The limit is one of adding bandwidth to the network for more and more customers, at low incremental costs. Fiber optics, by contrast to satellite, is essentially limitless in bandwidth, enabling traffic to be extended as needed to everyone who needs it who is sufficiently close to a fiber node which is connected to services of interest.
It should be noted in evaluating potential services that material which can be delayed for some amount of time, and its transport planned in advance by other means than satellite, e.g., by shipment of magnetic tape or some other form of recorded medium to intended destinations, does not represent a likely market for satellite service. This is generally true, even for applications which have a significant number of multipoint destinations. This particular "weakness" of satellite communications is based in the economics of information transfer.
[1] Teleports and the Intelligent City, Dow Jones-Irwin, 1986 and "Teleports, Teleports, Teleports," Satellite Communications, 11/83
Key to any strategic planning issues is knowing where the contiunously projected trends might take sudden upward or downward movements, creating a discontinuity in the trend that must be planned for. There are several elements which may occur in the Teleport industry which could cause such discontinuities:
II. Video, Voice, and Data Services and Markets
General Telecom Industry Perspective
Although the adaptation of digital technology continues to erode the distinctions between video, voice, and data, as each media in turn adopts purely digital methods, the original distinctions between these three types of communication classifications still exist, and are useful in analyzing the teleport industry.
Market Gen.Tel. Intrnl. Tel FSS/ MS
1993 Rev $179 Bil $10.34 Bil $1.85 Bil
1994 Rev $193 Bil $12.4 Bil $2.3 Bil
Rev Increase 7.7% 20% 25%
Figure 1: General Overview of the US Telecom Industry [4]
Satellite Industry Perspective
The general trend incidates that, if the FCC provides the necessary approvals in a timely fashion, by the late 1990's the FSS and MSS service revenues will easily reach $3 Billion, with Digital Audio Broadcasting creating a $2 Billion market for US companies. It was additionally noted that revenues in satellite services may increase even more if the market accepts pending services to be offered by Direct Broadcast and Mobile Service Satellites.[5]
Year 1992 1993 1994 1998
Revenues $1.5 Bil $1.85 Bil $2.3 Bil $3.0 Bil
% Increase -- 23% 24.5% 30%
FSS and MSS Satellite Services [6]
Of this combined total, a breakout of the FSS revenues reveals:
Year 1993
Revenues $1.6 Bil
% of Total Combined Revenues $1.6 Bil
FSS Segment of Combined Revenues [7]
Year 1993
Revenues $1 Bil
% of FSS Revenues 60%
Video Services Segment of FSS [8]
Year 1992 1993
Revenue $623 $760 Mil
% Increase -- 22%
FSS Revenues from the International Market [9]
Year 1993 1996
Revenues $245 Mil $473 Mil
% Increase 22% 93%
MSS Segment of Combined Revenues [10]
A. Satellite Video
Video has generally been the mainstay of early teleport services. Historically, the way to "get into the business" has been to find a solid video anchor customer, and build ancillary services around that. This may still be a viable market entry and development strategy. There are, however, several categories of video services, each with their own specialized market niche, and none should be overlooked or discounted. Several of these categories are isolated for individual analysis.
Year 1992 1993
Revenue $290 Mil $300 Mil
% increase -- 3.45%
Private Network Revenues [11]
Service Private Net
Revenues $300 Mil
% Available 3 %
$ Available $ 9 Mil
Year 1992 1993
Revenue $20 Mil $53 Mil
% increase -- 250%
Educational Video Revenues [12]
Service Education
Revenues $53 Mil
% Available 10 %
$ Available $5.3 Mil
Year 1992 1997
Revenue $90 Mil $243 Mil
% Increase -- 270%
North American BTV Revenues [13]
Service BusTV
Revenues $120 Mil
% Available 6%
$ Available $7.2 Mil
Narrowcasting to a Plethora of Special Interest Audiences
Country Argentina Mexico Brazil
Current Subs 3 Million 1.5 Million 0.2 Million
Potential Subs -- 5 Million 6 Million
Latin American Cable Subscriptions [15]
Year 1993 1994
Revenue $26.3 Bil $29 Bil
% Increase -- 10%
US Cable TV Revenues [16]
Year 1992 1993 1994 (est)
# of Subs 55 Mil 56 Mil 60 Mil
Sub Increase -- 2% 7%
Basic Service Rev -- $12.1 Bil $13.6 Bil
US Cable Subscription and Revenues [17]
Service Cable TV
Revenues $13 Bil
% Available 0.25%
$ Available $32.5 Mil
Type Occasional Feeds
Monthly Rev $25,000
see following cost development
$150,000 / year
Salary (loaded) $37,000 / year
$74,000 / year
$20.00 * 1,500 / year = $30,000 / year
$8,000 / 1,500 hours = $5.33 / hour
B. Worldwide Voice Market
The worldwide market for voice services is almost too large to comprehend at first glance. What is perhaps more mind-boggling is that these huge numbers are also growing rapidly. There are both private networks and switched international toll networks.
Year 1991 1992 1993 (est)
Total Min 35 Billion 40 Billion 46 Billion
Ave Rev $29.75 Bil $34 il $39.1 Bil
US 30% $8.925 Bil $10.2 Bil $11.73 Bil
Satellite $2.23 Bil $2.55 Bil $2.93 Bil
Non-INTEL -- $765 Mil $880 Mil
International Message Toll Revenues and Service Breakdown [18]
Service IMT
Revenues $1 Bil
% Available 1%
$ Available $10 Mil
Carrier AT&T MCI Sprint MARKET VALUE
1992 68% 15% 9% $65 Billion
1993 62% 17% 8.5% $70 Billion
US Domestic Long Distance Carriers and Revenues [19]
C. Data Networks
Data and Audio Broadcasting
Year 1992 1997
Revenues $80 Million $307 Million
Data and Audio Broadcasting Revenues [23]
Year 1992 1993
VSAT Nets Installed 245 270
% Increase -- 10%
Domestic VSAT Networks Installed [20]
Year 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997
Revenues $500 Mil $500 Mil $800 Mil $900 $1.1 Bil $1.25Bil
% Increase -- 0% 60% 13% 23% 13.3%
VSAT- Private Network Service and Equipment Revenues [21]
Year 1992 1993
Revenues $36 Mil $45 Mil
% Increase -- 25%
Domestic VSAT Service-Only Revenues [22]
Carrier Station/Major Hub
Year 1992 1997
Revenue $250 Million $350 Million
Carrier Hub Revenues [24]
Service VSAT
Revenues $45 Mil
% Available 6.5%
$ Available $2.9 Mil
III. Summaries of Market Findings
Revenues
SERVICE REVENUES 1/20th
Private Nets $9 Million BTV $450,000
Education $5.3 Million $265,000
BTV $7.2 Million $360,000
CATV $32.5 Million $1,625,000
Occasional Use $300,000 (annual) $300,000
IMT $10 Million $500,000
VSAT $2.9 Million $145,000
TOTAL POTENTIAL
$66.9 Million $3,645,000
IV. Integrating Technologies
V. Space Segment (Domestic and International)
Country Japan US EC
1991 $6.6 Billion $3.5 Billion $2.7 Billion
1992 $8.2 Billion $3.9 Billion $3.2 Billion
Pacific Rim Investments [28]
Year 1989 1990 1992 1996
Total Ckts 750 1250 4,000 50,000
% Increase -- 67% 320% 1250%
Sat Ckts 45 150 400 5,000
% by Sat 6% 12% 10% 10%
Developing Country Satellite Circuit Growth Example [29]
VI. Analysis of a Teleports Sphere of Influence
(repeating format)
SATELLITE
WEST LONG.
BAND
APPROX WESTERN COVERAGE
APPROX
EASTERN COVERAGE
Intelsat 502
21.5
C/Ku
AMERICAS
EUR, N.AFR, ASIA
Intelsat K
21.5
Ku
CONUS
EUR, N.AFR, ASIA
Intelsat 605
24.5
C/Ku
AMERICAS
EUR, N.AFR, ASIA
Intelsat 601
27.5
C/Ku
AMERICAS
EUR, N.AFR, ASIA
Hispasat 1, 2
30
Ku
AMERICAS
SPAIN,SO.FRANCE PORTUGAL
Intelsat 603
34.5
C/Ku
AMERICAS
EUR, N.AFR, ASIA
Orion
37.5
Ku
N.AMERICA
EUROPE
PanAmSat 3
39.5
C/Ku
AMERICAS
EUROPE
TDRS-East
40.6
C
CONUS
EUROPE
PanAmSat 2
43
C/Ku
AMERICAS
EUROPE
PanAmSat 1
45.5
C/Ku
AMERICAS
EUROPE
Orion
47
Ku
N.AMERICA
EUROPE
Intelsat 506
50
C/Ku
AMERICAS
EUR, N.AFR, ASIA
Intelsat 513
53
C/Ku
AMERICAS
EUR, N.AFR, ASIA
TDRS Central
62
C
CONUS
EUROPE
Brazilsat A1
65
C
No US Beam - Brazil Only
Spacenet II
69
C/Ku
CONUS
Brazilsat A2
70
C
No US Beam - Brazil Only
Satcom F2R
72
C
CONUS
Galaxy II
74
C
CONUS
Comstar D2/D4
76
C
CONUS
Satcom K2
81
Ku
CONUS
Satcom F4R
82
C
CONUS
Satcom K1
85
Ku
CONUS
Telstar 302
85
C
CONUS
Spacenet III
87
C/Ku
CONUS
SBS 4
91
Ku
CONUS
GStar III
93
Ku
CONUS
Galaxy 3
93.5
C
CONUS
SBS 3
95
Ku
CONUS
SBS 2
97
Ku
CONUS
Telstar 301
97
C
CONUS
SBS VI
99
Ku
CONUS
Galaxy VI
99
C
CONUS
Spacenet IV
101
C/Ku
CONUS
GStar I
103
Ku
CONUS
GStar IV
105
Ku
CONUS
Anik E2
107.3
C/Ku
CANADA
Anik C1 & C2
110
Ku
CANADA
Anik E1
111.1
C/Ku
CANADA
Solidaridad F1
113.5
C/Ku
LATIN AMERICA, US SPOTS
Anik C3
114.9
Ku
CANADA
Solidaridad F2
116.7
C/Ku
LATIN AMERICA, US SPOTS
Future Telesat
118.7
Ku
CANADA
Spacenet 1
120
C/Ku
CONUS
Telstar 303
123
C
CONUS
SBS 5
123
Ku
CONUS
Galaxy V
125
C
CONUS,AK,CRBN
ASC 1
128
C/Ku
CONUS
Satcom F1
131
C
CONUS
Galaxy I
133
C
CONUS
Satcom C-1
137
C
CONUS
Aurora II
139
C
CONUS, AK
VII. Introduction to Teleports
VIII. Footnotes
[2] Via Satellite 9/93
[3] Via Satellite 8/93
[3.5] Via Satellite 8/93
[4] Communications Daily, 12/29/93
[5] Communications Daily, 12/29/93
[6] Satellite Communications 5/94
[7] Satellite Communications 5/94
[8] Satellite Communications 5/94
[9] Satellite Communications 5/94
[10] Satellite Communications 5/94
[11] Via Satellite 1/94
[12] Via Satellite 1/94
[13] Satellite News 9/13/93
[14] Via Satellite 7/92
[15] Satellite Communications 4/94
[16] Communications Daily, 12/29/93
[17] Communications Daily, 12/29/93
[18] Communications Week International, 9/21/92
[19] Market Share Reporter, 1994
[20] Satellite Communications 5/94
[21] Satellite Communications 3/93 and (Satellite News 9/13/93)
[22] Satellite Communications 5/94
[23] Satellite News 9/13/93
[24] Satellite News 9/13/93
[25] Via Satellite 1/94
[26] CSMC Study, 1993
[27] Latin America Telecom Report, 1/1/94
[28] Satellite Communications 1/94
[29] Satellite Communications 1/94
[30] DRI/McGraw-Hill Metro Insights, 1990
[31] Via Satellite 4/94
[32] Via Satellite 2/94