About the BSN-UK
Why Join the BSN-UK
Events
Events Calendar
Our Most Recent Event – 5 June 2018
NEW DIRECTIONS IN SPACE, ECSAT HARWELL
It’s been a long-held ambition to hold a BSN-UK networking meeting at the UK headquarters of ESA, based at Harwell in Oxfordshire.
Being a little way out of London, it might have been difficult for members to get away from their desk long enough to make the journey. However, attendance was exceptionally good for the event and those who had been able to make the journey found that it was time truly well-spent.
After a warm welcome from Alan Brunstrom, Liaison Officer, Telecommunications & Integrated Applications, and Philip Haines, Head of Market Analysis and Business Intelligence, Alan provided BSN Members with a thorough historical overview of ESA’s work in the UK, including projects in robotics, autonomous exploration and telecoms. In particular with a focus on the ARTES Programme which covers technical, navigation, telecoms, operations and earth observations. To date, ESA has incubated some 65 companies, including some of the latest developments in Additive Manufacturing (3D printing on a grand scale).
When Phil Haines took to the rostrum, none of the BSN-UK members could have known he was about to give one of the most explosive analyses of the satellite industry as it stands today, nor could have guessed his conclusions and speculation for the future of the industry as a whole.
Phil began by examining satellite TV revenue trends since 2000, highlighting the gentle decline in growth in years 2012 peaking at just under $100bn pa in 2015, and showing an inevitable downturn from 2016 to today. This is a trend which will shows no sign of reversing!
We read endlessly about the ‘next big thing’ in the satellite world, such as aeronautical, maritime, M2M/IoT et al .. but… and this is a big BUT… each of these elements is only expected to grow to $10bn in the next 10 years. This represents only around 10% of satellite TV revenues and is clearly not a replacement for the projected loss over that period. Moreover, neither HTS (and certainly not LEO) is geared up for DTH satellite TV.
The presentation was as hard hitting as it was eloquent and supported by data from the world’s best and most respected marketing research companies. A good barometer of the state of the industry is revenue generated by the satellite operators. - and satellite operator revenue world-wide is expected to be down by some 38% by the end of 2018 over what would have been nominal growth since 2011.
The knock-on effect of this means that commercial GEO orders are much reduced – which could be explained by the introduction of HTS and LEO constellations. However, the overall long-term trend in commercial GEO satellite orders shows a significant downturn to end of 2018. It is expected that the overall impact will affect equipment manufacturing, teleport operation, and service provision for the future.
A thought provoking and articulate overview, which left a slightly stunned audience – followed by a very interesting discussion and debate.
Membership
The Board
Jonathan Higgins
Chair
Jonathan is the Managing Director of BeaconSeek Ltd, a firm largely involved in design, project management, integration, training, and commissioning of satellite ground systems. Previously Jonathan was Head of BBC News Location Facilities Unit, operating fast-response satellite uplinks and terrestrial microwave links in the UK and around the world. As a Chartered Engineer he is an active Member of the Institution of Engineering & Technology (IET), and is also the author of Satellite Newsgathering, the seminal book on the subject published by Focal Press, and Introduction to SNG & ENG Microwave. He runs training courses on various aspects of satellite communications, from beginner to advanced levels.
Anver Anderson
Secretary
Anver has over 30 years strategic marketing business development, planning experience in the telecommunications and broadcast industry (including working for BT, Inmarsat, Vyvx, VT Merlin Communications and Europe*Star), and has worked with many of the world’s leading broadcasters, teleports, satellite operators, satellite service providers and equipment manufacturers.
Andrew Stimson
Treasurer
Andrew has worked in the satellite industry for his whole career, starting with Hawker Siddeley Dynamics, Cable and Wireless and then for 31 years with Intelsat in a number of senior positions in the USA, UK , Bermuda and Luxembourg. He has also served on the boards of the World Teleport Association (WTA) and the Global VSAT Forum (GVF). He retired in 2010 but remains active in the industry as a volunteer, currently also serving on the IET Satellite Systems and Applications Network Committee.
Martin Jarrold
Martin has been the Global VSAT Forum (GVF) Chief of International Programme Development since June 2001. His responsibilities include development of the profile of the Forum within the satellite communications industry, including delivery of programmes focused on extending the understanding of, and promoting the use of, satellite-based communications in various key end-user vertical markets.
Martin is also Co-Chairman of the GVF Maritime Satcom Forum, and frequent contributor to various telecommunications and other industry publications. He chairs and contributes to a wide variety of telecommunications conferences, symposia, and workshops around the world. Formerly Commissioning Editor and Head of Research for Space Business International magazine.
Neil Neusten
Neil has more than 30 years experience in the broadcast industry having worked for Worldwide Television News, Vyvx, Associated Press and NTL Broadcast as well as a number of SNG service providers. Neil’s experience covers operations, planning, commercial and strategic use of satellite and communications links along with the deployment of new technologies to improve services. Working both in the UK and internationally, Neil’s experience encompasses both the use of fibre-only and combined satellite / fibre networks on a global basis. This includes the setting up of planned events such as the Olympics (Winter and Summer) and ad-hoc events for sports and breaking news.
Martin Coleman
Martin is Executive Director, the Satellite Interference Reduction Group (IRG). Since taking on the position in 2011, Martin has been active in spearheading a number of significant initiatives, including a campaign to introduce Carrier ID across all SCPC/MCPC transmissions from the 2012 Olympics through to being implementation ready by 1st January 2015. Martin regularly addresses the industry on the subject of satellite interference, at global industry events, on an individual basis, and facilitates IRGs workshops. Martin has his own company, Colem, a services, design and project management consultancy since 1992, developing Network Management Systems (NMS) since 1997. Prior to setting up Colem, Martin worked for BT as an engineer in charge of various BT projects for Madley, Goonhilly and other ground stations within the UK as well as working at BT’s London international switching centres.
Anna Guégan
Anna is a Manager of Policy and Market Access with Access Partnership, providing detailed global regulatory reviews and licensing solutions to deliver market access for clients. She works in French, Dutch, English, Mandarin and Spanish. Anna has a Master of Science degree in Political Sciences from Vrije Universiteit (VU University), Amsterdam and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Contemporary and Chinese Studies from INALCO, Paris. She has several years of experience in research, diplomacy and ICT policy in Europe and Asia. Since she joined Access Partnership in 2012, she has gained comprehensive experience in regulation for satellites and spectrum technologies (earth, space, aero), cloud services and telecom operator authorisations around the world, in particular in Africa, Central, South and Southeast Asia, and Europe.