Satellite Telecommunications and the provision of Universal Services

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Satellite Telecommunications and the provision of
Universal Services

• Giuseppe Viriglio
• Director of
• Telecommunications and Navigation

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Value Chain of Main Space Applications
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Breakdown of Satellite Services Revenues by
Regions - 2005
in Billion
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The importance of Satellite Telecommunications in
the XXI Century

• Today there are more than 250 Civil
  telecommunication satellites in the Geostationary
  Orbit.
• Together they provide more than 8000
  transponders with a combined capacity of 300
  Gbit/sec which reaches hundreds of millions
  homes. Satellite telecommunications is one of the
  most pervasive broadband delivery system in
  existence
• Today satellites permeate everybodys life from
  the moment we awake listening to the radio, until
  we go to bed switching off the Television i.e.
• TV and Radio systems allow news/events being
  brought to studio through contribution links.
• TV and Radio are distributed to UHF Transmitters
  and Cable Head ends.
• More than 100 M Homes receive at home nearly 20
  000 TV broadcasted signals.
• Thousand of corporate networks allow us to, tank
  petrol, control the quality of the water we
  drink, allow to pay in toll motorways, buy a car
  or a house, cash a check or even play lottery.
  etc, etc,
• Satellites are an intrinsic part of public
  emergency systems from civil protection, to
  telemedicine or communications on the move for
  strategic deployment.
• We find our way through the streets of our
  cities, our roads, on the fields, and on the sea,
  and on the desserts through satellite navigation
  systems.
• However, with very minor exceptions, satellite
  communication systems have not yet matured in the
  provision of universal broadband access to the
  mayor Information tool of the 21st Century
  Internet.. WHY?

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BROADBAND INTERNET ACCESS AN UNFULFILLED PROMISE

• Today broadband Internet access is supposed to
  be at the reach of anybody who may want to have
  it. However the reality is that there are more
  than 1200 Million Internet users, ..but of those
  just over 200 million are broadband ADSL is not
  as pervasive as terrestrial operators would have
  us to believe.
• The reality is that to access Internet through a
  narrowband channel is like looking to the world
  through the shadows of a lamp projected on the
  walls of a cave.
• Satellites can provide interconnectivity to any
  point of the planet that is covered by their
  antennas. They are therefore prime candidates as
  a solution that allows the provision of universal
  services.
• We are missing an important opportunity to
  improve the life of Europeans and non Europeans
  citizens.

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Universal Service Where and How
Privileged Countries Non Privileged Countries
Privileged Regions ie. Urban and suburban environment High performance service addressed by Commercial initiative i.e. Private Operators Service usually addressed by Commercial initiative i.e. Private Operators but with limited performance i.e. narrowband
Non Privileged Regions Remote, rural environments Intra Country Solidarity Digital Divide Partnership between public and private, e.g. Wildblue Inter Country SolidarityPublic Political/Solidarity actions required
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An EXAMPLE Broadband and Satellites in the USA

• The USA is home to some of the most advanced
  telecommunications infrastructure of the World
• However just a few miles from the New Jersey
  Turnpike there are homes that can not get
  broadband access. were it not because of
  satellite systems.
• The USA has declared Broadband Access a
  Universal service and has allocated financial
  resources to provide for this decision. Results
• WILDBLUE offers an optimized satellite solution
  Based on a partnership
• With the National Rural Telecommunication
  Association,
• Participation of Intelsat
• With an Optimized Satellite System
• With economies of scale in the provision of
  terminals and service.
• Currently WILDBLUE installs at a rhythm of 1000
  users each day.
• SPACEWAY offers a comparable service currently
  in Ku Band but soon in Ka Band with their new
  satellite, SPACEWAY 3. More than 450 000 sites
  currently in operation.

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The importance of providing the service on an
optimized Broadband satellite system

• Currently many European and non-European
  Operators offer Broadband access services over
  general purpose FSS/Broadcast satellites. This is
  inefficient.
• The Internet Data requested by an user, say in
  Rome, will also be sent to Moscow, Ankara,
  Edinburgh and the Canary Islands. Waste of
  Power Waste of Spectrum Inefficiency of use of
  space segment Expensive service Few customers.
• Optimized Multi-spot beam satellite systems
  deliver the data only to the spot that needs it,
  with much lower power per signal and allowing the
  spectrum to be reused many times.
• Result the space segment can be one order of
  magnitude more economic, the capacity of the
  system can be an order of magnitude larger
  reaching millions of customers.. and there is
  scope for the generation of economies of scale in
  the production of terminals.
• Broadband Satellite based solutions should be
  reconsidered to address the problem of the
  Digital Divide in Europe and other regions.

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The debate between ESA and the European Union on
the Digital Divide

• The EU has allocated more than 10 000 Million
  Euro to Telecommunications infrastructure. Of
  these practically nothing for satellite
  communication systems.
• The rules of the EU impose
• Technological neutrality
• Development limited to Local/Regional level
  initiatives
• No mechanisms for the aggregation of the demand
• Further Europe has not declared Broadband a
  Universal Service!
• ESA considers that these considerations de facto
  discriminate strongly pan-European satellite
  based solutions It should be possible to
  federate/ aggregate the demand, provide a
  solution that will meet the Digital Divide
  requirements of the EU Countries creating a
  common European infrastructure

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ESA and the Digital Divide

• ESA has spent in excess of 200 M Euro in
  preparation of the European industry for
  Broadband satellite systems and associated
  technologies. ESA has supported and will continue
  its support to the developments and deployment of
  systems, services and equipment covering all the
  elements of the value chain.
• ESA will continue its support to Satellite
  Operators to facilitate and promote the
  development of broadband services
• ESA considers most important to maintain a
  policy of Open provision of services around an
  agreed standard DVB S/DVB RCS.
• Taking into account USA support to American
  industry (Both Space and Ground Segment)
• With strong technology support through
  comprehensive Government programmes.
• With a favorable legal framework
• ESA considers that European Industry runs the
  risk to will play a minor role in the provision
  of Broadband solutions to Europe and other
  regions of the World.