 | Issue: | Latin America I 2000 |
| Article no.: | 11 | |
| Topic: | Why the Introduction of Broadband Transmission in Latin America Requires Safe and Timely Delivery into Orbit of Satellite Services? | |
| Author: | Pierre Gojat | |
| Title: | Regional Sales and Marketing Director | |
| Organisation: | Arianespace | |
| PDF size: | 20KB |
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Article abstract
After having recognised the explosion of demand for high rate Internet and the remarkable advantages of telecommunications via satellite for broadband transmission, the objective is to describe why broadband transmission deserves and requires the quickest introduction on the market and therefore why satellites need the safest insertion into orbit. This perspective proves to be particularly true in Latin America where the broadband communications infrastructure is still to be introduced and developed. In previous decades, long distance telephone and TV broadcasting were the driving factors for using satellites. The new catalyst for satellite use and particularly broadband services is the Internet and the multimedia era.
Full Article
Broadband Service via Satellite demands Superior Efficiency from the Space Segment It is well established that satellites are the ideal vehicle for point to multipoint transmissions and, in particular for broadband services. However, this is not the only reason for telecommunications growth. According to a recent report published by McKinsey the needs for additional backbone capacity is also growing in parallel, doubling every 100 days. The provision of multimedia services generally requires an asymmetric architecture. A well-known example is the users of a pay-per-view movie via a telephone line followed by the transmission of the movie from the satellite to the user. More Bandwidth – On Time-to-Market The challenge is to construct an infrastructure that is capable of providing continental coverage of the service. It is essential to be on time to the market: it means that the first chance of success on the market is when you launch your satellite(s) in orbit and almost simultaneously launch your business on the market. Thus careful consideration must be given to the selection of the launch vehicle to reduce to a minimum the risk of failure occurring at launch. The best way to mitigate this risk is to choose the most reliable commercial launch vehicle of its class – the Ariane launch vehicle. Often, there is only a short window of opportunity to launch a business. It will have the best chance of success if launched on a timely basis. Reliability is the key to success regardless of the satellite operators selection of a broadband LEO constellation or a GEO system to provide service. LEO systems are commercially viable only if the overall launch sequence is short (meaning a lot of launches available at relatively short notice). Reconfiguration capability as well as flexibility of the flights must be available. It is imperative that launches be constantly available on short notice and that a mature launch system is used to incorporate more launches in its sequence. It is also prudent to make sure that the launch system used, including the launch base, is not being overloaded by high priority missions such as manned missions or national security related missions. In the case of GEO systems the availability tends to be less of a preoccupation because of the reduced number of satellites to be launched as compared to a constellation, but the key element to success is a competitive launch cost. Heavy-Lift Launch Vehicles are Key to Broadband Satellites Cost Effectiveness Satellite cost effectiveness is a direct function of the satellites size and overall bandwidth capability, which translates into the number of transponders. Stated differently, the heavier the satellite, the cheaper the transponder in orbit – this remains true, however, only as far as the technology can accommodate the demand for bigger and heavier satellites. In that respect, the demand for heavy-lift launch vehicles was anticipated by Arianespace more than ten years ago. The decision was made at that time to begin the Ariane 5 programme. Ariane 5 is now established as the most powerful commercial launch vehicle available in the world with a current GTO orbital injection capacity of more than 6 tons to GTO, increasing to 10 tons by 2002. Latin America Pioneered the Satellite Communications World Brazil and Mexico and more recently Argentina began launching their national telecommunications and broadcasting satellites in the eighties using the family of Ariane vehicles starting. PanAmSat launched its first satellite on the first launch of the Ariane 4 vehicle in 1988 and has enjoyed since a very successful business. The focus of Latin America now should be to enter into the realm of multimedia and broadband communications with the same guarantee of success.Latin America has an even Greater Need for Safe and Quick Deployment of Broadband Transmission Capacity The bottleneck in broadband transmission is access. In Latin America, global coverage is mandatory because the telecommunications operator requires a cross border capability to provide service to a widely dispersed customer base. It is particularly important when considering Latin America because the linguistic basins cover the entire continent with a number of highly populated areas but spread apart over the entire continent. The success of broadband services is dependent on the timely insertion of high capacity into orbit providing simultaneous coverage to Brasil, Mexico, the U.S., Argentina and Mercosur and the Andean Pact countries. To achieve this, several launches need to take place in a relatively short period to enable the entry into service of national, regional and continental telecommunications satellites. Arianespace: Supporting the Booming Internet Market – the iSKY Emblematic Example Arianespace formed an alliance with iSKY (formerly Ka Star Satellite Communications) on 2 February 2000 to launch the Internet into orbit. Arianespace will launch the first two dedicated Internet Ka-band geostationary satellites for the American operator iSKY in 2001 and 2002. These broadband satellites will offer users high-quality, high-speed transmission services with extremely short response times over North and South America. Broadband Services via Satellite demands the excellency from the launch solutions Conclusion The financial investment required for implementing and putting into service a broadband communications system via satellite is significantly larger than for previous systems. Therefore all means must be deployed to minimise technical risks, improve cost efficiency and allow for a large flexibility in reprogramming. As there is no other way to escape from the earth attraction than to use a launch vehicle, more than ever, the business success is depending on a reliable, flexible, cost effective, powerful, available and mature launch system.
