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HISPASAT Innovation Day

HISPASAT Innovation Day. Photo courtesy of Amy Saunders.

The fourth stop of HISPASAT’sInnovation Days 2016 began with a briefwelcome from Chief Commercial OfficerIgancio Sanchis at Hotel Café Royal inLondon. He was followed byHISPASAT’s Head of Business JoséAntonio Guerra, who provided anoverview of HISPASAT’s operations.HISPASAT was founded in Spain in1989, and in 1992 it launchedHISPASAT 1A, its first satellite. Today,the company has seven satellites in sixorbital positions, as well as a furtherthree satell ites due for launch;HISPASAT 36W-1 in 2016, HISPASAT30W-6 in 2017 and Amazonas 5 in2017. HISPASAT is highly active inAmerica, Spain and Portugal, and isdeveloping its position in Europe, theMiddle East and Nor th Afr ica.

HISPASAT serves three ver ticalmarkets:

• Audiovisual: DTH, UHD, distribution/contribution, occasional use,multicast TV.

• Companies/government: Datamulticast, UAV, telecommandnetworks.

• Operators: Backbone connections,cellular service, Internet access,broadband mobile services,corporate and residentialbroadband services, VOiP andback-up satellite.

In 2015, HISPASAT achievedrevenues of Euro219.6m. According toGuerra, the company continues to forgeahead with new office openings, most

recently in Colombia, and innovativenew partnerships.

Providing internet access to high-speed trainsThe first presentation of the day wasgiven by Indra’s Business DevelopmentManager Car los García Eir izand Aicox’s Vice President ofSales Salvador Gomis, who discussedthe provision of Internet access to high-speed AVE trains in Spain. Following afour-month pilot study, HISPASAT, Indraand Aicox worked in conjunction todeploy the solution on 89 trains on theAVE network.

Gomis identified the key challengesas the 350km/hr train speeds, highinterference levels and constantinterruptions of the modems when

Maritime communications, TVecosystems and the digital divideSpain’s satellite operator HISPASAT has more than 25 years of experience serving theaudiovisual, companies/government and operator markets around the world via its seven-satellitefleet. Each year, it holds a series of Innovation Days to meet with partners, customers andindustry professionals to discuss the latest trends and developments in the satellite sector. In2016, Innovation Days were held in six cities around the world, where topics like TV ecosystems,maritime communications and the digital divide were discussed by key industry personnel. AmySaunders attended the HISPASAT Innovation Day 2016 in London to find out more.

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travelling through tunnels. Indra, whichstarted providing Ka-band connectivitysolutions to trains in 2009, has long heldthe belief that satellite is the answer topoor or no connectivity on trains. “Whatwe have realised in the past is that thereis no solution to give all passengers 100percent connectivity… The only solutionthat covers 100 percent of trips issatellite,” said Eiriz.

A unique hybrid solution wasdeveloped. It features an aerodynamicgyro-stabilised antenna attached to thetrain’s chassis, small enough to fit withinthe 40cm gap between the train roof andthe tunnel base, which enabledcommunication with HISPASAT’ssatell ites in the 30°W and 61°Wpositions. To overcome connection lossthrough tunnels, an antenna wasinstalled at the station in front of eachtunnel, allowing bandwidth to bedistr ibuted by Wi-Fi. The newconnectivity allows audiovisual servicesincluding live TV, a film library andvirtual newsstand, as well as Wi-Fiaccess, to 400 customers on each train.It also provides critical connectivitybetween on-board staff and the AVEcontrol centre, allowing information ontickets, timetables and incidents to beshared without delay.

Challenges in maritimecommunicationsNewtec’s Product Manager Bart VanPoucke, BT’s Global Satellite ProductLead Renato Goodfellow and iDirect’sSystems Engineering Manager(Europe) Francis Prout debated thechallenges in satellite-based maritimecommunications. COMSYS’ Susan Bull,moderator of the session, asked VanPoucke and Prout to explain how theirlatest products would improve uponexisting maritime communicationstechnology.

Newtec’s Dialog Platform featurescross-dimensional multiple-access (Mx-MDA) technology that incorporates thebest parts of MF-TDMA and SCPC,enabling adjustments in frequency plan,symbol rate, modulation, coding andpower in real-time for every terminal inthe satellite network based on returntraffic demand, the network QoSmanagement and channel conditions.Van Poucke emphasised that the highefficiency (Mx-DMA typically results ina doubling of the transponderthroughput using the same bandwidth,

or alternatively reducing the requiredcapacity by 50 percent) can be of greatbenefit to the maritime sector,par ticular ly cruise ships, whereconnectivity speeds are very important.

“What makes it a good fit is that youcan share capacity. When you have atraditional SCPC set-up, you have asingle carrier dedicated to one purposeall the time, even when it’s not beingused,” said Van Poucke. Explaining howthe Dialog Platform would be beneficialto the maritime industry going forward,he added, “When you look at all of thesatellite capacity coming online, it takesa lot of intelligence to select the rightbeam. It’s not just about availability; it’salso about cost. Some beams might bemore expensive than others, and somemight be overloaded. With the DialogPlatform, we give the network operatorthe option to operate using his ownbusiness logic.”

iDirect offers the Evolution andVelocity platforms, both IP-basedcommunications systems that providebroadband connectivity for fixed andmobile applications. The product linesconsist of universal hub and networkmanagement systems comprising linecards, software and dedicated and dual-mode remotes. Following the recentupgrade of the Evolution platform toenable Layer 2 over Satellite (L2oS), theplatform is being developed still furtherto enhance its remote performance, RFefficiencies and scalability. “We’vechosen to build upon the success of ourEvolution platform with our partnershipwith Inmarsat. It was always designedfor very large-scale HTS networks, sowe’ve built upon our beam switchingcapabilities and our MSS support.”

According to Bull, there are nowmore than 20,000 vessels with VSATsinstalled, and the market continues togrow at double digit rates following asmall slow-down in 2015. Adoption ratesare picking up in 2016, although growthis uneven. Oil and gas has taken a bighit in the last 12 months, and operatorshave reported a massive reduction inthe number of vessels they serve.However, there’s been increasedadoption of maritime service bycontainer ships, tankers and freighters.Van Poucke said that one of the reasonsfor this growth was the protection andmonitoring of cargo and efficiencyimprovements, while Goodfellowreported that his customers have said

that connectivity is an important factorin crew welfare and retention.

Flat panel antennas are making bigwaves in the market. Prout said that oneof the selling points of flat panelantennas is the aesthetics: “That theydon’t need radomes is a big attractionin terms of aerodynamics. The fact thatyou can just add more panels toincrease downlink speeds is anotherbenefit.” Goodfellow agreed that flatpanel antennas will have a big place inthe market, and added that their abilityto switch between beams almostinstantaneously and their electronicsteering provided great benefits.

Concerns that maritime satellitecommunications may become acommodity, in addition to facing threatsfrom terrestrial networks, were raised.“Eventually commoditisation willoccur… There are also projects off thecoast of Portugal and Spain whereideas are being tested, like fishing boatsbeing used as wireless relay sites toextend wireless networks further out tosea,” said Goodfellow. Bull agreed thatterrestrial technologies would competeon coastal areas, but doubted thatsatellite connectivity at sea would trulybe threatened. Prout asserted thatalthough commoditisation was likely,this simply meant that margins wouldbe reduced and that providers wouldhave to consider how to add value totheir services. He added that as pricesare driven down, new markets wouldopen up due to the improvedeconomics: “I can see more and morevessels being connected via satellite.”

TV ecosystems: more quality, moreflexibility and more screensNagravision’s Senior MarketingManager Christopher Schouten,Arqiva’s Head of Strategy (Satellite andMedia) Nick Moreno, InformaTelecom’s Editor (Digital TV Europe)Stuart Thomson, and Dolby’s Director(Systems Architecture & Broad-cast) Prinyar Boon discussed the futureof TV ecosystems with HISPASAT’sEster Fernández.

The TV market has changed rapidlyin recent years, with more viewerswanting to pick and choose what andhow they watch. The multiscreenphenomenon is a key part of that. Thepanel agreed that, while the traditionalfamily TV set is not being replaced,additional devices are definitely coming

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into play. Boon said that it’s down to thesocial aspect, and Fernández agreed,commenting: “It seems like youngpeople are not interested in watchingTV, but with dual devices, they caninteract with their friends while watchingTV on the family screen.”

Meanwhile, Thomson asserted thatit’s part of the evolution of technologyuse. “Most of the research on the dualscreen phenomenon, especially whenit comes to millennials, is about using apersonal device while there is a familydevice in the room. The TV practicallybecomes background noise. What youhave to keep in mind is that, smartphones, netbooks and tablets providea much more advanced user interface,and a much easier way to find desirablecontent than TV services today,” saidThomson.

There’s still many years of linearbroadcast TV left though, with the mainchannels delivered most effectively viasatellite, alleviating the increasingcongestion on the Internet as thepercentage of video bandwidth usageincreases. However, the panel opinedthat there will be a shrinking number oflinear TV channels as poor content issqueezed out of the market. “In the last12 months, we’ve seen big changes inthe contracts we’re bidding for. The onething all broadcasters want now isdownward flexibility, of 10-20 percent,and, in one case, 50 percent. That’s areal challenge for us as a business,” saidone of the panellists. The fight in theyears to come will be for content qualityrather than quantity.

The issue of picture quality was alsoraised. Fernández said that theconversion from SD to HD has been acomplete market success. “Peopleadapt their expectations to whatever isavailable to them. We’ve all becomeused to HD, so when we watchsomething in SD now, we don’t like it.It’s situational though, people don’texpect top quality video when they’rewatching on their devices,” commentedThomson. The world’s largest viewingfigures are for live sports events like theWorld Cup or the Olympics, andbroadcast systems, not the Internet, willremain the best means of distribution.For these events, image quality isextremely important, and it’s driving theUHD TV market. However, if it’s a choicebetween quality and access, access willwin every time.

Nor thern Sky Research (NSR)recently downgraded its forecast of thenumber of available UHD channels,dampening market optimism. Onechallenge to the roll-out of UHD is thata defining standard has yet to beestablished. “There’s multiple definitionsfor UHD: More pixels, faster pixels, or,as Dolby prefers, better pixels. We’retalking about high-range capture anddisplay and wider colour dynamics,” saidBoon. Pictures are more vivid, colourshave more saturation, and the imageshave a lot more impact. And it’s not justthe image that is changing; Boon saidthat there are new services on the audioside as well, focused onpersonalisation. Dolby has beenexperimenting for the last three yearsto provide added value in that field.

The business argument for UHDalso remains unsettled; UHDbroadcasts are costly, and while theprice difference between HD and UHDwill fall over time, it will never reach thesame level. Platforms like Sky will beable to charge for UHD, but others arenot in the same position. Differentbroadcasters have different strategies,and some are adamant that they willhold off from broadcasting UHD contentfor as long as possible. However, thepanel agreed that, at one point, all theTVs available in shops will be UHD, sothe industry will eventually moveforwards.

Bridging the digital divideThe Secretary General of the EMEA

Satellite Operators Association (ESOA),Aarti Holla, spoke about bridging thedigital divide with HISPASAT’s JorgeRodriguez. Rodriguez highlighted theEuropean Union’s (EU) Digital Agendafor Europe (DAE), which aims to have30Mbps broadband available to 100percent of its member states’ populationand 100Mbps available to 50 percentof that population by 2020, as a key toolin bridging the digital divide. However,according to Holla, there are very fewproviders offering 30Mbps bandwidth toend consumers, and no one is talkingabout 100Mbps anymore, as even30Mbps is ‘a stretch.’

The industry has structuralproblems that it must confront.According to Holla, the companies thatdo offer 30Mbps satellite broadband aresmall, so they don’t have the resourcesto market effectively. In the USA, there’sa lot of vertical integration, but in Europethe market is very geographicallyfragmented, which makes it hard toempower companies to do themarketing and outreach required. Interms of funding, companies in somecountries like the UK are able to put anational plan in place to bridge thedigital divide, whereas in other EUmember states, there may be a nationalbroadband plan, but the decision-making power lies within the regions,rather than the countries. This meansthere might be a very successful policyin one region, but not the next.

Holla repor ted that voucherschemes have been very successful,when they’re used. In 2010, the Frenchregion of Auvergne was awarded theRegion of the Year prize for high-speedbroadband from the EuropeanCommission.

Some 0.4 percent of the populationwas unable to access fibre connectivity,and, with voucher schemes, wereprovided with satellite broadband. Hollasaid that the public sector must ensurethat all regions are aware of theavailability of broadband voucherschemes that can be used for both fibreand satellite, as the schemes aremassively underused.

Rodriguez repor ted that 5G isexpected to increase wireless capacity1,000-fold, connect seven bil l ionpeople, seven trillion things, provide 90percent energy savings, and all withzero latency. According to Holla, policymakers are interested in little else these

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days. “I think it’s a shame that the onlyway you can get in front of digital policymakers is if you’re talking about 5G,”said Holla. “If you want to talk about thedigital divide, or the fact that somepeople only have access to very low-speed broadband, nobody isinterested.” It’s a double-edged swordthough, as policy makers need to be

At the HISPASAT Innovation Day 2016 London, Amy Saunders spokewith Newtec’s Product Manager Bart Van Poucke to find out moreabout Newtec’s take on recent maritime communicationsdevelopments.

Question: What is the biggest challenge faced today by themaritime industry?Bart Van Poucke: The biggest challenge facing mobile VSAToperators in the maritime market is the issue of scale. The advent ofhigh throughput satellites (HTS) and the consolidation of the industryas a whole mean that networks are getting larger and bandwidthdemand is growing exponentially. Although early VSAT platformsintroduced important innovations such as uplink power control,dynamic bandwidth allocation and beam switching, that generation

was never designed for the scale required in modern VSAT communications. The problem is that most of the features onfirst generation platforms operated independently, making the results unpredictable and difficult to manage when workingat scale. In order to deal with the ever-increasing demand, a solution that combines these features in a way that isefficient, flexible and scalable is required.

Question: How will the ever-increasing amount of HTS capacity affect your customers?Bart Van Poucke: The powerful spot beams created by HTS are one of the main catalysts for the requirement of new,modern VSAT platforms, creating demand for more robust equipment and advanced transmission standards. The increasein capacity provided by HTS, and the lower costs, opens satellite connectivity to new industries and markets. Maritimeis just one area that will see real benefit from the deployment of these satellites, particularly as the requirements for theindustry move away from basic Internet connectivity to vessels and rigs towards more bandwidth heavy applicationssuch as Voice over IP (VoIP) and video streaming.

Although it is revolutionizing the satellite industry, the increase in HTS is creating new challenges for the industry.Having a large number of small beams means that beam switching logic must become smarter and multidimensional toallow network operators the flexibility to deal with factors such as cost, weather, load balance and restrictions from localregulations. As such, VSAT platforms and modem hardware must become more powerful and future-proof, supportinghigher data rates and extending upgrade cycles. Satellite networks should also be more transparent, integrating seamlesslywith terrestrial networks. In order to sustain the next wave of growth, beam switching schemes will need to be moreefficient and scalable.

Question: What’s on the horizon for Newtec in the maritime segment?Bart Van Poucke: We have always been acutely aware of the price pressure facing maritime network operators in anever-evolving industry, and we have consistently focused our energies on pushing the limits of spectral efficiency becauseof this. Innovative new waveforms such as DVB-S2X and our unique Mx-DMA® return technology means that ourrecently-launched MDM5000 satellite modem can reduce capacity costs by up to 50 percent, but we don’t see ourselvesstopping there.

Our latest release of Newtec Dialog (1.3) will include an advanced beam switching engine, which will provideunprecedented control over beam switching logic, and a rich set of APIs will facilitate network load balance, least costrouting and regulatory compliance.

We’re also working with Quantis on its OpenSea offering, allowing the company’s maritime customers to handle theever-increasing demand for data that comes from bandwidth-hungry services that are now accessed through smartphonesand mobile devices. The Newtec Dialog platform means they receive double the throughput in the same amount ofbandwidth, so the service remains efficient and cost-effective while still providing the desired user experience for thepassengers and crew.

ambitious to bring technologies like 5Ginto realisation.

5G is proving to be a big opportunityfor terrestr ial operators, mobileoperators predominantly, to cut outsatellite by talking about driverless carsand sensors that require zero latency.Research shows that the mostpromising part of the connected car

business model is the safety features,but users aren’t going to pay extra forthose services if they don’t work in ruralareas. That makes satellite necessarilya part of the solution. Holla said thatthere needs to be a hybrid terrestrial-satellite solution for connected cars andother similar projects to providecomplete coverage.

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