69 Countries and Counting...
by Martin Jarrold
London, UK, September 4, 2020--An enigmatic title deserves explanation. The 69 countries referred to is the least number of nations we have had consistently dialing-in to recent webinars in the GVF’s Webinar Series, organized in association with Satellite Evolution Group. In my previous column I overviewed the series, which is broadcast over Zoom on alternate Thursdays, starting at 1500 hours/3.00pm (London). An overview is also available on the GVF website at https://gvf.org/webinars. There you can access video recordings of past webinars, find out what is next on the program agenda, and see each webinar panelists’ responses to a body of questions which the 60-minutes of each webinar did not cover.
Next on our program, the ninth webinar in the series, is GEO/MEO/LEO – Satellite in the Finance Markets. This will take place on Thursday 10 September 2020 at 1500, London/1400, UTC and will be moderated by Dara Panahy, Partner, Milbank LLP. Accompanying Dara for the webinar dialog will be Chris Quilty, President, Quilty Analytics; John Apostolides, Investment Partner, Melody Investment Advisors LP; and, Mark Boggett, CEO, Seraphim Space Fund.
Alongside virtually every industry, COVID-19 has created financial headwinds for the satellite industry with some companies seeking re-organization due to the pandemic and other factors. The question is whether the industry – or specific subsectors of the industry -- is at a financial crossroads, or if the several instances of industry organizations seeking to restructure are isolated examples of an industry otherwise in good health. While most everyone has an opinion, key will be the people who have to make the case for investment and those who have to decide if the case is persuasive.
Creating the investment story, and deciding whether to make the investment, might be the typical business development chronology. It is certainly a starting point for discussion of satellite’s relationship with the finance markets. However, the reality is that the financing of space-related business ventures is different from that of most non-space businesses, particularly when involving the space segment. The economics and financing of satellites is a very large and complex topic. Not only does it require the traditional business planning exercise plus a very large up-front investment before revenues can be realized, financing satellites involves government policy issues (e.g., on spectrum usage and regulation), insurance, dual-use technologies, national security & defense, and increasingly, responsibilities for maintaining space sustainability through the disposal of satellites at end-of-life. It therefore requires dedicated know-how and structuring.
To explore satellite’s relationship with the finance markets – and the extent to which changes within the industry arising out of the evolution and growth in GEO, MEO and LEO is impacting this relationship – it is necessary to understand: (1) the economic characteristics of, and major trends in, the satellite industry; (2) changes in the structures of a financial sector which attracts a variety of investors ranging from institutional investors to venture capital firms and even individuals; (3) the elements of business plans for satellite communications (and other satellite applications); and (4) key issues in the markets for satellite-based applications, i.e., growth within current user markets, expansion into new existing markets, and catalyzing the emergence of entirely new areas of economic activity.
This webinar discussion, bringing together these key and leading individuals in the field, will help to clearly define a large number of questions and aim to provide some answers, and you can join-in by registering at https://gvf.org/webinar/geo-meo-leo-satellite-in-the-finance-markets/.
On 27 August, GVF’s previous webinar, the eighth, featured panelists who spanned the globe as much as did the audience. For Kacific Broadband Satellites (Singapore), Gilat Satellite Networks (Israel), ViaSat (US West Coast), and SES (US East Coast) the core topic was Serving Underserved Communities, and the starting point/premise was “The Digital Divide remains despite years of debate about solutions to bridge it.” So, the fundamental question is ‘How exactly is satellite now fulfilling the urgent need to bridge the digital divide?’ You can tune-in to the recording (at https://gvf.org/webinar/serving-underserved-communities/) to find out how this dialog developed, with consideration also turning to:
• Is the biggest barrier to serving the underserved connectivity or affordability?
• Will there be a role for satellites in connecting underserved communities in five years? Ten years?
• Is community Wi-Fi the best way to bring the internet to remote communities in low-income countries?
• Are universal service funds a significant source of support to bring satellite delivered internet services?
• What advantages do GEO have over NGSO systems in bringing services to underserved communities? Conversely, what advantages do NGSO systems have over GEO systems?
• What is the role of satellite in emergency response and business continuity?
GVF’s deeper dive into the realm of the virtual gathering has worked very well and we plan to continue to end-2020, with the calendar through to early November looking like this:
• 24 September 2020
Global Transitions: Digital Economy, Digital Infrastructure, Connected Communities, Digital Planet
• 8 October 2020
A Regional Perspective on C-Band – The Next Battleground?
• 22 October 2020
The Regional Satellite Operators’ Voice
• 5 November 2020
Humanitarian Assistance & Disaster Response: The Evolving Role of Satellites in Disaster Response
As I wrote last time – Welcome to the Webinar Epoch!
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Martin Jarrold is Vice-President of International Program Development of GVF. He can be reached at: martin.jarold@gvf.org
