Net boom to lift satellite use
Friday, June 25, 1999
INTERNET
ASSOCIATED PRESS in Singapore
Satellite usage in the Asia-Pacific region will experience
steady growth along with a rise in Internet use,
electronic commerce and mobile communications,
according to industry executives.
"I firmly believe that Asian economic and industrial
growth will be stimulated by satellite-based Internet
access, VSATs, e-commerce and direct-to-home TV
networks," said Michael Houterman, president of
Hughes Space and Communications International of the
US.
VSATs, or very small aperture satellite terminals, are
small earth stations used to handle digital transmission of
data. These are considered useful especially in
non-wired and congested areas in Asia, he said.
Demand for these services "in turn will stimulate new
orders for new national and regional satellite capacity",
Mr Houterman told delegates to the Asia Pacific
Satellite Communications Summit.
He cited industry figures showing Asia-Pacific
economies would invest US$9.5 billion in 73 new
communication satellites between this year and 2008.
Thirteen launches valued at $1.7 billion were scheduled
for this year in the region, with most of the new capacity
used for direct-to-home TV networks and Internet
Protocol (IP) applications, Mr Houterman said.
"Importantly, massive deregulation in the region is
facilitating both IP and VSAT communications. Ninety
per cent of the countries in Asia Pacific have opened up
their Internet access to competing carriers," he said.
Among the trends pointing to increased satellite usage
were the "much larger role" played by regional satellites
over purely domestic satellites.
Mr Houterman cited as an example an Intelsat satellite
that enabled China Telecom to link the mainland to the
Internet backbone in the US.
Asian telecom firms were co-operating to expand their
capacities. This included firms such as Singapore
Telecommunications and Taiwan's Chunghwa Telecom,
which launched a satellite last August.
Western companies were also moving into the
Asia-Pacific commercial communication satellite market
to help the region improve its telecom services, Mr
Houterman said.
The Loral Global Alliance, a network of some of the
world's leading satellite operators in the US, Europe and
South America, is engaged in talks with telecom and
information technology firms in Asia to boost its
presence.
The mainland is acknowledged as the biggest market for
satellite-based communication services, but its own
players are also gearing for the boom.
With the mainland waiting to take its place in the World
Trade Organisation, "in the telecommunications circle,
especially as a satellite operator, we are preparing for
big challenges," said Hao Weimin, president of China
Orient Telecom Satellite.
Copyright (c)1999. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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