Four Takeaways from Industry Leaders at World Satellite Business Week

This year’s World Satellite Business Week brought together 1,000 decision makers under the same roof in Paris for a week of deal-making and discussions. More than 95% of the global commercial satellite business and all levels of the value chain were represented. EchoStar’s CEO & President Hamid Akhavan, along with other distinguished panelists, shared insights during a session titled Leading Global Operators Looking Ahead; while Paul Gaske, EchoStar’s COO, and his fellow panelists discussed VSATs, hardware, software, user terminals and more at the Ground Segment Integration Outlook session. Here are four takeaways from their wide-ranging conversations: 

1. Growth – Across all verticals, bandwidth requirements are expanding. But it is no longer useful to look at throughput alone. The challenge today is to bring capacity and capabilities to the places they are wanted and needed. Opportunities exist for providers who can match supply to areas with demand. 
2. Competition –– Customers want competition. Panelists recognized that long-time industry leaders must now move quickly to provide customers with the power of choice: multiple operators they can trust and rely upon to deliver the capacity, resiliency, capability, and security they need. 
3. Direct-to-device –– Wireless standards are evolving and creating opportunity for non-terrestrial networks. Direct-to-device is not intended to compete with terrestrial. It’s intended to solve distinct problems, such as relieving the carriers of building coverage where terrestrial solutions no longer make sense. Direct-to-device complements terrestrial but should not be viewed as a substitute. 
4. Collaboration –– The satellite sector is moving toward the model long embraced by wireless and telecom companies: working together to develop and adopt standards and speak with a unified voice. Such an approach is foundational to interoperability and integration. 

Throughout the sessions, panelists emphasized the need for adaptability, choice, innovation, and partnership––essential elements for shaping the future of the industry.