Singapore, July 4, 2006 — The 2006 CASBAA Satellite Industry Forum featured calls for governments to lower regulatory barriers to the provision of cross-border satellite services or face the prospect of international satellite providers re-directing new capacity away from Asia.
Patience has reached a critical point over regulatory stalemates in key markets such as China and India, delegates heard at the CASBAA Forum in Singapore. If global operators feel forced to re-target their payloads because of a lack of potential market access, it will be the end-users in the domestic markets who feel the burden through higher charges, the more than 200 delegates were told.
The warnings came at a time when advances in digital technologies are providing multiple new opportunities for the delivery of satellite services.
Leading the way globally in satellite mobile television is SK Telecom of Korea which now has 550,000 subscribers to its TU Media service. Similar projects are now planned for a number of Asian markets. New DTH services are being launched in Indonesia and India, while IPTV broadband via satellite and HDTV opportunities have added to unprecedented demand for new satellite capacity.
There are tremendous opportunities in Asia today and for the coming years, said William Wade, Chairman of the CASBAA Satellite Industry Committee and Deputy CEO of AsiaSat.
But for this potential to be realised there is a need for more competition, more open market access (Open Skies) and a change of mindset by governments, delegates heard.
Even though the regulatory environment is generally stable, the interpretation of the rules tends more and more to favour restricted access, noted Deepak Mathur, Vice President Market Development, South Asia at SES Global. This is a really serious challenge.
While telecom markets such as cellular services have unleashed widespread competition, all too often Asia Pacific satellite markets remain constrained by the concept of protecting national incumbents or flagship monopolies.
This should be a thing of the past, said Phil Spector, Executive Vice President and General Council at global satellite operator Intelsat. Mr Spector added that the international satellite community is already operating in the newly competitive world: The days of build and they will come have long gone, he said.
Connie Carnabuci, Partner at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer said if a harmonised approach to reform is adopted it can deliver positive outcomes.
Such outcomes include greater economies of scale for operators, local user capacity at cheaper prices and help rural users gain access. I am not just referring to pay-TV services, but to the other benefits of satellite delivery, including tele-medicine and disaster recovery, she said.
Delivering the keynote address at the CASBAA Forum, Hao Wei Min, the Vice Chairman of the China Association of Communication Enterprises, said satellite is an important instrument for China to provide rural connectivity as part of the governments five-year plan. This year some 20,000 villages will be connected via satellite and by 2007 we will have 100% connectivity, he said.
Commenting on the sixth CASBAA Satellite Industry Forum in Singapore, CASBAA Chairman Marcel Fenez, said the satellite industry, and CASBAA members in particular, are benefiting hugely from the explosion of demand for video content over all kinds of networks.
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ABOUT CASBAA – www.casbaa.com
The Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia is an industry-based advocacy group dedicated to the promotion of multi-channel TV via cable, satellite, broadband and wireless video networks across the Asia-Pacific. CASBAA represents some 110 Asia-based corporations, which in turn serve more than three billion people. Members include ABC Asia Pacific, ABN AMRO, AETN International (History Channel), AsiaSat, Astro, Bloomberg Television, China Entertainment Television, Comverse, Discovery Networks Asia, EMC, HBO Asia, IBM, Macquarie, Motorola, MTV Networks Asia Pacific, Nokia, now Broadband TV, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Sony Pictures Television International, STAR Group, Sun Microsystems, Turner International Asia Pacific, UBC (Thailand), Walt Disney Television International, Zone Vision, AGB Nielsen, Al Jazeera, Arianspace, Asian Food Channel, BBC Prime, Boeing Space Systems International, EADS Astrium, ESPN STAR Sports, Eutelsat, HSBC Bank, ILS, Intelsat, JSAT, Lockheed Martin, Loral Skynet, Mabuhay Satellite, MEASAT, National Geographic, Orbit Satellite TV & Radio Network, PanAmSat, Paul Weiss, Satlink, SES Global, Shin Satellite and Starhub.
Contact:
Rebecca Kennedy / Katie Wong
Communications
CASBAA
Hong Kong
Tel: (852) 2854 9913
Fax: (852) 2854 9530
Email: pr@casbaa.com
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