Internet intentions

Once termed the Information Superhighway, the Internet quickly has grown into a world traveler. Everyone wants it. While ISPs still are recognized for Internet service and are often the first choice for consumers, various types of carriers have invaded the space. As they try to differentiate themselves or follow industry trends, carriers want to retain customers. With time to market essential, some carriers have looked to satellites for the transport of and access to Internet service - and are finding that they can offer both at a lower price.

SSE Telecom recently announced its iP3 satellite Internet gateway product line for satellite transport of IP data. Demonstrated for the first time at Telecom 99 in Geneva, the products enable the transport of IP data via a scalable platform.

SSET has jumped on the Internet trend by expanding its offerings to include satellite earth station platforms that optimize IP transport, according to company officials.

"We're taking a big step into the Internet world. IP traffic is going to be important going forward," said Lee Blachowicz, CEO for SSET.

Because the industry is growing so rapidly, some providers do not have time to worry about the logistics involved with providing Internet service, Blachowicz said. And because SSET provides a satellite link for data traffic, companies will not only have an extra offering, they will be able to offer it immediately.

"This is a transition for the company, but moving to an Internet focus was clearly the way to go considering where the world is going," said Cynthia Dai, principal of Dainamic Consulting and a consultant for SSET.

"SSET is banking on the fact that people will be looking for cost-effective ways to transport IP-based data," she said. "As intranet and e-commerce grows, it will make sense for people to have a cost-effective solution for the transport of IP."

Presently, the company has received interest from abroad, and it can anticipate being able to quickly tap into regions where infrastructure does not exist. However, because most Internet content originates or terminates in the U.S., SSET also foresees interest from U.S.-based providers. "We are in a niche market in the sense that we offer transport infrastructure. It is transport as opposed to access," Blachowicz said.

It seems when anyone mentions using satellites, people immediately think of Iridium or ICO Global, two companies that, despite cutting-edge offerings, failed when it came to time to market. Regardless of any negativity associated with satellites, whether for voice transport or data, Blachowicz believes the drive toward the Internet will reawaken interest in satellites.

"Now the issue is one of execution and getting into the marketplace," Blachowicz said.

SkyBridge is a future satellite constellation operator to which SSET could potentially link customers. SkyBridge plans to roll out its satellite-based, high-speed Internet access by 2002. SSET and SkyBridge recently have moved forward with Internet via satellite solutions - perhaps testimony to satellites' potential.

Alcatel-backed SkyBridge expects to provide local broadband capacity to service providers worldwide so they can deliver broadband access to more than 20 million homes and businesses. With a constellation of 80 satellites in the Ku-band, the company will complement terrestrial technologies where deployment is impossible or too expensive.

Recently, Australia's Telstra be-came SkyBridge's first equity partner, making it the regional service provider for Australasia and southern and eastern regions of Asia.

With 28 gateways, the U.S. is the company's largest market. "Be global, think local," said Charlene King, vice president of business development in North America for SkyBridge, during PCS `99 in New Orleans. The company is chasing broadband local access because "we are uniquely positioned with LEO satellites to get information where people want it and when," she said.

SkyBridge is focused on a solution that can be offered cheaply. Although the company, like Iridium, uses LEO satellites, it retains backhaul facilities on earth, which keeps things simple and lowcost, she said. Iridium, on the other hand, has its switching onboard its satellites.

By 2005, 400 million people will be using the Internet, King said. About 100 million people will not have access. For Internet providers that want to nab such untapped markets and seek either IP-data transport capabilities or access itself, satellites may be the way to go.

Companies such as SSET and SkyBridge are not alone in looking to satellites for Internet transport. "A satellite's ability to provide communications infrastructure for whole regions and continents virtually overnight gives the industry an advantage over its terrestrial counterparts," according to Pioneer Consulting's report "Next Generation Broadband Satellite Networks."

Despite satellites' potential to reach areas of low subscriber density without costly construction of terrestrial networks, the firm considers the fact that a broadband satellite system in development today, such as SkyBridge's, will not be fully operational until 2002 to 2005. Because high bandwidth applications are being developed rapidly, it is hard for anyone to imagine what the telecom market will look like five years from now.

However, Pioneer foresees the global business subscriber base for broadband satellite services increasing from 30,000 businesses in 1999 to more than 39 million in 2008. Global subscribers are expected to increase from nearly 100,000 in 1999 to more than 39 million in 2008.

These numbers make satellites seem to be a viable solution for carriers who want to traverse the last mile.