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Sky is the limit for local businesses
Management at Q-KON, a South African-based provider of turnkey solutions covering specialist areas of telecommunications and ICT, has signed a reseller agreement with ND SatCom, an SES ASTRA company and global supplier of satellite communication systems and equipment. The agreement positions Q-KON as an official local reseller of ND SatCom products including XWARP®, a virtualization and satellite communication solution.
ND SatCom has its headquarters in Germany and has regional sales and support entities in Europe, USA, Middle East and China. The company’s products and solutions are used in more than 200 transnational networks in government, military, telecom and broadcast environments.
Q-KON is an established local provider of turnkey solutions that are targeted at key areas within telecommunications and ICT, incorporating satellite deployments, microwave networks, wireless and VoIP hardware.
The company made headlines recently when it secured joint first place for a Satellite IT Innovation Award within the Business Service Innovation category of the Global Telecoms Business (GTB) Innovation Awards 2010, held recently in London, UK.
The established national service provider received worldwide accolade for its contribution to the testing of XWARP® in a commercial environment. Following a series of comprehensive testing of the solution within various scenarios, Q-KON proved that it had the ability to support the rollout of this technology in South Africa.
According to ND SatCom XWARP® “is the first IT solution to offer geographically distributed companies or their IT service providers almost latency-free, virtualised and bandwidth-optimised software performance at the user’s front end – especially for business critical applications such as SAP, Oracle, SharePoint and MS Office.”
The developer sought to partner with an established credible company that had a proven track record in enterprise application development and integration with satellite communications infrastructure.
Both developer and reseller say the solution addresses the challenges of latency and cost management for would-be investors in satellite communications networks.
“Until now the challenges have meant that this network infrastructure is not usually the first choice for network back up and enterprises connectivity across key applications. XWARP® combines satellite with Citrix virtualization technology and is able to provide cost effective cloud computing via satellite,” says Dawie de Wet, CEO, Q-KON.
XWARP® is already operated by two South African reference customers, a satellite service provider and an ICT service provider.
De Wet is confident that the market will gain significant value from investment in XWARP® and the provision of reliable satellite-based connectivity.
“Cloud computing and virtual-based service provision continues to influence connectivity and communication within enterprises. Operators within various sectors and across many industries want to leverage off satellite infrastructure to back their networks up and establish cost-effective and reliable communications infrastructure. This is where XWARP® is positioned to really add value with the promise of effective cost management and the ability to overcome latency issues,” he adds.
“Overcoming latency and maintaining reasonable costs are typical challenges for transmission via satellite. With XWARP® companies can provide virtualized applications from their data centers to users anywhere and anytime, and minimize latency in satellite-based IT networks to almost zero with our new technology enhancements”, says Markus Vogl, Director of Product and Solution Management at ND SatCom.
“We are very pleased to have Q-KON on board as a non-exclusive reseller of our product within the growing South African market. We believe that the partnership will strengthen each party’s position within an increasingly competitive market and also result in benefit and choice for clients,” said Johann Pohany President & CEO at ND SatCom.
www.prlog.org
China Praised for Hardware Troubleshooting
The successful launch Jan. 17 of a Chinese navigation satellite aboard a Chinese Long March 3C rocket has validated the corrective actions taken following an upper-stage failure aboard a similar vehicle in August, the China Great Wall Industry Corp. said Jan. 19.
The launch, the first of the Long March 3A family since the failure, also reinforced the assessment of a European space-insurance broker involved in Chinese satellite insurance coverage that Chinese authorities have demonstrated their ability to identify and remove design weaknesses in their rockets and commercial satellites.
Roger Bathurst, president of brokerage Willis Inspace, said a redesign of China’s principal telecommunications satellite platform, the DFH-4, appears to have eliminated the solar-array issues that caused the first two models to suffer major failures soon after launch.
Bathurst said the third DFH-4 spacecraft, the Venesat-1 satellite owned by the Venezuelan government, continues to operate without problems nearly 15 months after its Oct. 30 launch. The Venesat-1 performance will make it easier for upcoming DFH-4 satellites — the Sinosat 5, Sinosat 6, Nigcomsat-2 and Paksat-1 satellites, among others — to secure in-orbit insurance at competitive rates, Bathurst said.
The vehicle that carried China’s Beidou/Compass navigation satellite into geostationary transfer orbit Jan. 17 featured upper-stage engines that were modified to prevent ice or other foreign matter from disrupting their performance.
A Chinese board of inquiry had concluded that the vehicle that left Indonesia’s Palapa-D telecommunications satellite in a useless orbit in August had underperformed because of ice buildup or foreign matter in one of its two upper-stage engines. The satellite had to use its own fuel to climb to its intended orbit, and as a result it will operate for about 10.5 years rather than 15-16 years.
The board recommended that a filter be added to the engine’s gas-feed system, and that its liquid-hydrogen cavity be purged to prevent ice buildup.
Fu Zhiheng, general manager of the launch services division of China Great Wall Industry Corp. of Beijing, which markets the Long March vehicle, said Jan. 19 that the Long March 3C placed the Beidou/Compass satellite into the intended orbit.
In a Jan. 19 statement in response to Space News inquiries, China Great Wall Industry Corp. said the vehicle used in the Jan. 17 launch was identical to the Long March 3B rocket that underperformed in August except for the number of solid-fueled strap-on boosters.
China since the early 1990s has been positioning the Long March rocket to compete in the global commercial satellite-launch market. The August 2009 anomaly was the first in the entire Long March family in 13 years. Bathurst said Chinese investigators communicated the nature of the problem to insurers clearly and quickly, and that “this really turned out to be a non-event” for the global space-insurance market.
China’s commercial satellite product line is a more recent addition to the marketplace. The first export, to the Nigerian government, was the Nigcomsat-1 satellite launched in May 2007. Nigcomsat-1 was the second model of the new DFH-4 platform; it followed by seven months the launch of the Sinosat-2 satellite for what is now China Direct Broadcast Satellite Co. Ltd.
Sinosat-2 and Nigcomsat-1 both failed in orbit due to problems related to the DFH-4 platform’s solar array deployment system.
The DFH-4 is especially important for China’s Long March rocket builders because of a decade-long U.S. government policy barring the launch of U.S. satellite components on Chinese rockets. The ban was imposed out of concerns that China’s missile-development work would benefit from any advances in its satellite-launch capability. Most commercial telecommunications satellites, including those made in Europe, contain U.S. parts.
With the DFH-4, China is able to pair satellite and rocket, and offer in-orbit-delivery packages to prospective customers. Backed by government financial aid for Chinese exports, the DFH-4/Long March offer has won or is near winning orders from the governments of Pakistan, Bolivia and Laos in addition to a satellite-replacement order from Nigeria.
The Sinosat-5 and Sinosat-6 satellites are also under construction.
Bathurst said insurance underwriters are becoming comfortable with the DFH-4 design, as evidenced by the insurance package assembled in December to renew the Venesat-1 satellite’s in-orbit insurance.
The China Academy of Space Technology’s “DFH-4 bus came of age in 2009 in insurers’ eyes,” Bathurst said. “There were clearly concerns about how Venesat-1 would perform. The satellite’s excellent health following design changes suggests that the lessons were well-learned. Obviously one swallow does not make a spring, but there are no problems that we are aware of.”
As a new platform, the DFH-4 cannot yet secure premiums as low as those given to well-established satellite designs. Bathurst said a couple of additional trouble-free satellites should bring DFH-4 premiums down further — especially given the currently plentiful insurance capacity and continued downward pressure on satellite and launch premiums overall.
spacenews.com
Satellite Transmission Services In China – New Report Published
This Industry Market Research report provides a detailed analysis of the Satellite Transmission Services in China industry, including key growth trends, statistics, forecasts, the competitive environment including market shares and the key issues facing the industry.
Enterprises in the Satellite Transmission Services Industry in China are engaged in satellite transmission services in fields such as telecommunications, radio and TV broadcasting. Services provided by the Satellite Transmission Services Industry in China are similar to those provided by other industries in the Telecommunication and Other Information Transmission Sub-sector, only that all services provided by this industry involve satellites.
The Key Statistics chapter provides the key indicators for the industry for at least the last three years. The statistics included are industry revenue, industry gross product, employment, establishments, exports, imports, domestic demand and total wages.
The Market Characteristics chapter covers the following: Market Size, Linkages, Demand Determinants, Domestic and International Markets, Basis of Competition and Life Cycle. The Market Size section gives the size of the domestic market as well as the size of the export market. The Linkages section lists the industry’s major supplier and major customer industries. The Demand Determinants section lists the key factors which are likely to cause demand to rise or fall. The Domestic and International Markets section defines the market for the products and services of the industry. This section provides the size of the domestic market and the proportion accounted for by imports and exports and trends in the levels of imports and exports. The Basis of Competition section outlines the key types of competition between firms within the industry as well as highlighting competition from substitute products in alternative industries. The Life Cycle section provides an analysis of which stage of development the industry is at.
The Segmentation chapter covers the following: Products and Service Segmentation, Major Market Segments, Industry Concentration and Geographic Spread. The Products and Service Segmentation section details the key products and/or services provided by this industry, highlighting the most important where possible to demonstrate which have a more significant influence over industry results as a whole. The Major Market Segments section details the key client industries and/or groups as well as giving an indication as to which of these are the most important to the industry. The Industry Concentration section provides an indicator of how much industry revenue is accounted for by the top four players. The Geographic Spread section provides a guide to the regional share of industry revenue/gross product.
The Industry Conditions chapter covers the following: Barriers to Entry, Taxation, Industry Assistance, Regulation and Deregulation, Cost Structure, Capital and Labor Intensity, Technology and Systems, Industry Volatility and Globalization. The Barriers to Entry section outlines factors that can prevent a new company from entering this industry and also gives an indication of the extent to which this occurs. The Taxation section details all kinds of taxation that are specific or are particularly important to this industry, including taxation concessions. The Industry Assistance section refers to any government and/or other measures designed to improve the performance of this industry.
The Regulation and Deregulation section details any applicable regulation and/or deregulation to this industry. The Cost Structure section details the average costs for a company operating in this industry as a percentage of total revenue. The Capital and Labor Intensity section provides a guide to the amount of capital used in production/providing a service compared to the amount of labor in the total mix of inputs. The Technology and Systems section acknowledges the latest technology and/or systems available to this industry within the country. Technology refers to machinery and equipment and systems refers to methods of production that enable better and more efficient production. The Industry Volatility section refers to the year on year fluctuations which occur in industry output. The Globalization section gives an indication of the extent to which the industry is global based on factors such as the level of foreign ownership, the proportion of demand accounted for by foreign operators and the volume of production conducted in other countries.
The Performance chapter provides an analysis of both the industry’s Current Performance and Historical Performance. The Current Performance section provides the key analysis for the industry over the past five years with key performance indicators discussed. The Historical Performance section details previously important events in the development of the industry.
The Key Competitors chapter lists the major players in the industry as well as an analysis of each major player’s activities in the industry. Market share information is included where possible.
The Key Factors chapter covers the industry’s Key Sensitivities and Key Success Factors. The Key Sensitivities section outlines the key factors that are outside the control of an operator in the industry, but are likely to have significant impact on a business. The Key Success Factors section details the factors within the control of an industry operator and which should be followed in order to be successful in the industry. Often this will include behavior that will help to minimize the effects of the Key Sensitivities.
The Outlook chapter is a key analysis section of the report and outlines expectations for the key industry indicators over the next five year period, including forecasts.
Satellite Transmission Services in China: http://www.companiesandmarkets.com/r.ashx?id=KP3H005SY194186