Dear Communications Executive,

We are pleased to present the latest edition of the GVF Weekly Bulletin which gives programme updates, membership news and upcoming events. Please direct this to all relevant colleagues within your company.

WHAT'S HOT

  • GVF is pleased to announce a new collaboration with event organisers Informa Telecoms and Media at Telecoms Access Brazil. This event will be held in Rio de Janeiro from 18-19 May 2005 and will feature a one-day pre-conference workshop and presentation during the event by GVF.

Telecoms Access Brazil is an opportunity for the discussion and selection of wireless access solutions for the Brazilian market. The topics covered will be highly focused on the pivotal matters of deploying wireless access technology and will consider the following issues:
  • How GSM and CDMA technologies are evolving and how each offers different paths to 3G
  • What are the current and future market opportunities and regulatory challenges for growth
  • How different wireless technologies can be used to achieve universal service in rural areas
  • What opportunities & technologies currently exist for broadband wireless access in the Brazilian market
  • Comparison between the key technologies ( CDMA Vs. GSM; EDGE; VSAT & satellite access; CDMA450; WLAN & WiMAX; VoIP; Free Space Optics; Mesh Networks; BWA technologies).

For further information contact catherine.hallowell@informa.com or at +44 (0)207 017 5110. Alternatively, go to www.telecomsaccess.com/brazil
  • Regulators from across the world converged on Geneva from 8-10 December for the ITU's Global Symposium for Regulators. Held at the World Meteorological Organisation, the event was attended by almost 400 delegates. Day One specifically addressed the issue of licensing and featured presentations and interactive panel discussions from representatives of countries such as Brazil, Morocco, Oman, Lithuania and Hong Kong. Regulatory and licensing experiences were shared and possible solutions discussed in order to help regulators to overcome hurdles that they face.

Day Two focused on spectrum management and investigated technology-neutral approaches and the latest trends and impact of this. Panel discussion between the regulators and policy-makers followed. In break-out sessions following the morning session, the issue of SPAM was also addressed as various countries gave their perspective and experiences on the world-wide problem and the second session investigated the regulator's role in the licensing and provision of cost-effective broadband.

Day Three continued the theme of SPAM and looked towards the future for broadband and Internet services.

The report produced by GVF and funded by IDRC (International Development and Research Center) Open and Closed Skies- Satellite Access in Africa was distributed at the event and was very well-received by Regulators from across Africa.

  • GVF has participated in high-level Public/Private Sector meetings involving the Indian Prime Minister's office in New Delhi along with TRAI and VSAI. The meetings gave the satellite sector the opportunity to co-ordinate with the government to advance the implementation of regulatory reforms.

    • India's communications sector has come a step closer to obtaining unfettered access to competitively-provided satellite bandwidth following this series of meetings.

    The meetings' focus related to progressive Recommendations made recently by India's Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) that call for implementation of comprehensive satellite regulatory reforms, including not only relaxations on antenna-size, data rate, and installation restrictions, but also access to 'open skies'.

    Satellite solutions have been recognised as the only cost-effective means of linking India's rural areas, which comprise 70% of India's population.

    In order to make satellite communications more affordable, it is important that the cost of bandwidth be minimised while assuring the highest possible standards of service.

    Meetings were held with the chairman of the Telecom Commission and Secretary of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Ministry of Communications and IT. The full Authority of TRAI was also present and also the Deputy Secretary of the Prime Minister's office.

    The opportunity could not have arisen at a better time. A sreported during VSAT India 2004, Indian demand for satellite-based solutions is on the rise. The Indian VSAT sector realised an increase in 2004 revenues of more than 30% with more than 40,000 terminals deployed across the sub-continent.

    For further information contact david.hartshorn@gvf.org

    • GVF delivered a presentation on the Delivery of Satellite Services in De-Regulated Markets at the Broadcast Cable & Satellite conference and exhibition held at the World Trade Centre, Istanbul from 2-5 December. Organised by Hannover Fairs, the event highlighted the fact that Turkey is a strategic gateway to conduct business in the growing economies of Eurasia. With a population of over 70 million. Turkish markets seek quality products and are looking towards foreign trade.

    The monopoly on fixed-line communications ended this year and now independent operators are eager to capitalise on the pent-up demand for services.

    The conference agenda included
    • Satellite and broadband solutions
    • Digital TV broadcasting in Turkey
    • Distance Learning
    • Up-to-date broadcasting technologies
    • Long distance telephony services
    • Liberalisation and competition

    Planning is already underway for Broadcast Cable and Satellite 2005. For further information visit www.hannovermesse.com.tr 

    • The Southern African satellite regulatory agenda made a significant move forward recently at a TRASA/CATIA workshop on 'Wireless Regulation & Policy for the Southern African Development Community (SADC)'. Over 29-30 November 2004 the Catalysing Access to ICT in Africa (CATIA) and Telecommunications Regulators Association of Southern Africa (TRASA) meeting in Johannesburg examined detailed policy and regulatory proposals and set-out clear recommendations contained in a draft document to be ratified by the TRASA Executive Committee in January 2005, and thereafter to be implemented by the 14 countries across the SADC sub-region.

    The document is a result of collaboration between GVF, CATIA and TRASA and has been developed during a series of workshops and other events/meetings organised by GVF/CATIA/TRASA. During the workshop copies of the recently published IDRC-funded, GVF-researched report 'Open and Closed Skies: Satellite Access in Africa' were presented to Southern African regulators and telecoms operators. The report is already familiar to much of the regulator and operator community across the Continent, following its original launch at the African Computing & Telecommunications (ACT) Conference earlier this year.

               Also in the sub-region:

    • The GVF/IBC-Informa-organised, one-day Conference track 'Satellite: Extending Africa's Wireless Reach' was attended by delegates to the GSM Africa event in Cape Town. The December 1 track included GVF Members addressing: National Markets in the International Context; Interoperability & Hybrid Solutions; and, Satellite Applications in the Public Sector. Geoff Daniell, GVF Correspondent for sub-Saharan Africa, made a key contribution to the programme: 'Hybrid Solutions: The Business Plan'.

    Martin Jarrold, GVF Chief of International Programme Development delivered the keynote speech on 'Satellite Access in Africa' at the Intelsat Satellite IP Conference, Cape Town, 2 December 2004.
    • Network Deployment and the Asia-Pac Sustainability Imperative: ICT Applications and 'Best Practice' Satellite Strategies is the theme of the GVF Asia-Pac Satcoms Forum taking place on Sunday, 16 January, the first day of PTC 05 in Honolulu, USA.

    Recognising the imperative that satellite-based communications provides the only effective breakthrough from the bottleneck that is the under development of telecommunications services throughout much of Asia-Pac, the GVF Asia-Pac Satcoms Forum will address key issues regarding the world of connectivity solutions from satellite-based and satellite-terrestrial hybrid technologies.

    The Forum will offer examples of 'best practice' in the creation of strategies for satellite terminal deployment, network roll-out and sustainable application development - 'best practice' approaches that are both leveraging off the most innovative solutions being developed in, for example, Europe and North America, and are slated for deployment in markets all around the globeŠ in Asia-Pac and beyond. For further information please contact Martin Jarrold at martin.jarrold@gvf.org. Current programme details:

    0830 - Registration

    0900 - Welcome and Introduction from the Forum Co-Chairs

    0930 - Panel Debate - Formulating a telecommunications sustainable development agenda: the Millennium Development Goals, and the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS)

    1015 - Refreshment Break

    1030 - 'Best Practice' Strategies Forum (1) - Developing Information & Communications Technology access via satellite, and via satellite-terrestrial hybrid technologies: Exactly how do Asia-Pac service providers build profitable businesses out of village rural telephony and voice over IP to the pan-Continental corporate network?

    1145 - New Markets in Motion: Competition, Liberalisation and the new Regulatory schema. Perspectives from the policy and regulatory communities

    1215 - Lunch

    1330 - 'Best Practice' Strategies Forum (2) - How will the capabilities and benefits of new satellite systems for fixed, nomadic and mobile broadband satellite systems impact on the development sustainability of new ICT applications and networks across the North and South of the Americas and extending across Asia-Pacific?

    1530 - Concluding Remarks from the Forum Co-Chairs

    1545 - Close of Forum

    1600 - Opening Plenary of PTC 04

    • GVF Members are urged to use the link below as soon as possible to update their company profiles for the 2005 GVF Member Directory. Any Members who do not update their profiles will run with their 2004 profile instead. Therefore, please take two minutes to fill in the online form that you will find via the following link:

    http://www.satellite-evolution.com/gvfdirectory/index.htm

    Please direct any questions regarding the Directory to helen.jameson@gvf.org

    GVF CALENDAR 

    • 3-4 NOV - BROADBAND RUSSIA CONFERENCE, MOSCOW*
    • 3-5 NOV - MITEL 2004, MOSCOW*
    • 4 NOV GVF REGULATORY WORKING GROUP CONFERENCE CALL
    • 8-9 NOV - GVF VSAT INSTALLER TRAINING, UNHCR, GENEVA
    • 8 NOV - GVF VSAT INSTALLER TRAINING, DATABAHN, DALLAS
    • 9-13 NOV - VIETNAM TELECOMP, HO CHI MINH CITY
    • 14-17 NOV - GVF-CATIA SATELLITE WORKSHOP, ACCRA
    • 17-18 NOV - FINANCE-IT EAST AFRICA, NAIROBI*
    • 17-18 NOV - GLOBAL MILSATCOM, LONDON*
    • 19 NOV - GVF MILSATCOM WORKSHOP, LONDON*
    • 19 NOV - ASISAT -GVF SATELLITE SUMMIT, MEXICO CITY
    • 23 NOV - GVF BOARD OF DIRECTORS CONFERENCE CALL
    • 29-30 NOV - VSAT SATELLITE CONFERENCE, SINGAPORE
      •
    • 30 NOV-3 DEC - LIBYATEL & GVF SEMINAR, TRIPOLI*
      •
    • 30 NOV - 1 DEC - GSM AFRICA & GVF TRACK, CAPE TOWN
    • 2-5 DEC - CEBIT CABLE & SATELLITE 2004, ISTANBUL*
    • 2 DEC - GVF-VSAI REGULATORY MEETINGS, NEW DELHI
    • 3 DEC - VSAT INDIA 2004 CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION, NEW DELHI*
      •
    • 7 DEC - BROADBAND MULTIMEDIA WORKING GROUP CALL
      •
    • 8 DEC - GLOBAL REGULATORS' SYMPOSIUM, GENEVA
      •
    • 14-15 DEC - AFRICAN VOIP FORUM, NAIROBI*
      •
    • 21 DEC - GVF BOARD OF DIRECTORS CONFERENCE CALL

    GVF 2005 CALENDAR*

    • 16 JAN - GVF ASIA SATELLITE SUMMIT, HONOLULU*
    • 16-19 JAN - PTC 2005, HONOLULU
    • 6 JAN - 1430 EST - GVF REGULATORY WORKING GROUP CALL
    • 8-11 FEB - EXPOCOMM MEXICO, MEXICO CITY
      •
    • 14-16 FEB - SATCOM AFRICA, SANDTON, S. AFRICA*
    • 21-22 FEB - NGT & GVF COURSE, BUDAPEST
      •
    • 22-24 FEB - AFRINET 2005, ABUJA
    • FEB - BROADBAND VIA SATELLITE CONFERENCE, BRUSSELS
    • 7-10 FEB - CSTB EXHIBITION & CONFERENCE, MOSCOW
      •
    • 1-4 MAR 2004 - TELEXPO, SAO PAULO
    • 8-10 MAR - CABSAT 2005 & GVF SATELLITE CONFERENCE, DUBAI*
    • 15-17 - NEWCOM AFRICA 2005, LONDON
    • 21 MAR - GVF WORKSHOP, WASHINGTON CONVENTION CENTRE*
    • 22 MAR - GVF SATELLITE SYMPOSIUM, WASHINGTON, D.C.*
    • 23-25 MAR - SATELLITE 2005 & GVF TRACK, WASHINGTON D.C*
      •
    • 28-29 MAR - ITU QUESTION 17-1 MEETING, GENEVA
    • 29-31 MAR - CONVERGENCE INDIA, NEW DELHI
      •
    • 13-16 APR - CASPIAN TELECOMS, ISTANBUL*
      •
    • 16-21 APR - NAB 2004, LAS VEGAS
    • 18-22 APR - VSATs COURSE, UNIVERSITY of YORK, YORK
    • APR - 9TH ANNUAL OPERATORS & USERS CONFERENCE, DUBNA
    • MAY - IITELMIT/APSAT 2004, JAKARTA (TBC)
      •
    • 10-14 MAY - SVIAZ, MOSCOW
    • 16-20 MAY - DISASTER & EMERGENCY CONGRESS, EDINBURGH
    • 18-19 MAY - TELECOMS ACCESS BRAZIL, RIO DE JANEIRO
    • MAY - GTM 2005, WASHINGTON, D.C. (TBC)
    • MAY - FUTUREX CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION, SANDTON (TBC)
      •
    • 10-12 MAY - MEDIACAST & GVF INDUSTRY SEMINARS, LONDON*
    • MAY - E. AFRICAN TELECOM SATELLITE WORKSHOP, NAIROBI
    • 31 MAY - GVF SATELLITE TRAINING COURSE, ISCE, LONG BEACH
    • 31 MAY - 2 JUNE - ISCE, LONG BEACH*
      •
    • 31 MAY - 3 JUNE - KITEL & GVF SATELLITE SEMINAR, ALMATI*
      •
    • JUNE - CASBAA SATELLITE SUMMIT, SINGAPORE (TBC)
      •
    • 14-17 JUNE - COMMUNICASIA & GVF WORKSHOP, SINGAPORE
    • JUNE - ARABCOM, TUNIS (TBC)
    • JUNE - OIL & GAS OPERATIONS WORKSHOP, LONDON (TBC)
      •
    • JUNE - GULF OF GUINEA OIL & GAS CONFERENCE, LONDON (TBC)
      •
    • 10-13 JULY - 15th WORLD CONFERENCE ON DISASTER MANAGEMENT 2005
      •
    • 6-9 SEPT - ITU QUESTION 17-1 MEETING, GENEVA
    • 3-6 OCT - ITU TELECOM AMERICAS, SALVADOR DA BAHIA
      •
    • 23 OCT - SATELLITE EMEA 2005 GVF PRE-SHOW SUMMIT, ROME*
    • 24-26 OCT - SATELLITE EMEA 2005 & GVF TRACK, ROME*
    • 23-26 OCT - MENASAT 2005, DUBAI*
    • OCT - CHINA SATELLITE 2005 (TBC)
    • 16-18 NOVEMBER - WSIS, TUNIS
    • NOV - ASISAT ANNUAL SYMPOSIUM, MEXICO CITY (TBC)
    • DEC - VSAT INDIA 2005, NEW DELHI (TBC)

    * = All events follwed by an asterisk carry GVF member benefits. Please contact helen.jameson@gvf.org to find out more.

    About the GVF:

    The GVF serves as the unified voice of the global satellite communications industry. Headquartered in London, GVF comprises more than 160 companies from 70 countries in every major region of the world and from all sectors of the industry, including fixed and mobile satellite operators, earth station and sub-system manufacturers, integrators, teleports, network operators, and carriers, as well as consultants, law firms, publishers and other organisations involved in the satellite industry.

    For more information, contact David Hartshorn, GVF Secretary General, Tel: +44 1727 884 739; email: david.hartshorn@gvf.org or visit www.gvf.org