During 2019, HISPASAT has continued to transform the company’s commercial activity with new business models, managed services and integrated solutions to face an environment where sales are increasingly complex.
The satellite communications market is continuing to show a tendency towards price pressure, caused by a surplus of space capacity. The audiovisual market in particular is following a downward trend. This is the case for both broadcast services, due to the competition of fibre for distribution to homes and elsewhere, and for occasional contribution services, because of LTE coverage having been extended and the appearance of mobile devices that allow signals to be broadcast without the need for complex equipment.
The company is reacting to these changes with marketing that follows new sales models. The main milestones by region are:
EMEA
In Spain the distribution of the regional DTT channels in Aragon has been recovered, and new agreements have been signed in the field of maritime connectivity with various companies, including one with Omniaccess to offer services to luxury yachts for European and American coverage, another with Satlink that also offers maritime services in both coverage areas, and the new Syntelix service in America that broadens the existing one in Europe.
With the Telefónica group, contracts for capacity in Spain for corporate services and for universal broadband access service have been renewed. The contract with Telefónica Soluciones for the provision of communications services to Renfe’s AVE trains has been extended both in duration and capacity.
In the Sat on the Move sphere, HISPASAT has marketed a new product based on a flat antenna that works on Ku band, in collaboration with the Swedish company Ovzon, to offer services to the Iberian Peninsula and Latin America.
With regard to audiovisual contribution services, despite the progress made by mobile LTE systems, HISPASAT has managed to market 100% of its capacity for occasional services for various periods of time throughout 2019, also increasing the number of customers that it has for these services.
For audiovisual distribution services, HISPASAT has implemented a new platform for Europe-America connectivity through an agreement with the Swiss company IKO Media.
The distribution of the international channel of Televisión Española to America has been extended through our partner Telefónica Servicios Audiovisuales, with whom different channels have been renewed for distribution in America and Europe.
Furthermore, in 2019 HISPASAT signed a collaboration agreement with HISPATEC to bring connectivity to the agricultural setting and to be able to offer IoT solutions that will drive the digitisation of this sector.
The Telespazio maritime network, which until this year only operated coverage in Europe, has been extended to America. In addition, a new corporate network for oil & gas services in Mexico has been activated with the Italian operator.
HISPASAT signed an agreement with the Greek company Vodomedia to distribute premium cinema content, making use of Push Video on Demand technology and of the IP multicast broadcast capacity of the satellite.
CENTRAL AND NORTH AMERICA
In Central America, HISPASAT has managed to extend the Mexico Connected project, to take connectivity and by doing so to cover a decent amount of the country’s digital divide. This provides vital value to the Information Society through the Ka band of the Amazonas 5 satellite, which allows for outstanding efficiency in cost and bandwidth.
An initiative has been launched for connectivity services through WiFi hot-spots via public satellites, through the Ka band, marketed to users by selling pre-paid passes. These satellite WiFi hot-spots are set up in remote areas where there is no other kind of connectivity.
An agreement has been signed with Prosperist to offer these services in Guatemala, in Mexico another agreement has been made with Dish, and the company is negotiating with other existing customers and similar potential projects.
Focus has been placed on Ka-band cellular backhaul solutions, exhaustive testing and marketing processes have been carried out with the main operators in Mexico, participating in several RFPs with the main operators that were not yet complete by the end of 2019.
We continued to offer the VNO (Virtual Network Operator) solution on Ka band via Amazonas 5, managing to sign various framework agreements with existing and new clients, several of whom have already put services in place for their end customers. In the case of Globalsat and Elara, it has allowed them to get involved in various governmental projects, some of which have already been implemented.
HISPASAT has also taken on a much greater role in the business chain, providing, in addition to capacity, equipment investment / financing in a revenue share model with its clients.
HISPASAT continues to play an important role in the United States as a supplier to the companies that provide services to the Department of Defence, whose capacity is renewed year on year.
Also, an agreement for multiple transponders has been signed with Gogo for connectivity services on board planes, using the Amazonas 2 satellite.
There has been significant growth in the capacity used for corporate networks with Hunter, particularly for the oil & gas market, and important cellular backhaul services have been maintained for more than 600 T-Mobile stations through Gilat.
SOUTH AMERICA
In South America HISPASAT continues to supply Telefónica with the transmission of direct-to-home broadcast services (DTH) for the whole region. Audiovisual contribution services are still growing, and in Paraguay HISPASAT leads the field for transmissions in this format.
Contracts for Telefónica group companies in America have been renewed, specifically in Ecuador, where agreements have been extended to give continuity to backhaul services from January 2020 and to support new corporate networks.
Backhaul services via satellite continue to grow in the region, and contracts were sealed with Claro Argentina and Telefónica Chile to connect their mobile networks. In Brazil, Oi has renewed C band capacity for their trunk services and the company completed the roll-out of backhaul for the VIVO network.
Moreover, 2019 involved the deployment of the first experimental WiFi zones in Brazil, together with Facebook Connectivity, in order to reach areas with poor quality communications.
Tests have been started on the Ka band with the main mobile phone operators for backhaul services, and several framework contracts have been signed, including the contract for SpeedCast that provides last-mile services with Oi.
We have reached an agreement with TIWS (Telefónica International Wholesale Services) to provide connectivity services to SMEs.
AMAZONAS NEXUS
The next satellite of the HISPASAT fleet deserves a special mention. It incorporates a next-generation HTS payload optimised for mobility services, and this has also constituted part of 2019’s business activity.
In this context, an agreement has been made with TELE GREENLAND to offer services in Greenland through 800 MHz of space capacity for 15 years.
Similarly, capacity for 15 years has been contracted through Artel for the US Department of Defence’s Pathfinder 2 project.
The multi-transponder agreement signed this year with Gogo, which is starting on the Amazonas 2 satellite, is continuing on Amazonas Nexus as well, as a replacement for the capacity on board this satellite.
In 2019 space capacity for the future satellite Amazonas Nexus, which will go into orbit in 2022, has been sold. This equates to 30% of the forecast income for its whole useful life.
© Informe Anual Hispasat 2018
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