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Islands of proprietary technology continue to be the dominant modus operandi in the satellite realm as the North American market eases into the launch of two-way broadband services. Despite the creation last year by the Digital Video Broadcast (DVB) consortium of a return channel standard known as DVB-RCS, neither StarBand, nor DirecPC customers will see it.
And in early 2002, when Denver-based WildBlue Communications launches its two-way, Ka-band satellite broadband service in the United States, DVB-RCS will not be part of the mix either. WildBlue is leaning heavily in the direction of using the cable industry's DOCSIS interoperability protocol plus other "simple and mature" standards, according to WildBlue spokesman Brad Greenwald. This is happening despite the fact that some in the satellite industry question the viability of a DOCSIS deployment over satellite.
According to David Zatloukal, vice president, DirecPC services and operations at Germantown, Maryland-based Hughes Network Systems, the two-way DirecPC is hybrid DVB platform--DirecPC embraced DVB in Europe starting in 1998--but the return channel is a proprietary time division multiplexing-based solution.
DVB-RCS already is incorporated into hybrid Ku/Ka-band broadband satellite systems for sale to consumers and commercial users in Korea by Korea Telecom, and in Europe by Luxembourg-based SES Multimedia.
Robert Bucher, president of Norsat International in British Columbia, described the DVB-RCS standard as IP-centric and as a work in progress that is undergoing review with an emphasis on lowering costs by incorporating elements from other standards including pieces of DOCSIS, and ATM. Norsat is supplying DVB-RCS-equipped satellite interactive terminals (SIT's) to both Korea Telecom and SES Multimedia.
"Proprietary systems have to disappear from the satellite industry in order to build scale. Scale means volume, and volume means lower costs," said Bucher. "DVB-RCS is available, and numerous other companies are building to it."
Bucher points to the computer industry where interoperability between vendors and common networking structures has allowed the computer sector to blossom.
"Satellite is exactly the same. Service providers want choice when it comes to vendors and services. To be viable in the future, satellite has to converge with terrestrial wireless and fiber facilities," Bucher said.
Asia and Europe will be aggressive adopters of DVB IP solutions in the coming months, regardless of what transpires in North America, according to Bucher. The demand for this standardized DVB broadband approach, in Asia in particular, Bucher describes as "explosive."
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