Asia-Pacific Broadcasting (APB) Satellie Special Supplement 2015 | Page 13

Satellite a key delivery platform in Asia-Pacific
Singtel gears up to meet demand for
satellite services in Asia­Pacific
A
nnually, the World Teleport Associa­
tion (WTA) publishes its Top
Opera tor Rankings, a recognition
of the top teleport/satellite fleet opera­
tors in the world. The APB Satellite
Special asks Lim Kian Soon, Head, Singtel
Satellite, on the reasons that have seen
the company once again ranked among the
top 10 teleport/satellite fleet operators in
the world by WTA, as well as how Singtel
Satellite is preparing to meet growing
demand for satellite services in the Asia­
Pacific region.
In the World Teleport Association Top
Operator Rankings for 2014, Singtel
Satellite was again placed among the
world’s top 10 teleport/satellite fleet ope­
rators. Why do you think Singtel Satellite
has consistently been recognised by WTA?
Lim Kian Soon: Our commitment has
always been to deliver the best quality,
best customer experience and business
outcomes to our customers and partners.
We constantly gather feedback from cus­
tomers on their needs. Hence, ST­2 was
launched in 2011 and subsequently ST­3 in
2014 to enable them to reach out to Asia,
the Middle East and Africa regions to serve
their audiences. In order to deliver one­
stop end­to­end best customer experience,
we have been constantly improving our
infrastructure by upgrading our teleport
equipment and terrestrial connectivity, as
well as investing in new ones.
To set up a new teleport on your own
takes time and capita l. Thus, we make it
easier for enterprises to accelerate their
reach by offering ready infrastructure and
comprehensive capabilities through our
teleport hosting services. Enterprises can
be assured of better access to a wide cover­
age as our teleports point to more than 30
satellites and is supported by an extensive
terrestrial network of more than 200 points
of presence (POPs) in over 160 global cities.
Enterprises can have peace of mind
knowing that our facilities are fortified
with the latest technologies and secured by
armed guards to protect against security
breaches. We also provide round­the­clock
technical support with ISO9001­certified
Network Operations Centre (NOC), which
is managed by qualified engineers.
Which specific areas of the teleport
services offered by Singtel Satellite
would you expect to be in most demand
in 2015, and how is that a reflection of
❝ The growing demand
of content has increased
tremendously in Asia in recent
years … This will likely increase
the take-up of uplink and
downlink services. ❞
— Lim Kian Soon,
Head, Singtel Satellite
developments across the broadcast and
media industries?
Lim: The growing demand of content
has increased tremendously in Asia in
recent years. This will likely increase the
take­up of uplink and downlink services,
particularly with popular hotbirds point­
ing to Asia.
The first thing that comes to the mind
of new startups is cost. We have the lat­
est “plug and play” playout services that
enable them to manage and deliver their
content at minimal cost.
In an increasingly connected world,
cloud technology will offer broadcasters
the opportunity to reshape their business
and opti mise user experience. There is
likely to be an increase in the number of
broadcasters adopting cloud technology.
We are currently exploring a cloud­based
media storage solution at a price point that
will make sense for the media industry to
outsource its content management.
For customers looking at 4K, how is
Singtel Satellite equip ped to help them
deliver 4K content to
viewers in the Asia­
Pacific region?
Lim: Where satellite is
concerned, optimising
the bandwidth will be
key in the delivery of 4K
content and we expect
development of new
compression technol­
ogies to emerge. There
is certainly no doubt
that 4K is driving strong
interest and excitement
in the industry. Our in­
frastructure will always
be ready to support
customers looking to
adopt 4K.
Late last year, the International Tele­
communication Union (ITU) announced
new steps to combat satellite interfer­
ence. What is Singtel Satellite’s views
on this development, and is satellite
interference a particular concern in the
Asia­Pacific region?
Lim: We welcome the new step taken by
ITU at the recent Plenipotentiary Confer­
ence in Busan, South Korea, to address
the concern of satellite interference. The
creation of a database on interference
known as “geolocation” is essential as it
enables satellite operators to know the
source of interference and take action
accordingly. Satellite interference is
a global concern. As the demand for
satellite bandwidth is growing in the
Asia­Pacific region, it has resulted in
the crowding of ope rational satellites,
especially in the commercial C­ and Ku­
bands.
This crowding will inevitably lead to
higher probability of satellite interfer­
ence, which is a concern to all satellite
operators.
An
Singtel
Satellite’s
teleports
serve
customers
in Asia, the
Middle East
and Africa.
Supplement
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