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re: uec - record 2 year high - bloke /grant? Hi Knobby,

If you look at the channel chatter amongst analysts, particuarly those on the international scene (not here in Australia), satellite is looking up.

So far as Australia is concerned, however, the dogma of satellite, as it has been tied to PayTV and broadcasting, continues.

Globally, satellite remains big business, particularly in the areas of broadcasting, payTV, delivery of defence and security based solutions, and telephony.

Recent concerns regarding satellite (particularly from an Australian perspective) has had more to do with:
1)
News Corp's continuing (and extended) foray into acquiring DirecTV from GE;
2)
News Corp's continuing strides in trying to wrest access control to payTV broadcasting in the States away from the cable operators (who retain the first mover advantage through being first to position back in the 1960s, and with cable being a much more mature product, in terms of market penetration, addressable market coverage, and customer take-up than what has been the case for satellite, as the relative newcomer to consumer entertainment, etc);
3)
the delays experienced by Optus over the last 2 years in getting its "bird in the air";
4)
the fact that, until now, neither Telstra, nor Optus have maintained any real satellite presence, despite the fact of OTC /AOTC having originally been responsible for all satellite receiving stations in Australia from the 1960s, onwards;
5)
the continuing downplay (by Telstra and others) which have stalled the take up of, and prospective interest in, broadband solutions in Australia (especially beyond the 10km city ring);
6)
the relatisve cost of deploying satellite /transponder capacity in sufficient size and depth to provide comprehensive and continuous boradband solutions, etc; and
7)
the relative costs of deploying satellite from a consumer take-up perspective (now, largely being addressed /tackled).

Going beyond the defensive cabling strategies of the mid-90s, satellite represents a new and growing business frontier in all manner of communications (whether it be telephony, switching, data transfer, security and surveillance, broadband, interactive TV, payTV, etc).

As more satellite capacity comes on board with the ability to bathe Australia (and New Zealand) in a single footprint, the more compelling the arguments in relation to satellite with become. Indeed, they may have already begun out there, somewhere high above the Nullabor, or out above the Coral Sea.