As satellite operators gather in Washington for Satellite 2015, ESOA, the CEO-driven satellite organisation, has announced an expansion to include satellite operators from the ITU’s region 1, namely Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).
In a statement, the organisation said that its members are conscious of two important trends in telecommunications: increased demand for rich media video content and increased take-up of mobile data services. They said both trends are heading towards unmanageable congestion for networks that will result in massive user delays, poor quality content and a more critical digital divide than exists today. This against what ESOA says is a vulnerability of the terrestrial networks.
Michel de Rosen, ESOA Chairman, and CEO of Eutelsat, said: “The issues our industry faces matter for the hundreds of millions of people who benefit from our services. We will better secure the future of our sector in the connected world by coming together in a broader forum to define a shared vision and work together to make it a reality. Preserving access to our spectrum at WRC15 is currently our number one priority and a goal shared by all satellite operators. We will have a louder voice by joining forces to ensure our users don’t lose out and our massive investments are not in vain.”
The EMEA Satellite Operators Association now counts among its members: Airbus CIS, Amos Spacecom, Arabsat, Avanti, Azercosmos, Es’hailSat, Eutelsat, HellasSat, Hispasat, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Nigcomsat, Nilesat, O3B, SES, Telenor, Telespazio, Thuraya, Turksat, and Yahsat as well as representatives of the broader space industry including Airbus Space Systems, Asitel, ASIC, Brit, Bulsatcom, Hiscox, Mansat, Marsh, Munich Re, Newtec, Solaris, Swiss re and Thales Alenia Space.
