In Broadcast - IBC 2015 - 8


8

www.inbroadcast.com | IBC2015 InShow Guide | 11-15 September

Newtec: Satellite Industry Must Meet
Numerous Broadcast Challenges
Hans Massart, Market Director Broadcast at Newtec, discusses the future broadcasting
industry, and why future-proof technology is essential for continued success...
InBroadcast: What are the main
challenges faced by broadcasters
today?
Hans Massart: Broadcasters and
satellite service providers are facing
numerous challenges, including more
complex workflows, the introduction
of new services (e.g. in 4K), increased
user expectations for always-on
connectivity, and pressure on costs for
both satellite and ground equipment.
InB: How can broadcasters
overcome these obstacles and
succeed in the current marketplace?
HM: For success, broadcasters must
embrace the multiservice era. But let
me explain what this means, and also
point out how important the resource
sharing and resource management
from a global point of view is.
First of all, the importance
of
resource
management
was
emphasised by our comprehensive
industry survey. About 270 leaders
in the satellite industry participated
in the survey which took place in the
second half of 2014. The findings
revealed our industry is vibrant and
in constant search of new growth
and expansion, with 82% to launch
additional services in the near future.
In the past, the high
CAPEX
and
OPEX
required
for
new
services on dedicated
satellite capacity and
network infrastructure
were often inhibitors to
business cases for new
service launches.
This is where today's
multiservice networks
make the difference. A
multiservice network is

based on a single and future-proof all
IP transport layer, independent of the
underlying network layers. It supports
video, voice, data, and broadband
services on a single infrastructure
and space segment, while different
broadcast linear and non-linear
workflows can run simultaneously
through
shared
infrastructure,
operating staff, and space segment.
This instantly reduces the level of
CAPEX and OPEX and increases
business flexibility.
InB: What is Newtec doing in order
to prepare for this?
HM: Again, it is key to focus on
resource management for a broadcast
solution. At the core of our broadcast
solution is our Newtec Dialog
multiservice platform. In a multiservice
solution, there are four key capabilities
we see that need to coexist in
one system: flexibility, scalability
efficiency, and very importantly for
broadcast: automation. Automation is
the key capability that allows effective
use of all network resources.
Allow me to mention, that our
Newtec Dialog platform can be used
also for non-broadcast environments.
It provides flexibility by allowing

product and service offerings -
whether that is existing or new media,
voice or broadband services - to be
adjusted at any time to maximise
business opportunities. Meanwhile,
the scalability of the system (and
investment) contributes to the
successful incubation and launch of
new service offerings.
Finally, Newtec Dialog brings
unparalleled efficiency by offering
three different return technologies
which can be dynamically selected to
offer optimal performance for a given
service and user profile. In addition
to SCPC links and MF-TDMA (which
you know), Newtec Dialog features
Mx-DMA, a new highly efficient and
patented return technology, which
combines the best features of MFTDMA and SCPC.
Furthermore, since the architecture
is all IP, it can interoperate with fibre
optic networks.
InB: Why is interoperating with
fibre so important?
HM:
When
discussing
which
transmission infrastructure is used
for broadcast services, there is often
a terrestrial component involved.
Part of our survey looked at how
the mix of satellite/
terrestrial
networks
is expected to evolve.
Of respondents using
100% satellite today,
about half indicated they
intend to complement
satellite
transmission
technology with other
technologies. For those
operators using satellite
transmission
between
50-100% and 0-50% for

Future services planned by
satellite industry leaders: 82%
adding new services

Example of a Multiservice Broadcast Network (MSBC)

Management Layers of a Multiservice Network

Occasional Use (OU) sessions, some
expect to grow the amount of satellite
transmissions relative to terrestrial,
others said the opposite. Finally, of
the broadcasters that today have no
OU services on satellite, almost 40%
plan to start using satellite. A balance
between satellite and terrestrial
transmissions will therefore continue
to exist.
To address hybrid networks, we
believe the future industry will rely
on a multi-layered management
stack. Clear separation of layers is
a prerequisite for interoperability.
The lowest common layer of a hybrid
network is the all IP transport layer,
for example, terrestrial fibre, 3G/4G,
or satellite.
For satellite transmission, the
next level up is satellite Session
and Resource Management (SRM),
which controls network and service
admission to guarantee availability
of the satellite space segment and
ground equipment for the duration of
a requested transmission, effectively
ruling out overbookings. It also looks
after automated satellite link setup
and teardown.
An
optional
software
layer
may be required to handle filebased transmissions. For satellite
transmissions,
these
workflows
make use of the same space segment
as linear workflows, meaning this
layer needs to be able to cooperate
with the session and resource
management layer. The umbrella
management system needs to not
only control and monitor equipment,
but also synchronise reservations and
execution of workflows over the hybrid
satellite/terrestrial network.
Depending on the specific ECOsystem of an operator, there may
be an extra layer, for example, an
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
layer, hosting a high level session
management and scheduling tool.
Finally, there is the OSS/BSS layer
communicating either directly with
the ERP or the lower level layers,
depending on the broadcaster's
ECO-system.
InB: Thank you for taking time to
answer our questions.
http://www.inbroadcast.com
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