Satellite Consulting
Satellite Consulting Services that Address the Issues and Produce Results
ATS offers satellite consulting and expert services in fixed and mobile communications, broadband systems and broadcasting, to organizations in industry and government. Founder and primary consultant, Bruce Elbert, will assist the client to organize, evaluate and resolve issues and produce measurable results as he has in past engagements and assignments.
Our context is for all orbits (GEO, MEO and LEO) and all application domains employing all available and evolving technology that provides measurable benefits. Satellite industry consulting services offered by ATS address issues in the technical, operational, human resource development and business domains. We are particularly expert in assessing new technology and identifying how it may be inserted into systems that must achieve important objectives. The work demands that all relevant interfaces are resolved, the system operates in an integrated manner (as one) and delivers the service or application on an end-to-end basis.
Choose a particular application activity area to learn more:
ATS has contributed strongly to the success of established technology developers of space and ground resources, service providers in the space segment and ground segment domains, and enterprises and startup ventures in these areas. The following are examples of past projects and activities that demonstrate how we can contribute in an active and meaningful way:
- Evaluation of the design, operation and performance of a LEO satellite constellation for data and mobile services.
- Recommendations for a make versus buy decision on the provision of ground operation facilities and overall management.
- Business and financial modeling of satellite and network resources related to initial implementation or restoration of the business.
- Due diligence of an innovative wireless network for in-home connectivity at greatly reduced cost as compared to current alternatives
- Orchestration of successful international spectrum and orbit coordination through the FCC and ITU processes
- Presentation of market opportunities and challenges for companies that supply equipment to the satellite communications industry
- Resolution of technical issues relating to the performance of satellites and satellite networks, due to improper design, manufacture, test and verification, operation and external sources of radio-frequency interference
- Development of the GEO mobile satellite capability for hand-held terminals; identification and organization of the joint venture to take the project forward
- Design of national and regional satellite networks to deliver entertainment television and audio services employing the MPEG 2/4 and DVB-S2 standards
- Preliminary and detailed design of a global satellite communications network; selection of appropriate satellite capacity; definition of the ground segment; selection of user terminals; review and improvement of technical and management operations
- Assessing and valuing new satellite and broadband communications technologies, such as Internet Protocol adaptation for wide area networking, optical inter-satellite links in LEO constellations, and use of millimeter wave frequencies for broadband access and backbone services
- Due diligence of a hardware manufacturer in the satellite microwave field
- Identification and development of staff needed to run a satellite communications business
- Design of the first satellite transmission system for a network to deliver digital video and data programming to commercial aircraft traveling over oceans and land.
Client Benefits from ATS Expertise:
Technical & Management Consulting in Satellite Communications
Technical and Management Consulting in Satellite Communications to the following clients:
review and assessment of planned or operating technology in space and on the ground; evaluation of new businesses and M&A opportunities; risk assessment of technology selection; valuation of products and services
definition of satellite requirements, technical specification development, support of the procurement process, technical and business monitoring of satellite construction, assistance with new application development and introduction, evaluation of operating space assets including lifetime and performance
overall system and payload engineering, evaluating advanced technology for consideration of its insertion into current and new products; guidance in the development of new products and applications; identification of market opportunities; application design, design review and failure board support
product identification and roll-out strategy, assistance with new market development (including emerging markets), support for strategic alliance development and mergers/acquisitions, problem resolution with respect to performance, interface and integration
orbit and frequency coordination and host-nation agreement strategy and support.
assistance with requirements assessment, microwave link design and verification of new earth stations and user terminals; evaluating equipment and services in video and data domains; audits of operations and performance; satellite selection and network rollout tactics; evaluation and resolution of technical and operational problems, such as RFI, interface conflicts and poor integration of function or service
Broadband & Wireless
Strategic and technical consulting to broadband and wireless developers and service providers
- Technology evaluation, validation and insertion into new and evolving products and services.
- Promotion of strategic alliances and other collaborative arrangements between technology developers and industrial or governmental consumers
- RF requirements, link characterization, and design integration.
- Assistance with service design.
- Product introduction plan review and verification
- Support of market entry and regulatory strategy.
- Development of product support materials, including marketing presentations and proposals.
Due Diligence and Project Development
Project and business consulting to major users of IT systems and services, particularly as related to the distributed environment, using conventional WAN solutions as well as satellite network technology in all orbit regimes.
- Analysis and investigation of venture capabilities and resources
- Business requirements definition for the network and strategic applications.
- Identification of high-leverage and high-risk technologies – hardware, software, wide-area network and appropriate use of satellite communications/VSATs
- Developing the architecture for information access and delivery over network to domestic and international locations
- Performing honest and thorough “make versus buy” analyses and creating the best outsourcing approach with acceptable risk
- Development of procurement documentation, support of negotiations, and development of an appropriate Service Level Agreement for each component
- Taking stock of current technology and operation, and resolving an appropriate virtual team management strategy
- Analyzing the capacity requirements for a new satellite system, considering user behavior, historical trends and means of managing that capacity once the system goes into operation
Expert Reports
Expert report preparation and testimony for legal proceedings involving aspects of satellites, ground segments, and technologies related to these.
- Patent infringement and validity analysis and reports
- Research into technical and management issues related to the proceeding at hand
- Understanding and explaining complex technical matters and proposed solutions and communicating those in clear and understandable terms
- Expert reports regarding contracts and specifications
- Developoment of a technical strategy to prove the case in point
- Expert testimony in depositions and at trial that is both true and convincing
The fact that our experience covers both ground-based and space-based telecommunications technologies means that we are in the best position to understand how to trade-off and/or blend these ingredients and understand where issues may exist and the best means of addressing them. The age of the pure play is probably over; organizations need to consider all alternatives, particularly when the markets and operations must extend outside of national borders.
Through our current understanding of satellite systems in all orbit domains – GEO, MEO and LEO – we provide unbiased and science-based guidance as to which orbit and which network best addresses needs. One approach does not address all possible requirements; we support the methodical approach to examining the options and selecting from those that best meets needs, now and in the future.
Any technology-based business must rest on a proper foundation of people and the programs and projects they conduct. These are likewise areas where ATS has extensive experience. Using telecommunications and IT resources, modern organizations improve their performance and business focus. We help organizations and individuals meet the difficult demands of application identification and introduction through a variety of channels and media, including consulting, education and project development.