Conference Updates – Downlink 5
We have some of our first speaker announcements for the 2018 Finance Forum! We are pleased to have our friends at Northern Sky Research (NSR) return as this year’s Finance Forum content partner for SATELLITE 2018! Christopher Baugh, NSR President, and his team of researchers have put together a program that is focused on future space investments, competitiveness among new entrants, and the financial impact of the future satellite ecosystem battle happening between Low-Earth and Geosynchronous orbit.
Gilles Thorne, Telecoms Equity Research Analyst for Jefferies & Company, and Andrew Spinola, Vice President of Equity Research for Wells Fargo, will be speaking during the Finance Forum’s opening panel session, “Reading the Tea Leaves- What do the Analysts Say?” on Monday, March 12 from 9:45 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. The session, led by Christopher Baugh, will answer tough questions about satellite financing, including: Is the satellite industry still a good avenue for investment with low prices, competition and innovative technology all pointing to a market in flux? The panel will provide their perspectives on both current & future investment in this shifting industry.
J. Armand Musey, President and Founder of the Summit Ridge Group, will be directing the next session, titled “Financing HTS Growth- GEOs, MEOs, LEOs,” from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. This session will provide new information and perspectives on how HTS programs all orbits can yield profitable revenue streams that attract investors – even those with higher CAPEX spending requirements. Attendees will also learn what metrics investors in HTS systems are most concerned about, as well as what sources of traditional & non-traditional funding could be available to HTS players.
Carolyn Belle, NSR Senior Analyst, will then direct the Finance Forum’s first afternoon session, “Emerging Space- Is there a Path to Profitability?” from 1:45 p.m. to 2:45 p.m. Carolyn and her colleagues at NSR estimate that more than $10 billion has been invested into emerging space entities since 2000. Somewhere between the pitfalls of hype and the hopes of stellar returns, lies the answer to the question – have these businesses been largely profitable? Carolyn’s session at SATELLITE 2018 will focus in on the business case for emerging space, and if big investment means big returns.
Finally, Brad Grady, NSR Senior Analyst, and Claude Rousseau NSR Research Director, will close out the Finance Forum program with the second afternoon panel session “Ecosystem Battle- Who Wins and Loses?” on Monday from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. The two moderators will assemble a panel of speakers that will assess which applications are the ripest for satellite ecosystem battles, what vertical consolidation means for satellite end-users, and what will the new state of play mean for investors? This critical session will explore these issues and plot the path forward for the ecosystem of the future.
More speakers for the SATELLITE 2018 Finance Forum will be announced soon! Stay tuned for more information!
