The Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA) has warned that planned wireless broadband technologies pose a significant threat to the Asia Pacific satellite industry’s C-band services, if not the entire industry itself. According to CASBAA officials, if regional administrations allocate C-band spectrum to WiMAX services, the impact of a ‘spectrum grab’ by Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) technologies could be disastrous.

At the same time, CASBAA noted, in addition to WiMAX, various 4G mobile telephony initiatives have been targeting the entire range of C-Band spectrum in meetings of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU).

One CASBAA official noted: ‘Indeed, the entire satellite industry in the Asia Pacific could be affected, with operators forced to shut down satellite services along with hundreds of TV channels. If this proposed bandwidth grab is finalised, the effects on the media and satellite industries could be catastrophic.’

Given this sentiment, CASBAA said that Asia Pacific satellite industry leaders are calling on governments to take a considered approach in the allocation of existing satellite services. Processes to consider such allocations are under way in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, India, Australia, Taiwan and the Philippines, among others.

The provision of ‘open skies’ with unrestricted access for satellite services to domestic markets has also become a fresh topic for discussion in the industry. Not surprisingly, CASBAA officials are united in a call for governments to allow the industry to realise the full potential of such policies.

The threat of the frequency grab by BWA services and the call of ‘open skies’ policies were hot topics at the recent CASBAA Satellite Industry Forum 2007 in Singapore. The conference also heard that the demand for mobile TV, Direct-to-Home (DTH) and HDTV services were expected to be key drivers for massive future growth in the industry.