I would like to give all APSCC members as well as  our readers my message as I come into office as the  new APSCC president.

I was nominated and approved as the APSCC president effective of 1st of January 2011 at the plenary meeting held on the occasion of the 13th APSCC annual satellite conference & exhibition in Tokyo. It is a great honor for me, and I seriously take the responsibility on the position that I have assumed.  APSCC was established back in 1994 and has been growing steadily as the only one international association in the Asia-Pacific region representing all sectors of satellite and space-related industries, thanks to the effort of my predecessors, secretariat staffs and members. Here, on behalf of all members, I would like to express special appreciation to the former president, Dr. Nongluck for her dedication to APSCC and contribution to the satellite industry over the years.

Since the “Lehman Shock” in 2008, the world has been suffering from economic downturn, and the satellite industry is no exception. However, the impact on the satellite industry has been rather limited compared to other industries, thanks to the stable customer base and new developments such as HDTV broadcasting, Ka-band broadband service, VSAT networks for cellular backhaul, and so on. In the coming year of 2011, the world is facing challenge for real economic recovery. The Asia-Pacific region is thought to be one of the engines for the global economic growth considering the fact that it has many developing countries with a large number of populations. There are a lot of opportunities for the satellite industry in the region because of its geographical size, population and developing status. However, we have to be aware that there are also some issues to be addressed and I would like to share some of them with our members;

1) There are many satellite operators in the region. Interference and the conflict of interest among these      operators’ satellite networks have become a rather realistic issue, and the coordination among them is      getting more and more complicated.

2) There are some regulatory and political issues that hinder in providing a uniform service over a broader      coverage area crossing the borders, which is one of the greatest merits of satellite communications.

3) Any effort to cooperate between or among the operators in the region to share capacity on a single      satellite at a certain orbital slot faces the orbital right issue, which is a matter of ITU and /or the      supervising authority in each country on the matter, tends to end up with failure.

4) There are little systematic activities to promote satellite systems in the region as a whole through      cooperation among the countries or industry members at stake.

Keeping both the opportunities and issues in mind, I would like to make APSCC as a workhorse in promoting satellite systems, satellite services and the satellite industry as a whole to untangle the issues which impede the development of the industry. Our goal is to deliver the fruits of satellite technology to as many people as possible in the region that would contribute to an enrichment of their lives, in line with the industry’s development. To this end, I and the APSCC office would like to make our best effort with the generous support from all of the members.

Very best regard,

Yutaka Nagai

Asia-Pacific Satellite Communications Council