[APSCC 2023] Developing Markets in the Asian Pacific— Optical Communications Entering the Market Penetration Phase
The conference event “APSCC 2023 (Asis Pacific Satellite Communication Council 2023)” was held in Malaysia on October 10–12, 2023. As the name of the conference suggests, APSCC focused on satellite communications in the Asia-Pacific and provided an opportunity for private companies and government agencies from various countries to actively conduct business discussions. Warpspace’s CSO, Mori, spoke on the panel discussion.
The panel discussion in which Mori participated was titled “Free-Space Optical Communications: Proliferation is Finally Upon Us” and included basic information on the advantages of optical communications. The discussion covered basic information on the benefits of optical communications, as well as the latest trends in the field. The moderator was Rizwan Parvez, Senior Director of MAXAR, a U.S.-based space technology company that deals with communications and Earth observation satellites. Panelists include Wen Cheong Chong, CSO of Kepler Communications, a small satellite network provider based in Canada; David Mitlyng, CEO of Xairos Systems, a start-up company developing optical time synchronization systems, and Warpspace CSO Mori.
During the panel discussion, one of the major trends that set the current trend in optical communications was the “PWSA: Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture,” formerly known as “NDSA”, which was proposed by the U.S. Space Development Agency (SDA) and aims to use a constellation of large military satellites to send information to the ground: The panelists spoke of the importance.
(For more information about PWSA, please click here.)
Another communication system that is currently gaining momentum was mentioned: Starlink, a communication service provided by SpaceX. Starlink appears to have implemented Optical Communications for Inter-satellite Links to bring coverage to zones that do not have a Gateway in the region. However, Mori said that WarpHub InterSat, a communications service to be provided by Warpspace, is unlikely to compete with Starlink, especially since it will provide communications services to Earth observation satellites.
The telecommunications market in Asia-Pacific countries is attracting attention from around the world. Indonesia, for example, is made up of islands, so building a domestic telecommunications network would require not only a terrestrial fiber-optic network but also a large number of submarine cables. However, it is not practical to install submarine cables between the more than 17,500 islands that make up Indonesia. Thus, there is a strong demand for satellite communications in Indonesia. Matching these challenges in the Asia-Pacific with the services offered by the United States, Japan, and other operators was actively pursued during APCSS.
Warpspace has held meetings with stakeholders from most of the major countries in the region. On top of that, participation in the APSCC has allowed Warpspace to network even more closely with such potential clients. We look forward to continuing to work with WarpSpace in the future.
