Fiber, IP delivery vs Satellite delivery

danristheman

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Jan 25, 2011
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Brian can you comment on this since you been the industry long time? What are the pros and cons of each and which one would you chose to broadcast radio, tv signals. We had been talking on here about it a lot. Can satellite uplink providers lower the price to match IP delivery to stay in competition? How would you chose which one be the best for your business. I know your not broadcasting anything just asking for advice and everyone's advice to. I have been wanting to ask this question for a while.
 
Dan, the distribution method simply needs to mirror the needs and goals of the content distributor. Too many variables to blanket statement of what is best for all distribution.

What is the bandwidth requirement? Is a small diameter reflector and band choice capable of providing the sustained throughput? What is the required reliability? What is the available backup and priority in the event of a failure?

It is probably less expensive to roll a satellite backhaul uplink to a location without existing fiber drop for a single event.

It is less expensive to lease an existing fiber path for backhaul delivery to a multipoint distribution center.

The misconception is that fiber distribution is less expensive than satellite. Depends how it is used. If singular point to point and fiber is in place, then yes, fiber is a great option. If no fiber path is available, what is the cost to install or provide a terrestrial delivery path to a ingestion point?

Multipoint fiber delivery is the likely the least expensive option until the cost of illuminating individual paths exceeds the cost of a single satellite footprint. This point is usually around 25 - 30 distribution points.

I am not sure that I agree with your suggestion that delivery platforms should be similarly priced.

I am just brushing the surface of distribution options, but want to point out that each has a place in the diverse distribution landscape...
 
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They use internet ip now...basically you need a fiber connection to the internet and traffic gets routed...the old days of point to point fiber connections are long gone
Dan, the distribution method simply needs to mirror the needs and goals of the content distributor. Too many variables to blanket statement of what is best for all distribution.

The misconception is that fiber distribution is less expensive than satellite. Depends how it is used. If singular point to point and fiber is in place, then yes, fiber is a great option. If no fiber path is available, what is the cost to install or provide Multipoint delivery is the likely the least expensive option until the cost of illuminating individual paths exceeds the cost of a single satellite footprint.a signal path to t portal?

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Someone should tell my buddy who books fiber for a living... LOL

Majority of venue PTP traffic is via private fiber, not the Internet. Internet is often used for the final mile or for ingestion to low bandwidth distribution.
 
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There is alot of old fiber but the new delivery is tcp/ ip based not necesarily internet...they use more routers and less fiber is a better way to look at it....
Someone should tell my buddy who books fiber for a living... LOL

Majority of venue PTP traffic is via private fiber, not the Internet. Internet is often used for the final mile or for ingestion to low bandwidth distribution.

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There is alot of old fiber but the new delivery is tcp/ ip based not necesarily internet...they use more routers and less fiber is a better way to look at it....

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So Vyvx doesn't use their private and contracted fiber network for content delivery? Don't understand what you are trying to say here... PTP is a delivery path, not a method of data encapsulation.
 
To the customer a VPN is a private network but in reality they are tunneling through a public network...what I am saying modern transport systems are far more flexible than the old days...making it cheaper to switch traffic thru a network
So Vyvx doesn't use their private and contracted fiber network for content delivery? Don't understand what you are trying to say here... PTP is a delivery path, not a method of data encapsulation.

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One thing to add on the fiber front.. ESPN is becoming one of the biggest players in dedicated fiber connections because of their SEC Network and ACC Network stations. Every ACC School has been building a video control center on campus capable of producing and feeding to ESPN multiple events simultaneously over a dedicated fiber link from their campus to ESPN's headquarters. They're hoping to cut down on the use of satellite trucks to just major college football games and higher profile basketball games. Most schools have two control rooms capable of producing TV broadcasts and as many as three others for streaming games and in house video boards, etc.

ESPN can save mega bucks now because they've made every SEC/ACC school invest in camera equipment video switchers, etc to produce the broadcasts for ESPN. They just backhaul them back for air. Now all they have to do is fly in announcers (or put them in a studio) and do the game. No more production trucks or satellite trucks for lower priority events.
 
No more production trucks or satellite trucks for lower priority events.
If live production equipment acquisition and operation were affordable, everyone would be doing it.

Post-producing stuff for play when the "money makers" aren't chewing up airtime is relatively cheap.
 
I just thought to stay competitive against IP delivery they would lower the cost to stay in competition then not to keep the prices high. They would leave satellite delivery for IP. So if its small group of stations it would be cheaper to do IP for example?
 
I just thought to stay competitive against IP delivery they would lower the cost to stay in competition then not to keep the prices high.
The operational cost of satellite isn't going down. The customer can use modern compression so that they don't need as much bandwidth but that needs to be backed up on the receiving end.
 
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