|
Slide 1
WildBlue
Communications
2007 Telecommunications Symposium
29 November 2007
David M. Brown
© 2007 WildBlue Communications, Inc
Slide 2
WildBlue Communications
WildBlue is a “Broadband Internet via Satellite” service provider with more than 275,000 customers in the 48 contiguous United States.
- Headquartered in Denver, Colorado
- Privately held corporation
- Entered commercial service June 2005
- Growing rapidly – more than 20,000 new customers a month
- U.S. national infrastructure with
- 2 Ka-band spot beam satellites
- 11 Gateway Earth Stations
- Network Operations Center
- Business Systems Data Center
- Customer Call Center
Slide 3
WildBlue Network Architecture
Subscriber Terminal

Small low cost subscriber terminal
|
Satellite Connectivity

High power, bent-pipe spot beam satellites
|
Gateway Earth Stations

Unmanned remotely operated Gateway Earth Stations
|
Fiber Connectivity

Leased connectivity 3rd party email, web hosting, portal
|
Operations & Business

Network operations Business systems Denver, Colorado
| [D]
Slide 4
Residential Service Offerings
 |
| Service Offering |
Value Pak |
Select Pak |
Pro Pak |
| Speeds (“up to”) |
| Downstream | 512 kbps | 1.0 Mbps | 1.5 Mbps |
| Upstream | 128 kbps | 200 kbps | 256 kbps |
| Consumption Limits |
| Downstream / 30 days | 7.5 GB | 12 GB | 17 GB |
| Upstream / 30 days | 2.3 GB | 3 GB | 5 GB |
| ISP Services |
| Email Accounts | 5 × 100 MB | 5 × 100 MB | 10 × 100 MB |
| Web Hosting | 10 MB | 10 MB | 20 MB |
| Free Dial-up | - | - | 10 hrs/month |
| Upfront Price |
| Equipment | $199 - 299 | $199 - 299 | $199 - 299 |
| Installation | $ 0 - 179 | $ 0 - 179 | $ 0 - 179 |
| Total | $199 - 478 | $199 - 478 | $199 - 478 |
| Monthly Service | $49.95 – 54.95 | $69.95 | $79.95 |
|
Slide 5
WildBlue’s Target Market
[D]
Source:WildBlueMarket Research, 2006
Slide 6
Key Drivers of Satellite Broadband Market
Social Trends
- Urban & second home movement to rural areas for “lifestyle”
- Long-term reduction in rural jobs
- Telecommuting
Product Trends
- Decline in upfront price
- Demand for speed & capacity (usage)
Competitive Trends
- Growth of DSL/CM (assumed very low)
- LECs: “we will not serve 20% of our customers with DSL”
- Growth of fixed wireless
- Expansion of nascent technologies (BPL, 3 or 4G, etc.)
Slide 7
Customer Demographics
| WildBlue Targets the Most Rural Markets
 [D] |
Customers WildBlue Customers: Population Density
 [D] Nearly 70% of WildBlue customers are in areas with <30 homes/Km2. |
Slide 8
Relative Customer Density
[D]
Slide 9
Example 1: Broadband In Iowa
[D]
| |
Homes by Block Group Household Density (homes per sq.mi.) |
% of total |
| |
<50 |
50 to 99 |
100 to 250 |
Over 250 |
total |
<50 |
50 to 99 |
100 to 250 |
Over 250 |
total |
| No Terr. Broadband |
211,856 |
24,078 |
1,797 |
2,463 |
240,194 |
59% |
28% |
1% |
0% |
20% |
| Terr. Broadband |
144,410 |
63,299 |
173,469 |
585,280 |
966,458 |
41% |
72% |
99% |
100% |
80% |
| Total |
356,266 |
87,377 |
175,266 |
587,743 |
1,206,652 |
100% |
100% |
100% |
100% |
100% |
|---|
Source: Pinkham Group (4/06);WildBlue extrapolation; Prairie I-net
Slide 10
Example 2: Broadband In Texas
[D]
| |
Homes by Block Group Household Density (homes per sq.mi.) |
% of total |
| |
<50 |
50 to 99 |
100 to 250 |
Over 250 |
total |
<50 |
50 to 99 |
100 to 250 |
Over 250 |
total |
| No Terr. Broadband |
1,062,050 |
191,222 |
1,361 |
- |
1,254,633 |
91% |
52% |
0% |
0% |
15% |
| Terr. Broadband |
103,707 |
175,331 |
657,868 |
5,944,732 |
6,881,638 |
9% |
48% |
100% |
100% |
85% |
| Total |
1,165,757 |
366,553 |
659,229 |
5,944,732 |
8,136,271 |
100% |
100% |
100% |
100% |
100% |
|---|
Slide 11
Distribution Partners
- Retail Distribution
- Approximately 1500 dealers
- Wholesale Distribution
- AT&T
- DIRECTV
- EchoStar/DISH
- National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative (NRTC)
- Enterprise Distribution
- Approximately 50 Value-Added Resellers
Slide 12
Broadband Market (by Technology)
U.S. Broadband Customers
[D]
Source: Jupiter; ignores BPL subs
Slide 13
Technology Comparison
| |
2005 EOY Subscribers |
Growth 2005-09 (CAGR) |
Pro |
Con |
| Cable Modem/DSL |
44.6 million |
10% |
Speed
Price
Local Presence
Bundled offering |
Not ubiquitous |
| Fixed Wireless |
0.2 million |
32% |
Price
Local Presence |
Not ubiquitous
Mostly unlicensed
spectrum (except
Sprint/Clearwire)
Must choose where to
build |
| Satellite |
0.3 million |
42% |
Ubiquity |
CPE Cost
Unproven VoIPoffering
Time to market for new
capacity |
| Broadband Over Power Line (BPL) |
<0.1 million |
n/a |
Price
Local Presence
Some existing
infrastructure |
Cost
Not ubiquitous
Must choose where to
build |
|---|
Slide 14
Keys to Success
- Internet access architecture
- Affordable bandwidth, bent-pipe spot beam satellites
- DOCSIS standards
- Low-cost CPE
- Small outdoor unit, easy to install and attractive in a residential environment
- Strong distribution relationships
- Excellent technology and manufacturing partners
Slide 15
WildBlue Vision for Future Technology
- Higher capacity satellites
- Incredibly high capacities are possible,
allowing millions of customers per satellite
- Improved latency mitigation
- Better proxy, protocol translation and compression
- Decreased cost of providing the service
- Smaller spot beams, advanced network design allowing lower power terminals at higher data rates
- Higher customer expectations for satellite Internet service will be the challenge
| Snappy web surfing | “Unlimited”consumption |
Faster speeds | No outages |
- Next generation WildBlue technology and business processes incorporating lessons learned
Slide 16
WildBlue
Communications
|