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WildBlue Communications

The views and opinions expressed in this submission are solely those of the authors and do not represent the views of the Department of Justice.

Slide 1

WildBlue Communications logo

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

WildBlue minidish and Wildblue satellite modem

Small low cost subscriber terminal

Satellite
Connectivity

WildBlue satellite

High power, bent-pipe spot beam satellites

Gateway
Earth Stations

WildBlue gateway earth station dish

Unmanned remotely operated Gateway Earth Stations

Fiber
Connectivity

Internet cloud

Leased connectivity 3rd party email, web hosting, portal

Operations &
Business

Man and woman in front of computers in WildBlue network operations center

Network operations Business systems Denver, Colorado

[D]


Slide 4

Residential Service Offerings

WildBlue minidish and Wildblue satellite modem
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

Two graphs showing the number of WildBlue’s Target Market - rural homes and small offices

[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

Advertisement for WildBlue

[D]



Customers WildBlue Customers: Population Density

Graph showing Wildblue customers by population density

[D]

Nearly 70% of WildBlue
customers are in areas
with <30 homes/Km2.


Slide 8

Relative Customer Density

Aerial photo showing the location of Wildblue’s customers and the company's satellite coverage

[D]


Slide 9

Example 1: Broadband In Iowa

Map of Iowa shwoing broadband locations

[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

Map of Texas shwoing broadband locations

[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
Dish Network logo National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative logo
AT&T logo DirecTV logo

Slide 12

Broadband Market (by Technology)

U.S. Broadband Customers

Chart depicting the number of U.S. broadband customers by technology

[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
Andrew Corporation Arianespace logo
Boeign logo Loral Space Systems logo
Telesat logo Raven Manufacturing logo
ViaSat logo  

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 logo

WildBlue
Communications

Updated December 29, 2023