He goes on to add that aerospace executives give presentations to telecommunications companies or potential investors as if they are talking to a general. They talk about their track record, mire the proceedings in endless technical jargon and chest thumping, and fall short of delivering a commitment for the equipment and services to meet the needs of the companies or the financial returns of their investors. Although the broadband communication satellite business has probably missed its opportunity to capture the metropolitan areas in the U.S., Freidell asserted that there are still many markets where nonterrestrial communication can succeed. Last May, at a meeting of Wall Street investors interested in space investment opportunities, Freidell delivered a list of 12 markets beyond the reach of terrestrial fiber optic telecommunications. The largest untapped field remains the offshore oil exploration industry.
Oil exploration is the second largest user of magnetic tape behind the U.S. government.
Currently, these ships, which stay at sea 365 days a year, send the data via helicopter to the mainland for processing. It would be like Intel asking customers to prepay for a Pentium IV processor, or buying a car three years in advance based only on the design. Other large markets include the world's navies, who would rather use secure commercial networks than pay the cost of launching dozens of satellites themselves, and the rural and suburban markets where fiber optic trunk lines have yet to go. The aerospace community has the greatest opportunity they've every seen, however, that window is passing by.