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Training Employees - Delivery methods
Business Television (BTV)
Like video conferencing, business television allows you to diffuse messages to employees in many locations around the world at the same time. While video conferencing often uses telephone lines, business television uses satellite technology to offer full broadcast, high quality video.
The video signal is uplinked to a geo-stationary satellite where it is then broadcast over a very large area. Each downlink destination must have a satellite dish receiver. If there is interference with the signal, the picture and sound can become unclear. Restricted interaction between the trainee and the instructor can also result in frustration.
Television equipment and production is expensive. Typical commercial television can cost several hundreds of thousands of dollars per minute diffused. Business television can be less expensive than commercial versions, particularly if you have talent in-house.
Companies typically use closed circuit television for significant product and company announcements. Signals are limited to users with password access.
Content must be carefully examined when using business television. Interaction is somewhat limited for question and answer format. This is not a delivery vehicle to use when discussing issues that may have emotional responses. BTV is excellent if the message to be communicated is largely informative rather than controversial.
Of the four key broadband distribution vehicles (telephone-based wire, other cable-based networks, terrestrial wireless and satellites), satellites retain the image of an exotic technology reserved for specialized applications. In fact, the opposite is true - in general, communications satellites are much simpler in operation than the other technologies listed, and new low-earth-orbit satellite ( LEOS) systems promise better availability and dramatically increased network and user bandwidth, while hiding any remaining complexity from the customer.
In contrast to voice, paging and low-speed data, broadband communications places a heavy load on any communications network. Satellite-based broadband needs to compete effectively with wire-based services in many dimensions, including availability, reliability, network management, transparency and, of course, price."
"Beyond these is the need to address broadband-dependent applications, including collaborative communications, remote access, multimedia conferencing, push and broadcast services, telemedicine (and even telesurgery), LAN internetworking and - what is probably the killer app for many businesses and consumers - high-speed access to the Internet. Bandwidth on demand is also a feature of many proposed satellite systems, a capability in concert with the needs of applications today.
Despite the obvious risks and tremendous capital requirements, there is little doubt that broadband satellite communications will become an easily accessible and interoperable reality, given the long history of communications satellites and their established use in networking applications."
"Issues relating to orbital assignments, international licensing, technology, and, of course, financing, still need to be worked out. The questions important to network managers probably can't be asked yet, simply because systems are still so new (and, in most cases, still in the planning stages). But it can be argued that satellite-based broadband will be established long before fiber-based broadband is available in many parts of the world, perhaps implying a global leadership role for satellites in the deployment of broadband.
Before network managers take the plunge, however, they are going to need to know about price, cost-effectiveness, availability, interoperability, capacity, and in some cases, mobility. Nonetheless, it's not too early to consider how broadband from the sky will open new possibilities for corporate networks."
(Craig J. Mathias. "Satellite Services: Broadband-Ready...Eventually." Business Communications Review. November 1997, 56-60. Web page. www.bcr.com/bcrmag. 28 February 2002.)
In contrast to voice, paging and low-speed data, broadband communications places a heavy load on any communications network. Satellite-based broadband needs to compete effectively with wire-based services in many dimensions, including availability, reliability, network management, transparency and, of course, price."
"Beyond these is the need to address broadband-dependent applications, including collaborative communications, remote access, multimedia conferencing, push and broadcast services, telemedicine (and even telesurgery), LAN internetworking and - what is probably the killer app for many businesses and consumers - high-speed access to the Internet. Bandwidth on demand is also a feature of many proposed satellite systems, a capability in concert with the needs of applications today.
Despite the obvious risks and tremendous capital requirements, there is little doubt that broadband satellite communications will become an easily accessible and interoperable reality, given the long history of communications satellites and their established use in networking applications."
"Issues relating to orbital assignments, international licensing, technology, and, of course, financing, still need to be worked out. The questions important to network managers probably can't be asked yet, simply because systems are still so new (and, in most cases, still in the planning stages). But it can be argued that satellite-based broadband will be established long before fiber-based broadband is available in many parts of the world, perhaps implying a global leadership role for satellites in the deployment of broadband.
Before network managers take the plunge, however, they are going to need to know about price, cost-effectiveness, availability, interoperability, capacity, and in some cases, mobility. Nonetheless, it's not too early to consider how broadband from the sky will open new possibilities for corporate networks."
(Craig J. Mathias. "Satellite Services: Broadband-Ready...Eventually." Business Communications Review. November 1997, 56-60. Web page. www.bcr.com/bcrmag. 28 February 2002.)
