Mobile Connectivity

SmartSky Networks has received an additional $25 million from funds managed by the Global Credit Opportunities team at BlackRock, the company announced on Monday. Funds managed by the Global Credit Opportunities platform at BlackRock previously committed to a $75 million credit facility, with $50 million drawn initially. SmartSky said the final $25 million was contingent...

Get SAT and Inmarsat have demonstrated and deployed a Dual SAT terminal solution for U.S. government agencies, the companies announced on Monday. The solution employs Get SAT’s micronized Milli SAT LM terminals using Inmarsat’s Global Xpress Ka-band network. According to the companies, this solution is meant to reduce installation costs and manage communications-on-the-move. Dual SAT is...

In 2018, natural disasters claimed 10,400 lives and caused $160 billion worth of damage, according to German reinsurer Munich Re. That’s down from $350 billion and 13,000 lives lost in 2017. With climate change accelerating at a terrifying pace, the numbers are likely to surge upward again. Given a disaster response “market” of that size,...

KVH Industries and Kongsberg Digital have installed their first joint maritime IoT system on an active working vessel, the companies announced Thursday. The team installed a KVH Watch VSAT antenna for IoT connectivity and the Kognifai Vessel Insight platform on Simrad Echo, a Norwegian research vessel owned and operated by Kongsberg. KVH Watch and Kognifai...

Airgain has released its CENTURION Next 9-in-1 5G antenna platform. The company claims its antenna platform delivers 5G performance and is the first in its class to provide full support for Wi-Fi 6, the next generation of Wi-Fi. The CENTURION Next is intended to work as a connectivity solution for fleet and public safety vehicles...

Hispasat and the Hispatec Group, which specializes in agricultural software, revealed Friday that they have signed an agreement to promote the use of new technologies in the agricultural sector in Europe, the Americas, and North Africa. The companies have agreed to extend the use of the Hispatec’s technological tools in these regions to provide digital...

Gilat Satellite Networks revealed Tuesday that its In-Flight Connectivity (IFC) Electronically Steered Antenna (ESA) is the first-ever to operate during flight on a commercial aircraft. The operation occurred onboard Honeywell‘s Boeing 757 test aircraft with Gilat’s ESA terminal operating over Ka-band capacity on Telesat‘s Telstar 19 Vantage High Throughput Satellite (HTS). Gilat’s ESA has no moving...

Cubic announced Monday that its Cubic Mission Solutions (CMS) business division’s Vocality Radio over IP (RoIP) gateway is the first of its kind RoIP solution to receive First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) Band 14 certification. Designed to provide interoperability between disparate communication networks, the certified FirstNet Vocality RoIP provides a deployable bridge between existing Land Mobile...

Keysight Technologies has contributed 5G and IoT device research to the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) that it believes will help accelerate adoption of the recently released USB4 specification. The research covered a wide range of products, including smartphones, laptops, desktop computers, tablets, and digital cameras, that could rely on the next-generation high-speed digital standard.  Keysight...

  Capricorn Space has contracted antenna systems supplier ViaLite to install RF- over-fiber links at its new Australian teleport, ViaLite announced Dec. 10. ViaLite said that it would supply lossless, high-bandwidth links designed to connect the teleport’s main equipment room with outdoor shelters located next to the teleport’s S- and X-band antenna dishes. ViaLite also...