Opinion

The telecom industry has been observing a steady rise in demand for reliable high-speed connectivity services. It is going through the migration to 5G networks to meet these evolving requirements. The key aspects of the same are a significantly large increase in throughput, seamless connectivity demonstration across global networks, and integrating terrestrial networks with satellite...

Satellites are vital to many of our day-to-day activities. They are as critical to infrastructure such as water treatment facilities, electrical substations, and transportation operations. Whether it is navigation, communication, connectivity, or research — satellites power it all. While casual consumers likely do not consider the satellites that assist with their wayfinding, the fact remains...

The space industry has long been interested in the opportunities offered by solar sails. Developing the analogy between space and maritime exploration, early space scientists and fiction writers have thought of concepts that could harness “the wind from the sun” as Arthur C. Clarke calls it in his short story “Sunjammer” from 1964. But three...

The past year saw huge advancements in the space industry. We witnessed landmark achievements such as the discovery of the earliest galaxies seen to date, and the release of the first images from the James Webb Telescope, marking the dawn of a new era in astronomy. Space has once again entered the mainstream, inspiring the...

Held in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, COP-27 came with its lot of successes and disillusions, among which a lost opportunity to address the pressing issue of curbing the use of fossil fuels. Yet several advances now point towards a greater collaboration between rich and developing economies, and just as it has always been at the rendez-vous...

2022 was one of the most exciting years in recent history for the satellite industry, with a number of key milestones including the inclusion of satellite in the 3GPP standards for 5G, the introduction of satellite direct-to-device service, and Non-Geostationary Orbit broadband satellite systems becoming viable competitors in the broadband marketplace. With the likelihood of...

Cyber and physical threats against commercial satellites are no longer a hypothetical discussion. Russia has demonstrated intent and capability to attack commercial satellites amid the ongoing Ukraine conflict, while China continues to advance its offensive space capabilities. The expanding threat environment is forcing the satellite industry and governments to consider new tactics, strategies, and policies...

With the highly anticipated Release 17 from 3GPP, narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) is now on a fast track to becoming the first technology to bridge the worlds of telecom and satcom. But will this limit standard 5G NTN services to be IoT-related only, until we move on to future releases? Not likely, since recent development and...

The past year has been one of the most eventful on record for the satcom industry. In the 12 months from October 2021 to September 2022, the industry saw multiple constellations make significant progress, M&A activity across the entire value chain, and major announcements related to direct-to-mobile communications. All of these happened while the satcom...

The satellite industry is in the midst of major innovations, with over 17,000 satellite launches planned for the next decade. This will add some 200 Tbps of capacity to the current global connectivity grid. Against this background of growth in digital connectivity, we explore demand metrics and market dynamics impacting satellite services in Africa. Data...