I have not been able to pick up a mainstream newspaper or magazine, turn on TV news, or check out a news Web site in the past several months without seeing discussions about the contributions of the satellite sector in modern society. 

Some of these discussions have been more overt — the positive efforts of satellite communications providers in the aftermath of the earthquakes in Haiti and Chile in January and February, respectively. Some of these mentions are more subtext to a larger discussion — such as the growing use of UAVs by the U.S. Department of Defense. While the level of discussion is different, my takeaway frois that the contributions of the satellite sector continues to be an afterthought, and it’s something that needs to change.

In the days and weeks following Hurricane Katrina, stories were written in Via Satellite and Satellite News — as well as throughout the mainstream media — about the key contributions of the satellite sector in search and rescue and relief efforts. Satellite players were praised for their quick action in helping restore communications and providing imagery for rescue workers. As the mission switched to rebuilding, governments and companies in the Gulf Coast region discussed their desire to be better prepared and have satellite technology on hand in order to be ready to respond to the next need immediately rather than wait for outside agencies and providers to mobilize. But those discussions look to have faded.

Now the same scenario looks to be repeating itself in Haiti and Chile. The satellite sector again stepped up (see our cover story for an account of some of the satellite sector’s experiences in the immediate aftermath), and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton personally delivered satellite phones to Chile’s president for use in the recovery efforts. The satellite sector is on the frontlines again, but it would be nice if the lesson of being prepared sticks this time.

Another area where satellite technology continues to have a growing impact is military operations. Along with GPS and communications, the increasing use of UAVs in Afghanistan and Iraq is making satellite bandwidth more important than ever to the military.

“The situation we have in Afghanistan and Iraq means we are streaming full motion video via commercial satellites from the UAVs all the way back to the places like Creech Air Force Base, where operators are operating those UAVs and then inserting it on to the global broadcast system and doing one way broadcast out over theater to provide that data to all the users that want to take advantage of it. It is kind of like DirectTV for the warfighter. That has been a real success story over the last few years,” says Col. William Harding, vice commander, Military Satellite Communications System Wing, Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base. (For more on this, see Via Satellite’s April Military Supplement.)

His comments about the importance of UAVs and the accompanying use of satellite bandwidth were at odds with a newspaper story I read on the same topic, where it was mentioned that in the Air Force hierarchy, “at the bottom are the officers who keep aircraft flying and satellites orbiting in space.” I was amazed at that line, because once again, the contributions of the satellite sector are being overlooked.

I just hope these mindsets can be altered and satellite players be given their proper due and proper place in the various hierarchies before another major problem surfaces around the globe.