Satellite news gathering (SNG), traditionally enabled by Outside Broadcast (OB) trucks, has a long and extremely successful history of utilising satellite to transmit events, either minutes after happening or even live, from the ends of the Earth to the comfort of your own home. Recent years have seen a shift away from traditional SNG methods, like OB trucks and their teams, towards single, ultra-mobile journalists and their smartphones.

The 5G revolution is upon us, and everyone from service providers to terrestrial network operators, satellite owners and teleports are getting in on the action. The new ultralow latency connectivity is expected to usher in a new world of machine-to-machine communications and Internet of Things
applications, with great opportunities for teleports across the globe.

Teledyne Paradise Datacom has unveiled a new Dual L/S Band SSPA, a unique solution that offers customers a virtual “two SSPAs for the price of one” approach to satellite command & control. It dramatically lowers the costs of TT&C, leaves a much smaller footprint, and delivers higher reliability than traditional Klystron amplifiers.

With increasingly large numbers of small satellite constellations being brought to fruition, space traffic management, debris and orbit allocations are becoming more vital than ever before. Valuable lessons can be learned from GEO which may smooth the way for the upcoming LEO constellations.

UP42, a subsidiary of Airbus Defence, is a developer platform and marketplace which aims to simplify the way businesses can derive insights from geospatial data at scale. The company launched in early 2019, gaining a lot of traction with a diverse portfolio of companies, and has gone from strength to strength. Sean Wiid, UP42’s CPO, opines on what they’ve done right, and what he expects to see from the company as it finds its feet.

The Internet has changed life as we know it, with a massive array of possibilities enabled. We can speak with friends across the world in real-time, run our businesses, shop for groceries, or catch the latest episode of ‘insert current TV show I’m too behind the times to be aware of’ on our mobile phone while cuddling up in bed. We take this connectivity for granted, paying very little attention to the incredible fibre or satellite technology behind it, despite the fact that this can only be described as Very Big Business.

With pressure from international climate partnerships increasing and worldwide national disasters growing ever more serious, the role of assuring national stability increasingly falls upon our armed forces. In early 2019, a seminal report was released from the Pentagon illustrating the dire vulnerability the US military faces from climate change, and the urgent need to adapt. At this critical time, the Department of Defence’s sustainability overhaul has the potential to lead the way for other militaries to follow suit.

With satellite connectivity more ubiquitous, affordable and high-speed than ever before, the global mobility markets are really taking off. Aviation is seeing huge gains in both traditional inflight connectivity and entertainment spheres, as well as new applications, such as shopping, social media, and live gaming. There are also new challenges on the consumer front, relating to data privacy.

In an era where electronic warfare continues to grow, military groups must be able to access technology superior to their adversaries in order to maintain effective homeland security. Mission critical C5ISR equipment must remain secure and operational so that communication systems remain open so that our military forces can properly protect home interests.

Wearable technology is due to take the world by storm in the coming years, with the military in particular, standing, to benefit a great deal. Connecting man to machine is one of the major challenges with next generation wearable technology, and one that Rajant is working on in cooperation with the US military.

Established in 1988, Advantech Wireless Technologies designs, manufactures and deploys satellite and terrestrial wireless communications equipment for broadband connectivity, broadcast solutions, video contribution/distribution, mobile 3G, 5G, LTE backhaul, DTH & DTT, and MILSatcom. Advantech’s product portfolio consists of next generation GaN-based Solid State Power Amplifiers (SSPAs), Block-Up Converters (SSPBs), frequency converters, terrestrial microwave products, Pulsed Amplifiers for Radar Applications, Transmitter and Transceiver products, as well as RF Passive Components and integrated systems. Tony Radford, Vice President Global Sales at Advantech Wireless Technologies, opines on the present day satcoms sector, and Advantech’s place within it.

SES, a leader in global content connectivity solutions, operates the world’s only multi-orbit constellation of satellites that uniquely combines global coverage and high performance. SES leverages its vast and intelligent, cloud-enabled network to deliver high-quality connectivity solutions anywhere on land, at sea or in the air, as the company services a wide ecosystem of customers, including organisations in the telecommunications industry, cloud service providers, broadcasters and video platform operators, as well as governments. Today, the company is delivering connectivity to defence, security, humanitarian, civilian government organisations worldwide. Nicole Robinson, Senior Vice President of Global Government for SES, outlines the demand on this arena and how she anticipates its evolution.