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Connected Aircraft Market Set to Soar

Editor's note for the June 2016 edition of Via SatelliteMay 16th, 2016
Picture of Mark Holmes
Mark Holmes

We are reaching an exciting month with a number of trade show highlights including our own Global Connected Aircraft Summit (GCA Summit). Our GCA Summit will be held in Hollywood, Calif. in early June where we will have top airlines and key players in the connectivity market speak about their vision for the connected aircraft, both from an operations perspective, as well as a passenger experience perspective. It is the third year of the event and it continues to strengthen.

Aeronautical continues to be one of the key target markets for a number of players and our GCA Summit will examine demands for bandwidth and how airlines are looking to make the most of these new networks in the sky. We have an amazing speaker lineup, fantastic sponsors, and we look forward to welcoming you to Hollywood for the event. It has rapidly become one of the conference highlights of the year. It is still not too late to register: http://www.gcasummit.com/

One of the highlights of this edition is our first major interview with the CEO of SES, Karim Michel Sabbagh, the man charged with growing one of the biggest satellite operators in the business. Sabbagh has been a great addition to the opening general session at the SATELLITE Conference & Exhibition, and it was a great pleasure to finally sit down with him and do an extended interview to talk all things SES, as well as about his overall vision for the industry. With SES, Intelsat and Eutelsat all changing their CEOs relatively recently, there is a definite “new era” feel about the industry right now. There is a new order being established, new players, new leaders, new perspectives; there is a freshness and vibrancy to the business, even if the industry still faces significant challenges.

So, as the summer slowly arrives, we look forward to seeing you at events like our GCA Summit and CommunicAsia in June and figuring out where the industry goes next in what is turning out to be a very exciting year for satellite. VS