Targeting the Other 4 Billion

It has been an interesting time in the industry with most of us still digesting the huge news of Intelsat getting together with OneWeb, which has really set the tone for the industry this year. One of the fascinating comments this year is how the satellite industry is looking to serve “the other 4 billion” people, so we might see a company called O4b at some point!

Joking aside, the industry is clearly targeting broadband markets a lot more and this will be really key to success going forward. I do wonder whether the demand is there for all of this capacity going up, though. The industry certainly cannot be accused of a lack of ambition, but I do wonder who will turn out to be the winners and losers over the next five to 10 years.

Speaking of new markets, our fourth Global Connected Aircraft Summit gets underway in Arlington, Virginia between June 7 and 9. We have a great range of keynotes this year with world-class companies such as Google, Facebook, Netflix and Visa, as well as a whole host of airlines taking part. It is not too late to register and come join the number one connected aircraft event of its kind. You can register for the Global Connected Aircraft Summit 2017 here.

We hope you enjoy this edition of Via Satellite where we have a new type of feature on VSAT equipment. For the first time, we conducted an audience survey to look at the buying habits of companies investing in this type of equipment. We also have a cybersecurity feature as we countdown to our new CyberSat event in November, another highlight for us this year. One of the most exciting markets right now in satellite is antennas and we take a close look at the dynamics of this market.

We appreciate your continued support for Via Satellite, as well as the events we build alongside it. VS