Registration is in full swing for the SATCOMRUS, an international conference of operators and users of Russia’s satellite communication network. This year the event will be held on October 7-8 in hybrid format: offline in Kaliningrad with live streaming on the satcomrus.com  website. The event will be focused on the role of satellite communications in the digital transformation of the economy and society.

IBC welcomed the announcement from the Dutch Government relaxing COVID-19 social distancing measures and removing quarantine rules for fully vaccinated travellers. After a summer of testing safety protocols, the changes are a real boost to business confidence and mean that large-scale trade shows can once again return to The RAI in Amsterdam, including the IBC exhibition schedule for December this year.

The National Association of Broadcasters, the organizers of the annual NAB show in Las Vegas announced today that it is canceling the live event scheduled to be held from October 10-13.  While the live event will no longer be held, the NAB kept open options for virtual content through  NAB Amplify.

The NAB issued the follwing statement today:

Providence Equity Partners, a  private equity firm that specialises in the media, communications, education, software and services industries, has agreed to acquire a majority shareholding in Marlink from Apax Partners SAS, a European private equity firm based in Paris. The transaction results in an enterprise value for Marlink Group of approximately US$1.4 Billon.

Apax, will retain a significant minority shareholding. Marlink’s management team and world leading investment house Ardian have also committed to minority interests.

Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL) confirms the closing of its US$ 550 million equity investment in OneWeb announced on April 27, 2021. Subject to completion of the subsequently announced investments in OneWeb by Bharti and Hanwha, Eutelsat will hold a 17.6% stake.

At the Satellite 2021 show in Washington, D.C., Satellite Markets and Research Editor-in-Chief Virgil Labrador spoke with Chris Badgett, VP-Technology of Kratos Space.  Click here to view the video.

As with many industries, the satellite industry has not been spared the effects of  the global COVID-19 pandemic which hit the world over a year and a half ago. The pandemic has drastically disrupted supply chains and practically shut down key market segments for satellite such as in-flight connectivity and some key segments of the maritime sector such as  the cruise ship business.  Some key installations and contracts were delayed due to travel restrictions.

Welcome to National Harbor, in-person or virtually!  In my previous column for Satellite Markets & Research I included reference to some details of the SATELLITE 2021 (https://gvf.org/event/satellite-2021/) conference program, an event comprising both digital and in-person content and featuring two panel sessions to be hosted by GVF.

The July-August  2021 issue of  the Satellite Executive Briefing magazine focusing on the Asia-Pacific Satellite Market is now available.  Featuring:

The Asia-Pacific Satellite Market by Omkar Nikam

The Satcom Industry in China: Accelerating to 'China Speed' by Blaine Curcio

Executive Roundtable on Satellites and 5G

"I Think You are on Mute"  by Lou Zacharilla

The Road to National Harbor by Martin Jarrold

PLUS Products and Services Spotlight, Mergers and Acquisitions, Executive Moves, Market Briefs, Vital Statistics, Satellite Markets Stock Index and many more. Click here to read or download the file

There is absolutely no doubt that the Internet of Things (IoT) is a rapidly growing business.  Whether we’re consciously aware of it or not, digital transformation is impacting all aspects of daily life.  Connected devices are becoming pervasive; from refrigerators that let you know when you’re going to run out of milk, to sensors monitoring the moisture content of soil; from self-driving cars, to tags tracking the movement of containers, across oceans and continents.  A recent study from Fortune Business Insights projected that the global IoT market would reach US$ 1,854.76 Billion by 2028