The Satellite Mobility market consists of three key verticals: the aeronautical/in-flight;  maritime and land mobile communications on the move (COTM) markets.  Of those three markets that cover the air, sea and land, two of those verticals are probably the hardest hit sectors of the satellite industry by the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic.

The Asia Video Industry Association (AVIA) held its annual Satellite Industry Forum (SIF) as a virtual conference, from 24 – 25 September, which allowed for truly global participation with delegates from around the world in attendance. The event also saw over 100 new companies register to be part of the two-day discussions on Video in the Satellite World.

Momentus, a commercial space company offering in-space transportation and infrastructure services, today announced it has signed a definitive merger agreement with Stable Road Acquisition Corp. that will result in the company becoming publicly listed.

Upon the closing of the transaction, the combined operating company will be named Momentus Inc. and its securities will be listed on Nasdaq and trade under the ticker symbol “MNTS.”

Comtech Telecommunications Corp. (Nasdaq: CMTL)  and Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. (Nasdaq: GILT; TASE: GILT)  announced today that the companies have agreed to terminate the merger agreement first announced on January 29, 2020 and have settled all pending litigation in the Delaware Court of Chancery. In connection with the termination and settlement agreement, Comtech has agreed to make a payment of US$ 70.0 million to Gilat.

The GVF Webinar Series has been an innovative response to the dictates of a variously locked down world and its various themes have been well received by a global audience. Whilst, as noted in my previous column, 69 has been the least number of countries dialing-in to any one individual Zoom event, the total number of nations reached across the series to date has now exceeded 120.

The 25th anniversary international conference of operators and users of satellite communication networks of the Russian Federation "SАTCOMRUS 2020" will be held on October 8, 2020 online as a virtual event. The event is organized by Russian Satellite Communications Company (RSCC) and will be held online for the first time.

QuadSAT, a Danish company providing innovative test and measurement systems of satellite antennas, announced today that it has closed a €2 million Pre-Series A Investment, the largest venture investment in a Danish drone tech company in history. The round was led by Seraphim CapitalVaekstfonden, the Danish state’s investment fund, and Angel Investor, Helge Munk. 

National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) President and CEO Gordon Smith announced today that the NAB Show now scheduled for October 9–13, 2021 in Las Vegas. Smith issued the following letter to the NAB Show community regarding plans for the 2021 NAB Show:

Dear NAB Show community,

GMV Innovating Solutions, the UK aerospace company belonging to GMV, has signed a merger agreement with Nottingham Scientific Limited (NSL). GMV trades in the aerospace, defense, ICT and intelligent-transportation-systems markets while NSL is UK leader in satellite navigation and critical applications. After the agreement GMV becomes sole shareholder of NSL and sets up the company GMV NSL, to be integrated seamlessly into GMV’s set of companies.

Central to this year’s AfricaCom and AfricaTech events (anchors of the new virtual Africa Tech Festival), taking place 10 – 12 November, is how to connect the next billion Africans to the Internet.  Several sessions over two days, will focus on how to include the currently disconnected, whether through the deployment of satellite, balloon or standard infrastructure roll out, as