In partnership with Africa’s leading accelerators and innovation hubs, the AHUB program is designed to highlight the critical role of entrepreneurship in fuelling Africa’s digital economy and connect African tech start-ups and scale-ups to investors and corporate partners.

Boeing [NYSE: BA] is investing in Accion Systems Inc., a Boston, Mass.,-based startup pioneering scalable electric propulsion technology to transform satellite capabilities in and beyond Earth's orbit.

Accion's new Tiled Ionic Liquid Electrospray (TILE) in-space propulsion system aims to increase the lifespan and maneuverability of satellites and other vehicles in space. Leveraging a non-toxic, ionic liquid propellant and postage stamp-size thrusters, the TILE system is smaller, lighter and more cost-effective than traditional ion engines.

NEP Group, a worldwide outsourced technical production partner supporting premier content producers of live sports and entertainment, announced today its acquisition of SIS LIVE Limited, a leading provider of connectivity services and a subsidiary of UK-based Sports Information Services (SIS).

The Satellite Interference Reduction Group today announced it is expanding its reach to encompass all types of innovation within the satellite communications industry. As part of that expansion, it has changed its name to Satcoms Innovation Group (SIG). SIG was officially launched today during Satellite Technology Asia in Singapore. The event is being co-hosted with Intelligence-Sec.

Mobile backhaul and base station networking have long been an important business for satellite and teleport operators. It is humbling, then, to also acknowledge that satellites carried less than 1.4% of global mobile traffic in 2016, according to NSR.

The key themes emerging from the three major conferences held in Europe this September, (World Satellite Business Week, IBC and VSAT Global and Next Generation Satellite Applications), were: change, innovation and flexibility.  Change is all around. Change for manufacturers as demand shifts from Geostationary Orbit (GEO) to Non Geostationary Orbit (NGSO). Change in the structure of the industry. Lockheed is tracking 975 new space startups. Change in the manufacturing process. Satellites are getting bigger, and smaller. Electric propulsion is now an accepted technology; software defined satellites are moving from concept to reality, although we are still some time away from an in-orbit fully reconfigurable satellite.

Late September saw the fourth edition of the China Commercial Aerospace Forum, held in Wuhan, in south-central China at the intersection of the Han and Yangtze rivers. As an American who has spent most of my adult life of China, the conference took place at a fascinating time for me, in the midst of a potential trade war between my home country and my adopted home country.

Avanti Communications Group plc,  a provider of satellite data communications services in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, released results for the twelve months ending June 30, 2018. The company reported revenue for the six months to June 2018 increased 23% to US$ 29.9 million (2017: $24.3 million) while EBITDA for the six months to June 2018 increased to US$4.7 million from an EBITDA loss in 2017 of US$ 26.2 million.

Some of the highlights to 30 June, include:

The key trends characterizing the Fourth Industrial Revolution — Artificial Intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (I oT), and the Fifth Generation Networks (5G) — were the focus of the ITU Telecom World conference and exhibition in Durban where global leaders in government, technology, policy development, academia and entrepreneurship met to discuss the best way to manage this revolution in Africa.