It will come as no surprise to anyone in this industry who is paying attention to what has been happening over the last few years, to hear me say that the industry is in a state of flux.  This is hardly news, but the pace appears to be accelerating and things that have been talked about for the last several years, are either reality or now very close to be becoming so.

The uncomfortable co-existence among science, technology and religion is a few centuries old.  For a long while the three disciplines tried to stay in their own lane and tried to avoid swerving into the others’ lane.  But a collision was inevitable.  The crash has given us a toxic political and social climate at times, and made us mistrust each of the three disciplines. 

Flat Panel Satellite Antennas (FPSAs) are one of the most anticipated technical innovations in the satellite industry for its potential to provide connectivity in mobility applications for aeronautical, terrestrial and maritime applications. However, we have yet to see FPSA take off.

A number of highly visible new space initiatives, backed by some of the worlds internet billionaires, are challenging the existing satellite industry. Their marketing is great, American style, but is it really a game changer for the satellite industry? For rocket and satellite manufacturers maybe, but the business cases for the satellite operators are not very convincing yet.

SpacePath Communications, a dedicated, European-based, SATCOM amplifier manufacturer and equipment supplier, has announced the appointment of Malcolm Cathmoir as regional manager.

A new study of the content viewing behavior of Malaysian consumers, revealed that 23% of consumers use a TV box which can be used to stream pirated television and video content. These TV boxes, also known as Illicit Streaming Devices (ISDs), allow users to access hundreds of pirated television channels and video-on-demand content, usually with a low annual subscription fee. TV boxes often come pre-loaded with illegal applications allowing ‘plug-and-play’ access to pirated content.

NSSLGlobal has announced the appointment of Staffan Iveberg as Group Chief Technology Officer (CTO). Staffan will work alongside the NSSLGlobal leadership team to roll out the company’s technology roadmap and bolster its R&D division as it continues to forge a reputation as an engineering powerhouse.

Ina Maller has been named chief executive officer and director of Thales Alenia Space in Belgium, effective September 1st. Thales Alenia Space has three facilities in Belgium, in Charleroi, Leuven and Hasselt.

Digital TV Research estimates that pay TV subscribers increased by 26 million in 2018 across 138 countries. This took the number of pay TV subscribers beyond 1 billion.