After the launch of a whole new generation of small Sat-IoT systems at the end of 2018, the market is looking forward on how these networks are going to fulfill their promise of global low-cost IoT connectivity services. The significant decrease of the overall global IoT connectivity costs and power requirements these new generation Sat-IoT networks bring is expected to lead to a market expansion that will at least equal to the magnitude of this reduction at a factor 25.

In an article for this publication exactly a year ago, I suggested that maybe it was time for us to start thinking of ourselves as the bandwidth industry, rather than the satellite industry. Now, I’m not vain enough to think that that remark was what prompted DirecTV to announce at the end of last year that it would not be ordering any more satellites, and that it would instead concentrate on building out fiber and OTT offerings for its customers.

After years of decreasing subscription, Digital TV Research has predicted that pay TV penetration in Latin America will start climbing again in 2020.

Two operators dominate Latin American pay TV. America Movil and DirecTV/Sky accounted for nearly half of the region’s pay TV subscribers by end-2018.

Space & Satellite Professionals International (SSPI) announced today that, on May 7, it will induct three new members into the prestigious Space & Satellite Hall of Fame. The 2019 honorees are Greg Wyler, Founder and Executive Chairman of OneWeb; Matt Desch, CEO of Iridium; and Henry Goldberg, Partner at Goldberg, Godles, Wiener & Wright.

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai and Commissioners Michael O’Rielly, Brendan Carr and Geoffrey Starks will participate in two separate sessions at NAB Show, held April 6-11 in Las Vegas.

Chairman Pai will offer remarks at the NAB: We Are Broadcasters Celebration on Tuesday, April 9 at 3:00 p.m. on the Main Stage.

Singapore Technologies Engineering Ltd today announced that its subsidiary, Singapore Technologies Engineering (Europe) Ltd, has entered into a conditional share purchase agreement to acquire a 100% ownership in Newtec Group NV, an established Belgium-based company in the satellite communications industry.

The consideration of US$281.24 million (€250 million or approximately S$383 million) on a cash-free and debt-free basis for the proposed acquisition, subject to closing adjustments, is payable in cash.

C-COM Satellite Systems Inc. (TSXV: CMI) announced today it generated revenues of US$10.1 million (Ca$13,527,368) and a net after tax profit of US$1.72 million (Ca$2,299,501) or US 4.48 cents (6 Ca. cents per share). This compared with revenues of US$7.68 (Ca$10,282,319) and a net after tax profit of US$0.77 million (Ca$1,035,744) or US 2.24 cents (Ca. 3 cents per share) as reported in 2017, representing an increase of 31.6% and 122.0% respectively.

The boards of Inmarsat and Triton Bidco announced today that they have reached agreement for a US$3.4 billion in cash takeover by Triton Bidco of Inmarsat.

Triton Bidco is a newly formed joint venture company owned in equal shares by fund managers Apax Warburg Pincus, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board.

Under the terms of the acquisition, Inmarsat shareholders are to receive US$7.21 per Inmarsat share, comprised of a cash consideration of US$7.09 per share, and a final divided of USD0.12 to be paid on May 30.

Wholesale capacity revenues from telecom applications will surpass video applications by 2021, whose growth is largely supported by the influx of low-cost capacity from new VHTS systems & NGSO broadband in the coming years. As a result, total capacity supply is projected to grow eight-fold from 1.3 Tbps in 2017 to nearly 10 Tbps by 2022.

NSR’s In-Orbit Servicing Markets, 2nd Edition (IoSM2) report, released today, forecasts US$ 4.5 billion in cumulative revenues from In-Orbit Satellite Services by 2028. While growth is anticipated across all applications in all orbits, GEO satellite life extension will yield the largest share of revenues.