Orbcomm, a global provider of Internet of Things (IoT) solutions, today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by GI Partners, a leading US-based investor in data infrastructure businesses, in an all-cash transaction that values Orbcomm at approximately US$ 1.1 billion, including net debt.

The latest update of “Prospects for the Small Satellite Market” was released this week by Euroconsult, forecasting further growth in the global supply and demand of government, commercial and academic satellites weighing up to 500 kg.

MDA Ltd., a provider of advanced technology and services to the burgeoning global space industry, today announced the successful closing of its previously announced an initial public offering (IPO) of common shares of the company. Pursuant to the Offering, MDA issued 28,571,500 Common Shares at a price of CDN$ 14.00 per Common Share for gross proceeds to the company of approximately CDN$ 400 million.

The common shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol “MDA”.

NSR’s latest report, Satellite Capacity Pricing Index, 7^th Edition (2021) finds capacity price declines decelerating in 2021, with the global mean price index declining by ~5-6% in Q1 2021, in contrast to ~13% in Q1 2020.

Global 8K TV household adoption will begin to build momentum over the next few years, reaching 72 million households by 2025. Following a slower than expected 2020 when just under 350 thousand 8K TVs were sold globally, Strategy Analytics’ forecasting models indicate sales of more than 1 million 8K TVs in 2021 and around 4 million in 2022. North America will be the leading region for 8K TVs by 2025 with close to 25 million households owning at least one 8K TV set.

Will 2021 be the year that a new generation of smallsat Internet of Things (IoT) networks take off?  Smallsats offer ubiquitous low-cost and low power connectivity for the global IoT industry. If it is up to some of the new operators, it sure will be, as the launch activities in the first quarter of 2021 demonstrate.

When the SpaceX Transporter-1 rideshare mission shot up in January 2021 to put 133 small-sats into a sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) this January, four of the most noticeable small satellite IoT systems were on board. 

CubeSats are miniaturized cubical-shaped small satellites measuring 10x10x10 cm3 - approximately the dimension of the popular Rubik’s cube and weighs around 1 kg. A CubeSat can be used as a single unit (1 U) or in clusters of several units or U’s (1U, 2U, 3U, 6U, 12U, and others). According to Allied Market Research, the global CubeSat market was valued at US$ 184.11 million in 2020, and is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 15.1% during the forecast period (2020-2027).