The boost in non-stop airline traffic between the USA and Africa is on the rise and access to the continent and its cities has as much to do with technology as it has to do with demand.  According to travel writer Shannon Sims, developments in plane construction makes it possible to fly longer routes.  And ultra long-haul flights, such as next month’s launch of a non-stop flight from Newark Liberty Airport to Capetown will provide access to South Africa three times per week.  Distances of  9,500 miles (15,300 kilometers) covered in less than 15 hours on a non-stop flight is truly a testamen

Last month I spoke at an event for information technology security professionals in Riga, Latvia.  The theme of my presentation was a little off the mainstream of topics addressed during the several tracks of the program – unsurprisingly heavily focused on cyber security, but also covering the continuing evolution of 5G, the upcoming generation of terrestrial mobile broadband communications. 

Ross Video announced that Mary Jean McFall has recently joined the company in the new role of General Counsel. McFall will be based at the company’s Ottawa campus, with responsibility for all corporate and commercial legal activities including coordination with external legal counsel globally.

AfricaCom 2019 has a strong focus on building gender parity in the technology and telecoms industries this year, with a  number of initiatives that will be launched at the event taking place in Cape Town 12- 14 November 2019.

In its new survey titled, “Satellite-Based Earth Observation Market Prospects to 2028”, Euroconsult forecasts that the market for data and services derived from Earth observation (EO) satellites is expected to grow by 9.4 percent each year for the next ten years for a total upside market value of US$ 12.1 billion by 2028.

Eutelsat Communications (ISIN: FR0010221234 - Euronext Paris: ETL) reports revenues for the First Quarter ended 30 September 2019. First Quarter revenues of the Operating Verticals of €316.5 million, down 6.2% like-for-like , (ie, at constant currency and perimeter).

NSR’s VSAT and Broadband Satellite Markets ,18^th Edition report, released today, forecasts healthy revenues in the next decade with Enterprise VSAT gaining a slight edge over Consumer Broadband, accounting for greater than 50% of total revenues. Backhaul & Trunking will be the key application globally, but broadband to households, consumers, and hotspots will account for healthy demand as well.

Viaccess-Orca (VO), a provider of OTT and TV platforms, content protection, and advanced data solutions, announced today the appointment of Guillaume Forbin as Chief Security Officer (CSO). Forbin will ensure that VO's content protection solutions — including CAS, DRM, and secure video player — and associated services address current and future TV piracy threats. 

The World Teleport Association (WTA) released a new report entitled: "Teleports and Big Data." The report quotes NSR, which estimates that the biggest markets for big data via satellite will be in transportation, government/military and oil & gas – sectors where teleport operators are deeply embedded.