Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) announced today that at 07:31 am PST (15:31 UTC) SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base and delivered the final 10 Iridium NEXT satellites to low earth orbit (LEO).

The World Teleport Association (WTA) today published its annual rankings for the Top Teleport Operators of 2018. The annual rankings of companies by revenue and revenue growth are compiled by surveying teleport operators around the world as well as referencing the published results of publicly-held companies. 

Sub-Saharan African OTT movie and TV episode revenues will reach US$ 1,018 million by 2024 – up from $223 million in 2018. Despite this quintupling of revenues, Africa still has a lot of potential growth in the long-term, according to a new report by Digital TV Research.

RigNet announced today the appointment of retired Adm. James Arden “Jamie” Barnett, Jr. as Senior Vice President of Government Services.

NSR’s VSAT and Broadband Satellite Markets 17thEdition report, released today, forecasts cumulative revenues of $159 billion in the next decade, with 13.4% annual growth in the installed base of consumer sites alone.  Enterprise VSAT is also a solid contributor with $12.3 billion in capacity revenues by 2027, driven by key verticals worldwide.

Parks Associates today announced leading smart home and consumer IoT industry executives will participate at CONNECTIONS™ Summit on January 8, the first day of CES® 2019, featuring multiple sessions addressing key trends, challenges, and opportunities within these industries.

Satellite Markets and Research spoke with Mitja Lovsin, General Manager of STN, a full service teleport located in Slovenia.

Can you give us a brief overview of the status of your business at this point? How do you see your position the markets that you serve?

The Satellite Executive Briefing spoke with executives from large and emerging ground equipment supplies about challenges and opportunities they are seeing in global and European markets.

I cannot say truthfully that the taste of kava will rival Veuve Clicquot, a smooth Italian Amarone or a glass of New York City tap water for that matter.  But kava does give you a sedating buzz that is a combination of novocaine on top of an hour of Zen meditation.