As we’ve said for quite some time, the satellite communications market in China has historically been a pretty vanilla affair. On the Geostationary (GEO) side, the state-owned China Satcom runs an effective monopoly on the provision of satellite services, occasionally buying additional capacity from its partial subsidiary APT Satellite, and from foreign operators. On the non-GEO side, we’ve seen limited activity from state-owned China Satellite Networks Limited (China SatNet), a centrally-controlled state-owned enterprise (SOE) founded in 2021 with the purpose of deploying a “Chinese version of Starlink”. 

Innovations taking place in the satellite sector continue to reshape the satellite services market. First it was HTS massively expanding the supply of bandwidth and reducing the cost per bit. Then it was LEO broadband, which made dynamic software-based management critical to connectivity. 

The Pacific Telecommunications Council (PTC) Conference (PTC'24) held in Honolulu, Hawaii from January 21-24 continues with the same format post COVID and maintains its position as the primary event in the Asia-Pacific Region for telecommunications via fiber, satellite and cellular wireless. The satellite presence is about 25% of the sessions and attendance, yet the level of individuals and the topics covered are very germane to understanding the state of the satellite communications industry and what we expect in coming years. 

Eutelsat Group (ISIN: FR0010221234 - Euronext Paris / London Stock Exchange: ETL) has completed the sale of OneWeb’s 50% share in the Airbus OneWeb Satellites joint venture.

Voyager Space (Voyager) has announced the appointment of Marshall Smith as the company’s Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and as a member of Starlab Space’s Board of Directors. Smith, who previously served as Voyager Space’s Vice President of Exploration, will lead the technical strategy for Voyager’s enterprise and guide the Starlab team through the design, development, and operations of the commercial space station.

Comtech Telecommunications Corp. (NASDAQ: CMTL) (“Comtech” or the “Company”), a leading global technology company providing terrestrial and wireless network solutions, next-generation 911 emergency services, satellite and space communications technologies, and cloud native capabilities, today announced a $45.0 million investment by current shareholders White Hat Capital Partners LP (“White Hat”), an investment firm focused on sustainable value creation in technology companies serving mission-critical applications, and funds affiliated with Magnetar, a leading alternative investment manager with over $14 billion of assets under management. In connection with the investment, the Company exchanged all outstanding shares of Comtech’s existing convertible preferred stock for a new series of convertible preferred stock.

Scout Space Inc. has announced long-time aerospace and defence executive Philip Hover-Smoot as the company’s Chief Executive Officer as of January 12, 2024. He will consequently be succeeding Co-founder and CEO Eric Ingram, who will now be taking on the roles of Chairman of the Board and Chief Strategy Officer.

Es'hailSat, the Qatar Satellite Company, is proud to announce its partnership with Total Media Cast (TMC) to be able to provide Digital Satellite News Gathering Services (DSNG) and Outdoor Broadcast Van (OBVAN) services in Qatar and across Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The two companies have agreed to collaborate closely with each other in the leasing of the DSNG Vehicle and Equipment to end customers, with a specific focus on news agencies and journalists, particularly for news gathering and related purposes.