Industry News

After years of Starlink holding a commanding lead in LEO broadband, analysts and industry experts see a shift in the constellation race. Aggressive launch schedules for new services, differentiated offerings, and geopolitics are all driving greater competition in an expanding market.

This year, Iridium is rolling out Iridium NTN Direct, which CEO Matt Desch says will make Iridium the first narrow-band satellite IoT service that is standardized and global. Iridium was able to deploy this standards-based service on its existing satellite network. 

Arianespace is in the midst of its launch campaign for Amazon Leo after conducting the first launch for its largest customer in February. The next mission is planned for April 28. 

The majority of SATShow attendees polled at the start of Wednesday’s General Session indicated that the space industry’s outlook was too uncertain to assess, while others considered the current climate “great.”

Space may not officially be the United States’ 17th critical infrastructure sector. But in practice, experts across government, academia, and industry say it already functions as one — deeply embedded in the systems that power modern life.

The European Union is working on a draft of the EU Space Act, which has raised concerns of overreach, particularly among U.S. officials. The Space Act would create a single market for space activities in the EU, and would institute additional requirements. 

Amazon has planted its flag in the direct-to-device (D2D) landscape with a deal to acquire Globalstar and deploy its own D2D satellite system.

The industry is evolving rapidly, and as major stories continue to shape the space and satellite industry, Via Satellite has taken the opportunity to sit down with leading analysts to explore the trends, challenges, and opportunities driving the market forward. Here’s a look at some of our recent analyst roundtables:

Logos Space, a relative newcomer in the satellite constellation arena, sees a distinct lane in private, secure networks for enterprises and governments. The company is moving forward after securing FCC approval this spring, toward selecting a bus manufacturer later this summer.

After months of rumors in the market that Globalstar was for sale, Amazon moved last month to acquire the company in a deal worth roughly $10.8 billion.