News Analysis

By Bruce Elbert

Austin, Tex.,., November 3, 2025 -- Anyone who either purchases or provides telecommunications services understands the importance of reliability – the confidence that the service will always be there when it’s needed. The popular song from 1970, The Big Yellow Taxi, sung by Joni Mitchell, tells us how we’re surprised when what we thought we had isn’t there. I’ve experienced a fiber outage due to the construction of a hotel (not pink like in the song but it did have a parking lot); it was across the street from our satellite control center. My organization planned for 100% backup fiber from AT&T, composed of two underground cables to separate switching centers. A cable cut wasn’t supposed to happen because the local telco had their inspector on the construction site with the underground drawing. Unfortunately, that plan was inaccurate and a backhoe cut a cable. Unbeknownst to the seller of this service, the alternate route actually went over the same cable! A senior technical executive with MCI (now part of Verizon) once defined this as a backhoe fade: “It’s deep, and it’s long”. Loss of communication between the control center and the Tracking, Telemetry and Control (TT&C sites left eight GEO satellites on their own for a day, until we restored service using a temporary backhaul satellite link.

by Jason Bates

New York, NY, November 3, 2025 -- Non-GEO constellation players have transformed the satellite communication (satcom) industry in the past five years. Leading this transformation is Starlink, which has set new benchmarks in satellite deployment speed, capacity influx, and customer acquisition. Other players like Amazon’s Kuiper, Eutelsat’s OneWeb, Telesat’s Lightspeed and SES’s mPower continue to reinforce the viability and advantages of Non-GEO solutions. As nations increasingly recognize the benefits, such as scalable bandwidth and reduced cost per Mbps, there is a growing shift toward developing sovereign constellations. These national initiatives are driven by the urgent need for secure communications, digital autonomy, and strategic resilience in response to shifting geopolitical landscapes and rapid technological progress.

Washington D.C.  October 30, 2025 – The LEO Policy Working Group today released a comprehensive report urging U.S. policymakers to immediately modernize regulations governing Low Earth Orbit (LEO) to ensure sustainable growth, fair competition, and effective deployment of next-generation satellite connectivity. The report, titled "Low Earth Orbit Satellites: Policies to Promote Spectrum Sharing, Foster Competition, and Close Digital Divides," identifies three critical policy areas requiring action as LEO becomes increasingly congested with large communication constellations.

Germantown, MD., October 22, 2025 – Hughes Network Systems, LLC (HUGHES), an EchoStar company (Nasdaq: SATS), today announced it has acquired Anderson Connectivity, an  aerospace innovator in design, engineering, and manufacturing services based in Melbourne, Florida. This acquisition significantly expands Hughes capabilities, adding key technology & engineering talent and product solutions while positioning the company for accelerated growth in the global aviation, space, and defense markets according to the company.

MarketBrief Report on VSATs for Government Applications sponsored by Es'hailSat

Featuring:

VSATs for Goverment Applications by Virgil Labrador

Interview with Jarod Lopez, Executive Director-Marketing and Business Development-Es’hailSat

Case Study on Private VSAT Network Expansion for Remote Connectivity

To read or download the pdf of full report click here.

The September-October 2025 issue of the Satellite Executive Briefing is now available.  Featuring:

The Satellite IoT Market: A Case of Dual Momentum by Hub Urlings

Satellite:You Can't Beat the Experience by Bruce Elbert

How the Right Components Can Make Your Space Mission More Sustainable by Henry Hackford

Reimagining Broadcast Infrastructure: The Enduring Role of Satellite in a Cloud-First Era by Adir Hadad

Company Spotlight: Satellite Mediaport Services

Executive Spotlight: Thomas Fröhlich, CEO-WORK Microwave

Product Spotlights: Integrasys' Orbisat and Jonsa's Maritime Antennas

Plus  Products and Services Profiles Guide to IBC 2025, Mergers and Acquisitions, Market Trends, Executive Moves,  and many more. Click here to read or download the file

by Virgil Labrador, Editor-in-Chief

Los Angeles, Calif., September 8, 2025--Very Small Aperture Terminals or VSATs for short, have been widely adopted for network and connectivity applications globally by virtually every major industry including retail, enterprises, banks, financial institutions, transportation, logistics, utilities, mining, oil & gas and government agencies and the military, among others.  If you have ever used an ATM at a bank or paid at a pump at a gas station, your transaction most likely went through a VSAT network. According to most estimates, there are currently over 5 million VSAT terminals deployed worldwide  and the number of terminals are forecasted to more than double in the next decade.   

Renens, Switzerland, September 5, 2025 - SWISSto12 today announced the acquisition of intellectual property (IP) and key assets from Hanwha Phasor, following Hanwha Phasor’s liquidation. SWISSto12 has acquired Ku band active electronically steered antenna (AESA) user terminal technology and assets from Hanwha Phasor and will combine them with its own products and technologies to offer a highly innovative and market-disruptive AESA terminal solution to the global satellite communications sector.

Arlington, Va., September 4, 2025  - Safran Defense and Space, Inc. (Safran DSI) announced the acquisition of Attollo Engineering, a California-based company with 60 employees specializing in compact, high-performance imaging and laser sensing solutions. The acquisition will strengthen Safran DSI's product offerings by enhancing its capabilities in advanced imaging and sensing technologies.

Los Angeles, CA., August 18, 2025 – Platinum Equity announced today that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Anuvu, a  provider of global entertainment and high-speed connectivity solutions for airlines, VIP/VVIP aircraft, cruise lines and other mobility end-markets.