Opinion

Tom Wheeler closed out his tenure as Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman in a most surprising manner — releasing a call for more than $80 billion to build out fiber-based […]

On September 1, 2016, at Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, SpaceX observed an anomaly about eight minutes in advance of a scheduled test firing of a […]

On behalf of all the Via Satellite team, I would like to start off by congratulating Stéphane Israël, chairman and CEO of Arianespace, who is our 2016 Satellite Executive of […]

Blockchain, the technology behind the (in)famous Bitcoin, is lauded by many as the next big thing: despite still being in its infancy, this technology promises to bring a full new […]

As we move into 2017 the global satellite industry is in a state of transition. In order to ensure a framework for the industry’s continued success, this column takes a […]

When Stéphane Israël took over the reins of Arianespace in 2013, it was at a time when the company was facing unprecedented competition in the launch services market. The emergence […]

As it has become tradition, in our February issue of Via Satellite we announce the nominees for our Satellite Executive of the Year. This is the most prestigious individual award […]

The satellite and space industry, along with the rest of the country, is desperately trying to figure out what the Trump presidency will mean for it. While my credentials as […]

Part One: Via Satellite’s Advisory Board Discusses One of the hottest topics at SATELLITE 2017 will no doubt be the future of new LEO constellations and whether they will be […]

Recently, we just finished work on our special 30th anniversary edition of Via Satellite where we looked back at some of the huge changes in our industry between 1986 and […]

The central and vital role of satellite systems in human societies, together with the growth of attacks against satellites, has shown that the security aspects of satellite systems cannot be […]

Readers will appreciate that there is international consensus that space activities need to be managed to minimize debris generation and the risk that debris may pose. This consensus is embodied […]

My dream career in the satellite industry started in March of 1980 at Satellite Communications magazine. In 1980 the industry was in the very early stages of development. Everyone knew […]

The explosion of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 booster and payload on September 1, 2016, bookended by an outreach campaign from Arianespace showcasing the reliability of its rocket fleet, reminded me of […]

I often marvel at the industry developments that transpired during my 11-year editorial stint at Via Satellite, as both managing editor (1991-1994) and editor (1995-2002). Most of the decade saw […]

My six years as part of the editorial team at Via Satellite (2000-2002 as associate editor; and 2002-2006 as editor) spanned some of the key transformative moments that shaped the […]

I was told early in my journalism education that it’s easier to teach a writer about a topic then to teach a subject-matter expert how to write to a broad […]

I am indebted to Via satellite as it has opened my mind and enabled me to take off the ground and move to another huge space with its constellation, orbits […]

2016 will go down as the year of seismic political change. I am sure when we have a 50 year anniversary edition of Via Satellite (we celebrate 30 years this […]

A basic premise of government regulation in the post-liberalization telecommunications world has been that regulations and government benefits should be technology neutral. This has resulted in a number of benefits […]

I was actually on vacation in the Berkshires in western Massachusetts when the first email alert hit my smartphone that Thursday morning about the SpaceX explosion at the Cape, the […]

Via Satellite recently spoke to Winston Beauchamp, a member of the Senior Executive Service, the deputy under secretary of the Air Force for space, and the director, principal DOD space […]

The Middle East and Africa continues to offer one of the largest addressable markets for satellite broadband. With just 15 percent of African households having internet access, challenging geographies, underdeveloped […]

The recognition that space activities, services and products play a central role in the sustainable social and economic development of states has led to a clear increase in the number […]

On May 19 this year the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that the Zika virus had been detected off the north west coast of Africa for the first time. Tests […]

Over-The-Top (OTT) television has been little short of a phenomenon in recent years. Netflix, for example, was a company that almost no one had heard of a few years ago, […]

There is no doubt that OTT video is growing at a rapid pace. Based on our 2015 ConsumerLab TV and Media study*, 80 percent of teenagers and 30 percent of […]

Over the past several years, including most recently at the World Radiocommunication Conference 2015 (WRC-15), the satellite industry has had a run of remarkable success in protecting its spectrum “turf” […]

The Opportunity Perhaps the single most important development for the growing SmallSat industry will be low cost access to space. This will be the game-changing technology that opens up the […]

Lawful interception obligations have again been brought into focus after recent terrorist attacks. What does this mean for the satellite industry and how can data interception impact it?