As satellite-based 5G evolves from concept to commercial reality, operators face a watershed moment: stay on their legacy paths or embrace the shared NTN vision. This year’s milestones show that strategic alliances and rapid rollouts will define the leaders in the race for ubiquitous connectivity.
Arctic ice loss is creating opportunities in the High North that Russia and China are already responding to. As global powers leap to occupy this rapidly changing arena, support from orbit will be an invaluable component of the new economic, geopolitical, and geographic reality of the region.
After its August 12 launch aboard Ariane 6, the $6.1 billion Metop-SG program enters a year-long commissioning phase, gearing up for over 20 years of polar-orbit data collection. In partnership with NOAA’s Joint Polar Satellite System, Eumetsat will share sensors and ground stations, enhancing global storm forecasting and ensuring mutual backup across the Arctic and Antarctic.
Phishing campaigns now deliver LAMEHUG, the first malware that offloads command generation to a large language model in real time. For the space industry, adaptive AI-driven threats can bypass static defenses and tailor exploits to specialized mission-control environments.
Iliad and Digi have slashed European telecom spending by up to 40% in real terms, yet incumbents still treat pricing as mere “trading” rather than strategic priority. If established operators don’t develop a robust response, they risk ceding even more market share to these agile, customer-satisfied disruptors.
New multi-band antenna technology could redefine satcom by making connectivity seamless and automated. Ryan Stevenson, senior vice president and chief scientist at Kymeta, explained how ESAs can roam across different bands and different orbits, and what this technology means for the satellite industry. Read our top four takeaways.
While SpaceX continues to dominate the launch landscape, other companies are getting creative in the way they get to orbit, from small rocket launches to reusable satellite buses. As Europe claims greater sovereignty over its space activities and launch becomes a more sustainable process, how the industry thinks about space access is changing.
The satellite industry is positioned play a pivotal role in the U.S. Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program, which aims to close the digital divide in underserved and rural areas. Can satellite compete with fiber providers?
Timely delivery, cost efficiency, and technical competitiveness will be key to securing contracts under this ambitious initiative. Christopher Baugh and Dallas Kasaboski unpack the strategic and operational hurdles satellite players must overcome.
