Although their tones and timbres vary, sirens and alarms are universal harbingers of emergency. Mounted in homes and offices; on police cars, ambulances, and fire engines; and in airports, schools, and hospitals, they save precious lives every day with their cacophonous caterwauls that scream for all to hear: “Danger!”
In business and industry, events often occur that are their own kind of alarm. Although they’re not always as obvious or audible as a fire alarm or tornado siren, the warnings they give can be just as consequential. Streaming entertainment, for example, was a siren for the television, video rental, and cable TV industries. Smartphones were an alarm bell for analog photography and landline telephones. E-commerce was a distress signal for the retail sector. And once upon a time, automobiles were warning sounds for carriage makers and blacksmiths.
Disruption from new technologies and business models can’t be stopped. Traditional businesses that hear and heed its warning bells, however, have an opportunity to pivot. Instead of getting hit by the oncoming train, they can get out of its way—and perhaps even climb aboard.
Cynthia Harty, senior vice president of corporate development at satellite communications company ST Engineering iDirect
That lesson looms especially large right now for the satellite communications industry, according to Cynthia Harty, senior vice president of corporate development at satellite communications company ST Engineering iDirect. In 2018, she watched intently as Elon Musk’s SpaceX launched two prototypes for its planned constellation of internet-providing satellites, Starlink. The phantom sound of sirens was unmistakable. And with more than 5,000 Starlink satellites in orbit to date, its chime today is only growing louder and more urgent.
“Starlink fundamentally changed the user experience for consumers of satellite internet, and it has caused everyone else in the market to reevaluate what they’re doing and how they’re operating,” explained Harty, who said Amazon’s Project Kuiper—whose goal is increasing global broadband access through a constellation of more than 3,000 satellites—will only disrupt the satcom sector even further. “For all of us in the ecosystem who are not vertically integrated and not funded at the levels of Starlink and Kuiper, we must continue to innovate, but we must innovate better and faster.”
To be clear, satcom already is a high-innovation industry, as evidenced by game-changing advancements like software-defined satellites, multi-orbit capabilities, and optical communication systems. But to avoid stagnation and seize new opportunities, operators, service providers, technology partners, and other stakeholders must band together to quicken the pace of innovation in ways that will maintain satcom’s remarkable record of relevance, growth, and competition. And they must do so immediately.
“When there’s disruption in the market, you can’t just put your head down and pretend it isn’t happening,” Harty said. “You have to figure out how to continue adding value to your customers so they can participate, thrive, and grow into the future.”
The satcom ecosystem can make an especially large impact on customers by concentrating its innovation dollars in three meaningful areas of opportunity: user experience, commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) products and automation, and 5G non-terrestrial networks (NTNs).
Realizing a ‘frictionless’ future
To appreciate the benefits of large-scale, high-speed innovation, satcom companies must first realize the consequences of inertia. Without material investments in innovation, companies throughout the value chain will stagnate and perhaps even perish, Harty predicts.
“If you don’t innovate, you potentially will be less relevant,” she said. “You could run the risk of having to exit the market because you simply won’t have competitive offerings.”
But innovation isn’t just about business survival. Ultimately, it’s about making vital services better and more reliable for users.
“Our industry for years has talked about reaching the unconnected and bringing more people to the internet, and telco can’t accomplish that without satellite,” Harty continued. “It’s all about frictionless connectivity.”
Imagine, for example, a merchant vessel that’s transporting across oceans precious containers full of raw materials or finished goods. Whether it’s rare earth metals that are critical components in energy infrastructure and electronics, coffee beans for your morning latte, or life-saving pharmaceuticals for pharmacies and hospitals, the global economy depends on their safe and speedy arrival. While threats as diverse as pirates and weather can jeopardize that arrival, they could be more easily avoided and more effectively mitigated with better communications.
Although their tones and timbres vary, sirens and alarms are universal harbingers of emergency. Mounted in homes and offices; on police cars, ambulances, and fire engines; and in airports, schools, and hospitals, they save precious lives every day with their cacophonous caterwauls that scream for all to hear: “Danger!”
In business and industry, events often occur that are their own kind of alarm. Although they’re not always as obvious or audible as a fire alarm or tornado siren, the warnings they give can be just as consequential. Streaming entertainment, for example, was a siren for the television, video rental, and cable TV industries. Smartphones were an alarm bell for analog photography and landline telephones. E-commerce was a distress signal for the retail sector. And once upon a time, automobiles were warning sounds for carriage makers and blacksmiths.
Disruption from new technologies and business models can’t be stopped. Traditional businesses that hear and heed its warning bells, however, have an opportunity to pivot. Instead of getting hit by the oncoming train, they can get out of its way—and perhaps even climb aboard.
Cynthia Harty, senior vice president of corporate development at satellite communications company ST Engineering iDirect
That lesson looms especially large right now for the satellite communications industry, according to Cynthia Harty, senior vice president of corporate development at satellite communications company ST Engineering iDirect. In 2018, she watched intently as Elon Musk’s SpaceX launched two prototypes for its planned constellation of internet-providing satellites, Starlink. The phantom sound of sirens was unmistakable. And with more than 5,000 Starlink satellites in orbit to date, its chime today is only growing louder and more urgent.
“Starlink fundamentally changed the user experience for consumers of satellite internet, and it has caused everyone else in the market to reevaluate what they’re doing and how they’re operating,” explained Harty, who said Amazon’s Project Kuiper—whose goal is increasing global broadband access through a constellation of more than 3,000 satellites—will only disrupt the satcom sector even further. “For all of us in the ecosystem who are not vertically integrated and not funded at the levels of Starlink and Kuiper, we must continue to innovate, but we must innovate better and faster.”
To be clear, satcom already is a high-innovation industry, as evidenced by game-changing advancements like software-defined satellites, multi-orbit capabilities, and optical communication systems. But to avoid stagnation and seize new opportunities, operators, service providers, technology partners, and other stakeholders must band together to quicken the pace of innovation in ways that will maintain satcom’s remarkable record of relevance, growth, and competition. And they must do so immediately.
“When there’s disruption in the market, you can’t just put your head down and pretend it isn’t happening,” Harty said. “You have to figure out how to continue adding value to your customers so they can participate, thrive, and grow into the future.”
The satcom ecosystem can make an especially large impact on customers by concentrating its innovation dollars in three meaningful areas of opportunity: user experience, commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) products and automation, and 5G non-terrestrial networks (NTNs).
Realizing a ‘frictionless’ future
To appreciate the benefits of large-scale, high-speed innovation, satcom companies must first realize the consequences of inertia. Without material investments in innovation, companies throughout the value chain will stagnate and perhaps even perish, Harty predicts.
“If you don’t innovate, you potentially will be less relevant,” she said. “You could run the risk of having to exit the market because you simply won’t have competitive offerings.”
But innovation isn’t just about business survival. Ultimately, it’s about making vital services better and more reliable for users.
“Our industry for years has talked about reaching the unconnected and bringing more people to the internet, and telco can’t accomplish that without satellite,” Harty continued. “It’s all about frictionless connectivity.”
Imagine, for example, a merchant vessel that’s transporting across oceans precious containers full of raw materials or finished goods. Whether it’s rare earth metals that are critical components in energy infrastructure and electronics, coffee beans for your morning latte, or life-saving pharmaceuticals for pharmacies and hospitals, the global economy depends on their safe and speedy arrival. While threats as diverse as pirates and weather can jeopardize that arrival, they could be more easily avoided and more effectively mitigated with better communications.