{"id":51593,"date":"2024-03-20T18:47:29","date_gmt":"2024-03-20T10:47:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/executives-unpack-the-practical-challenges-of-the-satellite-and-cellular-convergence\/"},"modified":"2024-03-20T18:47:29","modified_gmt":"2024-03-20T10:47:29","slug":"executives-unpack-the-practical-challenges-of-the-satellite-and-cellular-convergence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/executives-unpack-the-practical-challenges-of-the-satellite-and-cellular-convergence\/","title":{"rendered":"Executives Unpack the Practical Challenges of the Satellite and Cellular Convergence"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Satellite players are advocating heavily for the convergence of cellular and satellite networks, while working through the challenges involved in achieving this goal. Leaders from Comtech, Viasat, EchoStar, Iridium, Globalstar, and John Deere outlined the key issues during the Opening General Session at SATELLITE 2024 on March 19.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve gone from a place where raw megahertz and transponders was the dialogue when it came to satellite connectivity, and even the common dialogue for terrestrial and wireless connectivity,\u201d said Nicole Robinson, chief growth officer of Comtech. \u201cNow we\u2019re having a conversation around, \u2018What is the true capability that\u2019s provided? What\u2019s the use case?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" src=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/fbCCyxIxQtSTKaex1fdh_VS_ShowDaily20202420Day20420DGTL-300x225.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" style=\"width: 120px; height: auto;\" decoding=\"async\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/fbCCyxIxQtSTKaex1fdh_VS_ShowDaily20202420Day20420DGTL-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/fbCCyxIxQtSTKaex1fdh_VS_ShowDaily20202420Day20420DGTL-800x599.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/fbCCyxIxQtSTKaex1fdh_VS_ShowDaily20202420Day20420DGTL-640x480.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/fbCCyxIxQtSTKaex1fdh_VS_ShowDaily20202420Day20420DGTL.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\">\t\t\t<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"fs-5 mt-0\">Explore the Show Daily 2024 Day 4 Issue<\/h3>\n<p class=\"mb-0 fs-smaller text-balance\">Check out more from this issue and find your next story to read.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<button class=\"btn btn-primary\" type=\"button\" data-bs-toggle=\"offcanvas\" data-bs-target=\"#offcanvasMENU\" aria-controls=\"offcanvasExample\" aria-label=\"button\" style=\"white-space: nowrap;\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\tView More <i class=\"bi bi-arrow-right-circle\"><\/i><br \/>\n\t\t\t<\/button><\/p>\n<p>Hamid Akhavan, president and CEO of EchoStar, which completed its merger with Dish Network in January, said his company is \u201cfortunate to be at the confluence\u201d of having both technologies and networks in house.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe see a lot of synergies marrying the two together,\u201d said Akhavan. \u201cThe kind of the hard line between terrestrial and non-terrestrial can now blur as also standardization of non-terrestrial network technologies has happened in 3GPP [release] 17 and beyond. That has opened the doors for manufacturers to manufacture equipment that can work in both modes without being stranded.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mark Dankberg, Viasat co-founder and CEO, said there are huge opportunities ahead as terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks converge.<\/p>\n<p><script>var AIAD_fcd45f981d570e35cee941b23edc69c7_6a6bc20c03a1e;googletag.cmd.push(function(){var AIMAP_29b58f13885ebf8ea6b032f958eb0748 = googletag.sizeMapping().addSize([992, 100], [[970, 90], [970, 250]]).addSize([768, 100], [728, 90]).addSize([320, 100], [320, 50]).build();var AIMAP_737ce075cc05dd766c8f8ea08f3faa73 = googletag.sizeMapping().addSize([768, 100], [728, 90]).addSize([320, 100], [320, 50]).build();var AIMAP_21fe3bcfb86a8660aba4e721ee9338f3 = googletag.sizeMapping().addSize([1200, 100], [970, 250]).addSize([768, 100], [600, 300]).addSize([320, 100], [300, 250]).build();AIAD_fcd45f981d570e35cee941b23edc69c7_6a6bc20c03a1e = googletag.defineSlot('\/987\/satellitetoday.com\/via-satellite-digital-issue-ads', [ [600, 300], [300, 250], [970, 250] ], 'div-gpt-ad-1774631144891- 0-6a6bc20c03a1f').defineSizeMapping(AIMAP_21fe3bcfb86a8660aba4e721ee9338f3).setCollapseEmptyDiv(true).addService(googletag.pubads());   });<\/script><script>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1774631144891- 0-6a6bc20c03a1f'); });<\/script><\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s going to involve a complete rethinking of the space segment, the ground segment, the go-to-market through partner countries,\u201d said Dankberg. \u201cI think one of the main lessons we take away from the cellular mobile business to apply to satellite is [that] spectrum is enormously important. One of things we\u2019re trying to do is pull together the mobile devices, mobile satellite operators to create an ecosystem that  creates seamless roaming [among] carriers, and especially makes for a good capital investment in a way that\u2019s going to enable license-holders to operate networks at scale.<\/p>\n<p>Dankberg is the chair of the Mobile Satellite Services Association (MSSA), a new organization focused on promoting the direct-to-device (D2D) ecosystem.<\/p>\n<p>While there\u2019s still a lot of work to do in space and on the ground, he thinks the work is underway: \u201cWe\u2019re really excited about that,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>Matt Desch, CEO of Iridium Communications, believes there\u2019s still the challenge of getting mobile network operators on board. Desch said that mobile network operators are toying with the idea of whether or not it\u2019s time for space, and there\u2019s a lot of experimentation taking place, especially around how the ecosystem fits together with standards. He expects to see a number of different solutions address the market in different ways, but cautioned for pragmatism.<\/p>\n<p> \u201cI know I\u2019ve been a little bit more pragmatic about this, I felt this was going to take 10 to 15 years to evolve. I\u2019m afraid it still will,\u201d Desch said. \u201cWe\u2019re dealing with network operators who expect a very high quality of user experience for their customers [and] expect it to work everywhere, they really want to see a service that fits with their business models.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Paul Jacobs, the new CEO of Globalstar and former CEO of Qualcomm, spoke nostalgically about how far the industry has come since the 1990s, when the idea of converging networks was still bubbling.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe CTO at Qualcomm  was pitching Globalstar back in \u201996 to put internet protocols over the satellite system, and we weren\u2019t doing that on cellular systems at the time,\u201d said Jacobs. \u201cIt was kind of an original convergence play, even back then. In terms of where we\u2019re headed \u2014 we\u2019re in the middle of playing a key part in the integration of satellite capabilities into cell phones. We see the ability to build private networks terrestrially that also interact with the satellite component as well and use the satellite frequencies both for their satellite MSS use and also on the terrestrial side.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Michael Kool, senior product manager of Connectivity for John Deere, spoke about his company\u2019s excitement over the recently inked partnership with SpaceX to use Starlink to enhance connectivity in its fleet of agriculture equipment.  <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have 600,000-plus machines that are connected via terrestrial cell today,\u201d said Kool. \u201cBut if you look at where our customers are, they\u2019re in rural areas. There\u2019s a real divide when it comes to connectivity. In instances like Brazil, 75 percent of the country is just not connected with cellular to the levels that we need to operate these machines at the most optimum levels.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><script>var AIAD_fcd45f981d570e35cee941b23edc69c7_6a6bc20c03e30;googletag.cmd.push(function(){var AIMAP_29b58f13885ebf8ea6b032f958eb0748 = googletag.sizeMapping().addSize([992, 100], [[970, 90], [970, 250]]).addSize([768, 100], [728, 90]).addSize([320, 100], [320, 50]).build();var AIMAP_737ce075cc05dd766c8f8ea08f3faa73 = googletag.sizeMapping().addSize([768, 100], [728, 90]).addSize([320, 100], [320, 50]).build();var AIMAP_21fe3bcfb86a8660aba4e721ee9338f3 = googletag.sizeMapping().addSize([1200, 100], [970, 250]).addSize([768, 100], [600, 300]).addSize([320, 100], [300, 250]).build();AIAD_fcd45f981d570e35cee941b23edc69c7_6a6bc20c03e30 = googletag.defineSlot('\/987\/satellitetoday.com\/via-satellite-digital-issue-ads', [ [600, 300], [300, 250], [970, 250] ], 'div-gpt-ad-1774631144891- 0-6a6bc20c03e31').defineSizeMapping(AIMAP_21fe3bcfb86a8660aba4e721ee9338f3).setCollapseEmptyDiv(true).addService(googletag.pubads());   });<\/script><script>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1774631144891- 0-6a6bc20c03e31'); });<\/script><\/p>\n<p>Speakers agreed that industry standardization has helped address the challenge of how to augment cellular with satellite connectivity. However, barriers such as cost and market hesitation loom large.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs technologies have matured, and we have better manufacturing, the cost of launch has become much more reasonable than it used to be. The projections are even better going forward within a number of groundbreaking improvements and launch facilities and vehicles,\u201d said Akhavan. \u201cStandardization has helped. Some 70 to 80 percent of the landmass on Earth cannot be covered by terrestrial coverage because it\u2019s just not feasible to cover the ocean. I think it makes sense to make that coverage from [satellite]. In some ways, actually, it\u2019s greener to do it than building millions of towers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While speakers cautioned about regulatory and spectrum challenges, they said they are nevertheless optimistic about the future. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cRegulators, they want new services and they want competition,\u201d said Dankberg. \u201cI think they also don\u2019t want to disenfranchise the people that depend on existing ecosystems, whether it\u2019s terrestrial spectrum or space spectrum. I think those are the things that need to be integrated.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dankberg believes the regulatory environment will be important to attracting capital from infrastructures like tower companies and companies that invest in carriers.<\/p>\n<p>Desch acknowledged that the regulatory environment has changed dramatically in 10 years, and warmed up to satellite, recalling former FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler telling him the commission was focused on the cellular industry. Now in 2024, current FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel has emphasized satellite as a critical priority.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve become dominant in the regulatory environment, but there are real challenges to figuring out how to put those two together,\u201d said Desch. \u201cHow do you reuse spectrum? I think regulators want us to succeed, but there\u2019s going to be some real challenges putting cellular and satellite issues together and resolving things. But there\u2019s at least a desire to do it.\u201d <strong>VS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>,<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"widget-title\">In This Issue<\/h2>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t<!-- post id 499:  \/code\/wp-content\/themes\/ai-beehive\/template-parts\/content\/post-snippet.php --><\/p>\n<figure class=\"overflow-hidden w-100 me-3\">\n<p>\t<img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" src=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/gA8FzrNTQrO48ppzrUJe_Z6C_3894-300x199.jpg\" class=\"img-responsive wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" style=\"\" decoding=\"async\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/gA8FzrNTQrO48ppzrUJe_Z6C_3894-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/gA8FzrNTQrO48ppzrUJe_Z6C_3894-800x532.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/gA8FzrNTQrO48ppzrUJe_Z6C_3894-640x426.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/gA8FzrNTQrO48ppzrUJe_Z6C_3894.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\">\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n<h3 class=\"fs-4 w-100 line-clamp-3\">\n<p>\t\t\t\tGovernment and Industry Leaders Address How Public-Private Partnerships Can Bridge the Digital Divide<br \/>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n<p><!-- .post-snippet --><\/p>\n<hr class=\"my-3 d-block d-md-none\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<!-- post id 501:  \/code\/wp-content\/themes\/ai-beehive\/template-parts\/content\/post-snippet.php --><\/p>\n<figure class=\"overflow-hidden w-100 me-3\">\n<p>\t<img width=\"300\" height=\"227\" src=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/BZ6k1xNIRJmWoalhWhc3_Z6C_4058-300x227.jpg\" class=\"img-responsive wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" style=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/BZ6k1xNIRJmWoalhWhc3_Z6C_4058-300x227.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/BZ6k1xNIRJmWoalhWhc3_Z6C_4058-800x605.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/BZ6k1xNIRJmWoalhWhc3_Z6C_4058-640x484.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/BZ6k1xNIRJmWoalhWhc3_Z6C_4058.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\">\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n<h3 class=\"fs-4 w-100 line-clamp-3\">\n<p>\t\t\t\tManaging and Building Sustainability in Space is Still a Moving Target<br \/>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n<p><!-- .post-snippet --><\/p>\n<hr class=\"my-3\">\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t<!-- post id 498:  \/code\/wp-content\/themes\/ai-beehive\/template-parts\/content\/post-snippet.php --><\/p>\n<figure class=\"overflow-hidden w-100 me-3\">\n<p>\t<img width=\"300\" height=\"225\" src=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/lm1qCq0TgOF4bHes0pGv_VS_ShowDaily20202420Day20420DGTL_SEOTYSTOTY-300x225.jpg\" class=\"img-responsive wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" style=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/lm1qCq0TgOF4bHes0pGv_VS_ShowDaily20202420Day20420DGTL_SEOTYSTOTY-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/lm1qCq0TgOF4bHes0pGv_VS_ShowDaily20202420Day20420DGTL_SEOTYSTOTY-800x599.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/lm1qCq0TgOF4bHes0pGv_VS_ShowDaily20202420Day20420DGTL_SEOTYSTOTY-640x480.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/lm1qCq0TgOF4bHes0pGv_VS_ShowDaily20202420Day20420DGTL_SEOTYSTOTY.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\">\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n<h3 class=\"fs-4 w-100 line-clamp-3\">\n<p>\t\t\t\tMDA Space CEO Mike Greenley and 3GPP NTN Standards Win 2023 Exec and Tech of the Year Awards<br \/>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n<p><!-- .post-snippet --><\/p>\n<hr class=\"my-3 d-block d-md-none\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<!-- post id 500:  \/code\/wp-content\/themes\/ai-beehive\/template-parts\/content\/post-snippet.php --><\/p>\n<figure class=\"overflow-hidden w-100 me-3\">\n<p>\t<img width=\"300\" height=\"225\" src=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/1sTJDDKtTNXMEBLM4GCX_VS_ShowDaily20202420DGTL_2-300x225.jpg\" class=\"img-responsive wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" style=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/1sTJDDKtTNXMEBLM4GCX_VS_ShowDaily20202420DGTL_2-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/1sTJDDKtTNXMEBLM4GCX_VS_ShowDaily20202420DGTL_2-800x599.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/1sTJDDKtTNXMEBLM4GCX_VS_ShowDaily20202420DGTL_2-640x480.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.satellitetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/1sTJDDKtTNXMEBLM4GCX_VS_ShowDaily20202420DGTL_2.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\">\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n<h3 class=\"fs-4 w-100 line-clamp-3\">\n<p>\t\t\t\tTech Leaders Wrestle With the Opportunity and Risk of Using AI in Satellite Networks<br \/>\n\t\t<\/h3>\n<p><!-- .post-snippet --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Satellite players are advocating heavily for the convergence of cellular and satellite networks, while working through the challenges involved in achieving this goal. Leaders from Comtech, Viasat, EchoStar, Iridium, Globalstar, and John Deere outlined the key issues during the Opening General Session at SATELLITE 2024 on March 19. \u201cWe\u2019ve gone from a place where raw [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":51594,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-51593","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51593"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51593"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51593\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51594"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51593"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51593"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51593"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}