Elon Musk, despite being born and raised in South Africa, is still stymied in the country as far as his Starlink broadband service is concerned. SpaceX first applied for permission many years ago. Indeed, it was considered such a routine move that Starlink kit was being imported into the nation and some 5,000 users registered […]

Omdia’s latest market update reveals that the global connectivity market spanning mobile, fixed broadband and fixed voice, reached $333 billion (€283.1bn) in Q4 2025, representing a 5 per cent YoY growth. Full year revenues totaled $1.3 trillion in 2025, up 4 per cent YoY growth. The results highlight ongoing challenges for the telecom industry, in […]

Ookla has analysed the Direct-to-Device (D2D) industry, based on Speedtest Intelligence data from July 2025 to March 2026. “Just a few years ago, the idea that a smartphone could connect to a satellite seemed more science fiction than technological possibility. But now, such connections are not only possible, they’re popping up in a growing number […]

NordSpace, a Canadian-owned space missions and launch company, has been awarded approx. $250,000 in funding under the Department of National Defence (DND) Innovation for Defence Excellence and Security (IDEaS) programme to advance its Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO) satellite constellation technology for resilient non-terrestrial networks (NTN). This award stems from the IDEaS ‘Extended communication coverage: […]

Would-be global direct-to-consumer cellular supplier AST SpaceMobile lost its seventh BlueBird satellite on April 19th following a launch on a Jeff Bezos-backed rocket. The satellite was insured for $30 million (€25.5m), but that compensation will not help the very damaged reputation of AST (and the Bezos rocket company). AST’s shares fell more than 15 per […]

Qatar-based satellite operator Es’hailSat has signed an MoU with Qatar itself and its Media City to jointly expand satellite broadcasting capabilities and strengthen digital media infrastructure for licensed companies within Media City Qatar. There are some 500 licensed businesses at Media City Qatar. The MoU agreement supports Media City Qatar’s ongoing efforts to build the […]

One observer has described the launch and deployment cadence of Starlink satellites as “insane”, and praises how SpaceX has launched and deployed an impressive 4,207 Starlink satellites over the past 469 days. Brian Basson, a keen watcher of everything space-related, says that the achievement is considerable and places extreme pressure on rival activities from Amazon […]

Germany’s Kartellamt (Cartel Office) has approved the creation of a joint venture between Rheinmetall AG and its Rheinmetall Digital subsidiary and OHB SE and created to bid for the German army’s (Bundeswehr) and its €10 billion SATCOMBw-4 satellite constellation. Andreas Mundt, President of the Bundeskartellamt stated: “Rheinmetall Digital and OHB operate in different sectors. They […]

Following the due diligence phase initiated in 2026, Bouygues Telecom, the Free–iliad Group and Orange have submitted a new offer and are starting exclusive negotiations with the Altice France group with a view to acquiring SFR. This offer reflects a total enterprise value of €20.35 billion for the Altice France assets under consideration. Altice France […]

Subject to the usual weather considerations Arianespace is scheduled to launch 32 Amazon Leo satellites into orbit on April 28th. The launch will happen from the Spaceport at Kourou in French Guiana. The launch window is currently open from 10:51 am to 11:39 am (Paris time). This mission will be the second Ariane 6 launch […]