Why End-Users and 5G-Focused Telcos Want to Speak at SATELLITE 2019

Hello SATELLITE 2019 community! Believe it or not, we are now just a little more than three months away from the big show in Washington D.C.! We’ve been very busy during the past month working on SATELLITE, selecting our 2019 Startup Space contestants, and confirming speakers. Recently, I’ve received several emails from attendees asking about the wide range of speakers on this year’s conference program. “Why do companies like Southwest Airlines, Mastercard, Silversea, IBM, Orange Business Services, Amazon, and Deloitte want to speak at a space show?”

The answer to this question may vary slightly depending on the market, but the one common thread that ties these traditional enterprise “end-users” together is their interest in the increasing value of space-based data and global connectivity. The executives at these companies are not space experts, but they are constantly hearing and reading about space-based applications will launch businesses into the future. Whether it’s EO/sensing big data, secure space-based cloud services, blockchain, or simple connectivity to bridge the digital divide, consultants are selling space as fertile new ground for growth. We’re excited to have such a diverse group of enterprise market end-users already lined up for SATELLITE 2019. They are coming to talk about how satellites can fulfill their needs and to learn about new services and resources that will become available during the next year.

Another question I often receive from attendees is why we have a lot more 5G-themed programming and speakers from 5G organizations that traditionally represent cellular/terrestrial interests on this year’s schedule? These companies and organizations recognize that building global 5G infrastructure is going to require broad collaboration between government, private industry, consumers, and even traditional market competitors. In the United States, the scale of 5G service rollout is so massive that no one entity or company could possibly build everything themselves and maintain a seamless, global service. If multiple services are needed, then each of those types of services will need to work together under a uniform standard. That’s why we’re excited to have the two chairs of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) sit alongside satellite industry speakers for our 5G conference sessions. The telecommunications industry is becoming much more interconnected, and we’ve noticed a steady increase of interest from telcos to participate on our program.

We hope that you find the professional diversity of our speaker roster as exciting and refreshing as we do. We strive to make SATELLITE the most inclusive event in the telecommunications industry, welcoming speakers from all types of space-faring businesses all over the world. We also want SATELLITE to continue to be the most valuable networking opportunity of the year for our guests – a week of engagement that we hope yields new ideas, connections, and business for everyone.

Sincerely,

Jeffrey Hill
Chairman, SATELLITE 2019

P.S. Haven’t registered for SATELLITE yet? Register now for the lowest rates to the conference and exhibition!