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SPHERES OF IMPACT

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Adam Marlatt recently found himself barreling through Ukraine at 125 mph. The
former U.S. Marine’s truck convoy wasn’t charging into battle, it was on a
mission of a different sort – establish life-saving communications in the
conflict-stricken country.

Marlatt is operations director at Help.NGO, a United Nations Standby Partner
that responds to crises all over the world. In Ukraine, Marlatt’s team places
satellite terminals in strategic locations to give civilians, UN officials and
non-governmental organizations vital internet access in areas where
infrastructure has been destroyed or where it never existed. The urgency of the
task, combined with an instinct for self-preservation in areas prone to rocket
attacks, means they need to move fast. “We’re able to deploy next-generation
technology to help people in need,” said Marlatt, whose nonprofit organization
is based in neighboring Poland. “We really aim to reduce the impact that natural
disasters and man-made conflict and crises have on affected communities” said
Marlatt.

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Help.NGO’s terminals connect to services offered by Intelsat, which operates 58
satellites in geostationary orbit. The McLean, Virginia-based company is on a
mission of its own: to enable innovative, space-based services that improve life
on Earth. “Satellite coverage has the potential to provide a lot of benefits
thanks to its unmatched speed of deployment,” said Bruno Fromont, Intelsat’s
chief technology officer. “In addition, a virtuous circle of innovation is
bringing high performance services in a small and affordable user package.”

Help.NGO has previously used satellites to provide emergency communications in
disaster situations in all corners of the globe, including in New York during
Superstorm Sandy and in hurricanes that hit Florida, the U.S. Virgin Islands and
Puerto Rico. “We use connectivity to expedite our response efforts, initiating
recovery and allowing for coordination on the ground from the moment it’s safe
to go outside,” said Marlatt, adding that the organization has in some cases
been able to establish internet communications in as little as 90 minutes after
a storm’s passing.



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Fromont’s colleagues at Intelsat are helping to make satellite communications
more affordable, agile and easier to use. They have developed ways to use
software to remotely upgrade and re-task satellites and are taking advantage of
the latest silicon components and plummeting prices for launch services to
redefine the user experience.

Advancements like these are what allow organizations like Help.NGO to provide
life-saving services in the most challenging conditions. “Things that used to
require a dedicated cargo airplane to throw a Humvee out of the back of, with a
dish mounted on it, you can now put that in a backpack,” said Marlatt. “Things
that used to require three hours of setup time you can now do at the push of a
button. If you would have told someone that was possible 10 years ago, they
would have laughed you out of the room.”


CLOSING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE

The space economy is expected to double from $500 billion to $1 trillion by
2030.* “It’s been a long evolution, and now we’re seeing some real
breakthroughs,” said Intelsat’s Fromont. “Business cases that wouldn’t have been
possible before unlock an entirely new ecosystem and new applications.” The
benefits of innovative and affordable new space-based services are being felt
around the world – from farmers that need to surveil their crops and get weather
reports in the field to businesses that need to monitor supply chains in real
time.

Many developing countries are relying on satellites to help close the digital
divide and grow their economies. Intelsat has partnered with Africa Mobile
Networks to connect 10 million people in sub-Saharan Africa via solar-powered
terminals. Prices start at just $2 per month, giving users in participating
countries access to services such as e-learning, remote working and
telemedicine. “There’s a lot of people on the planet who still are not
connected,” said Fromont. “Deploying very quickly makes sense for developing
regions where you cannot just start digging and putting fiber infrastructure
everywhere.”

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Satellite services are also helping to make important commercial activities
safer and more efficient, through land mobile systems that enable business
operations to be performed anywhere and ensure connectivity in the harshest
environments. For example, crews working in remotely located mines or isolated
construction projects that are out of reach of cell coverage can stay in touch
with each other, and the outside world. This extends to the autonomous and
remote-controlled operation of machines too. “We’re supporting the direct
operations of those sites, as well as providing worker welfare links if needed,”
said Joel Schroeder, director of land mobile at Intelsat.

Intelsat’s land mobile services also help journalists do their jobs from the
field, at times in hostile environments, connecting via terminals that can be
carried in small backpacks. “They’re often using a small satellite device to
enable those reporters to provide a live broadcast from the road,” said
Schroeder. “We’re investing a lot of time and money to continue reducing the
size of these terminals, in order to make them relevant to more users.”

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INTELLIGENCE ON DEMAND

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Herndon, Virginia-based BlackSky offers clients, including government, civilian
agencies and private companies, real-time images of vast swaths of the Earth up
to 15 times per day. BlackSky CEO Brian O’Toole calls this “intelligence on
demand.” This means its customers can stay on top of natural disasters,
humanitarian crises and situations with national defense implications.

BlackSky uses artificial intelligence to analyze and interpret images captured
by their small satellite constellation of Earth imaging stations they own and
operate. “It’s not just the imagery, it’s the insights you can gain from the
imagery,” said O’Toole. “You’re a construction worker and you need an updated
image of your project. You can get that in a couple of minutes.” The company
uses an agile, proprietary AI platform they have developed for pattern
recognition and to correlate images with inputs from social media, physical
sensors, their Earth imaging stations, and other sources to alert clients to
developing situations – from earthquakes and forest fires to supply chain
disruptions and civil unrest. “We don’t want humans monitoring volumes of
outputs,” said O’Toole. “We use AI to tell us where things are going.”

Like Help.NGO, BlackSky is also providing satellite-based services that are
helping with the situation in Ukraine. It provides images that show areas of
safe passage for civilians, the state of nuclear facilities and the status of
the country’s agricultural supply chains, upon which much of the world depends
for food. “This type of technology was only available to very large government
users just a couple of years ago,” said O’Toole.



O’Toole said the satellite industry is having “an Internet moment,” with all
sorts of new services set to take off – literally. The next phase in this
evolution is already underway. Under an effort known as the 3rd Generation
Partnership Project, providers are working with the cell phone industry to adopt
common standards and technologies. “We’ll be able to leverage the innovation and
scale of the mobile industry to lower costs and enable users to roam seamlessly
between cell and satellite coverage, ensuring they get a signal whether they’re
at a coffee shop or on a mountain top,” said Schroeder. “The implications of
this extend beyond consumer applications as any vehicle – be it a tractor,
truck, train, or ship – can have continuous coverage as it travels between
networks during any journey.”

* Source: McKinsey

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