Intelsat is also providing 3G backhaul from the stars. Jay Yass, the company’s vice president of global accounts and strategic sales, talked about its satellite backhaul capabilities in a recent interview with Informa Telecoms & Media. “3G connectivity has yet to be deployed in much of the world, and Intelsat sees this as a tremendous opportunity in the years ahead. Contrary to the views expressed by others in the industry, current-generation FSS [fixed satellite service] satellites can and do support 3G cellular backhaul. We recently deployed several networks with mobile operators to support 3G connectivity.”

Live TV at 40,000 feet

Most in-flight video programming is either delivered by appointment or on demand from on-board hardware, but on July 2 Dish Network announced a partnership with Southwest Airlines to bring live television, not just on-demand options that become available after episodes have already aired, to Southwest passengers on more than 400 of its aircraft. This reporter can attest to its efficacy after watching Saturday Night Live on a flight from Fort Lauderdale to Chicago.

Satellite security

DirecTV took on pay-TV rivals Comcast and Time Warner Cable in June when it acquired LifeShield, allowing it to stake a claim in the burgeoning home-security services market. Forgetting for a second that the cell-phone market’s dance card is already full, so to speak, it’s not difficult to see why service providers of all shapes and sizes are looking to make headway in this new field: nearly 80 percent of US homes lack a home-security system.

The term “satellite phone” used to conjure up images of a bulky, brick-sized contraption with an antenna fit for a rooftop. But today, instead of resembling a toaster oven, satellite phones actually look like something from this decade. The Globalstar GSP-1700, for example, has the look and feel of a candy-bar feature phone; the slimmed-down sat phone takes advantage of a second-generation satellite constellation that Globalstar launched in February. The GSP-1700 has improved battery life, and QoE has improved as well: Globalstar claims its service delivers landline-quality voice transmission.

Special use-case satellite phones have evolved too. For off-grid wilderness explorers who require a device that’s both small and able to endure the rigors of dust, rain, extreme temperatures, and impact, Iridium offers the Iridium Extreme. This Rambo-approved sat phone sports a military-grade durability rating and GPS-enabled SOS button and utilizes Iridium’s global satellite network to ensure connectivity in the most demanding environments.