Multi-Orbit Connectivity a Dominant Theme for 2025 Satellite Mobile Innovation Award Winners

MSUA announces innovation award winners at SATELLITE 2025 with Globalstar Keynote and Fireside Chat

WASHINGTON, March 17, 2025 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The Mobile Satellite Users Association (MSUA), a global not-for-profit organization focused on amplifying the voice of satellite mobile solutions users and innovators, celebrated with organizations earning satellite mobile innovation awards during SATELLITE 2025 in Washington, DC. Dr. Paul Jacobs, CEO of Globalstar, keynoted the event which was also highlighted by a fireside chat between Chris Quilty Co-CEO and President of Quilty Space and Barbee Ponder, Globalstar General Counsel and Vice President of Regulatory Affairs.

"We are celebrating our award winners today along with MSUA's 33rd year representing the interests of the millions of satellite services users and providers," said MSUA President Roger Lanctot. "We are gathering at a time when satellite technology is making daily contributions to disaster response, humanitarian aid, global enterprise communications, national security and defense, and space exploration and multi-orbit connectivity is the driving force in the industry."

Lanctot gave two president's awards at the event. One went to ST Engineering iDirect for Humanitarian Aid/Disaster Response. The second went to outgoing MSUA Chairman Erwan Emilian, Partner and Group Vice Chairman of IEC Telecom Global in recognition of his four years of service as Chairman of the MSUA and his continuing service as the organization's treasurer. "Emilian provided a steady hand and a clear vision of MSUA's mission of spreading the word across the world regarding mobile satellite technology," Lanctot said. Those thoughts were echoed by incoming Chair Rebecca Cowen-Hirsch, Senior Vice President, Government Policy and Strategy at Inmarsat.

MSUA Satellite Mobile Innovation Awards 2025:

• Company to Watch – Space42: A first-time winner of an MSUA Innovation Award, Space42 was established in 2024, following the successful merger between Bayanat and Al Yah Satellite Communications (Yahsat). Bayanat Smart Solutions provides geospatial analytics, business process optimization and smart mobility solutions using AI via Space42's GIQ platform. Yahsat Space Services focuses on upstream satellite operations for both fixed and mobility satellite solutions.
• Aerospace Mobile Innovation – Intelsat:  Intelsat's multi-orbit network seamlessly integrates its fleet of owned, operated, and highly resilient 50+ GEO satellites, the global coverage of 648 LEO satellites from Eutelsat OneWeb, and capacity from other satellite network providers to deliver reliable in-flight connectivity. Redundant GEO capacity makes it ideal for routes over hub cities, while the LEO network offers low latency and polar coverage with a lightweight and aerodynamic antenna enabling annual savings of $40,000/aircraft.
• Consumer Maritime Mobile Innovation – Endeavour Technology: nSpire is a real-time connectivity experience monitoring and management platform designed for satellite and hybrid connectivity environments. By deploying lightweight software agents onto end-user devices, connectivity servers, or any connectivity-dependent endpoint, nSpire captures the true Quality of Experience from the user's perspective providing actionable insights that enhance network performance and customer satisfaction.
• Government Mobile Innovation – Viasat: Hybrid SATCOM Approach (HSA) is a highly flexible airborne platform solution offering multi-orbit, multi-frequency, and multi-network/constellation satellite connectivity. The HSA is designed to deliver optionality with the ability to integrate multiple types of terminals, including Viasat's Ku/Ka array antenna, Ku-LEO, L-band, UHF, Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) or others, for increased operational flexibility and resilience.
• Industrial IoT Mobile Innovation – Iridium: Iridium has transformed satellite IoT with the launch of the revolutionary Iridium Certus 9704 Module and Development Kit. This transformational new module, featuring Iridium Messaging Transport (IMT) technology provides larger file transfer sizes and faster message speeds than previous Iridium IoT modules, delivering data, picture, and audio messages for industrial (IIoT), machine-to-machine (M2M) and remote personnel use cases.
• Land Mobile Innovation – Intelsat: Intelsat FlexMove Fleet is a fully managed IP-based satellite solution providing seamless, high-throughput global connectivity for on-the-move operations in industries such as mining, construction, agriculture, and transport. FlexMove Fleet eliminates the terrestrial connectivity gap by offering always-on, enterprise-grade connectivity via Intelsat's global satellite network with plans to transition to a multi-orbit solution.
• Maritime Mobile Innovation – Iridium: Iridium Certus GMDSS (Global Maritime Distress and Safety System) is a generational advancement in maritime satellite communication safety services. It is the only truly global GMDSS service available featuring distress alert, safety voice, and Maritime Safety Information (MSI); and including additional regulated services like Long Range Identification and Tracking (LRIT) and Ship Security Alert System (SSAS), with the fastest weather-resilient broadband service available for conducting ships' business when other systems are blocked or unavailable.
• Mobile User Experience Innovation – Delta Air Lines (with Hughes): Hughes Fusion In-Flight Connectivity Solution, implemented by Delta Air Lines, is a mixed-orbit solution for simultaneously accessing satellite networks in Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO), Low Earth Orbit (LEO), and other NGSO assets. Using multiple advanced Ka and Ku antennas, the system dynamically selects and simultaneously aggregates between available orbits/satellites based on location, traffic/take rates, applications and network conditions to deliver the best possible performance suited to each task in real-time.
• On-Orbit Connectivity Innovation – Endeavour Technology: nSpire is a real-time connectivity diagnostics tool supporting GEO, MEO, LEO satellites, cellular (5G, LTE), and air-to-ground networks. nSpire delivers a unified, vendor-independent view of network performance including latency, throughput, and signal quality while identifying service outages, disruptions, and signal degradation for connectivity scoring.
• Outstanding Leadership in Use of a Mobile Solution – Globalsat: Globalsat Group joined forces with Viasat Enterprise to develop a tailored communication and telemetry solution integrating Inmarsat L-Band satellite communications with LTE/4G networks, ensuring seamless, uninterrupted connectivity across an entire Brazilian railway network, including remote and challenging terrains. By integrating satellite and terrestrial communications, Globalsat Group empowers VLI MULTIMODAL with enhanced situational awareness, operational control, and safety.
• President's Award for Humanitarian Aid/Disaster Response - ST Engineering iDirect: The ST Engineering iDirect Public Safety Solution offers multi-band compatibility across all satellite architectures and support for forward-thinking waveforms like DVB-S2X, SCPC, MF-TDMA, and the award winning Mx-DMA enables unmatched flexibility and efficiency, critical for evolving and unpredictable public safety scenarios. The system is able to dynamically allocate bandwidth so service providers can optimize network performance even amidst fluctuating traffic demands or adverse conditions.
• Software-Defined Network Innovation – Viasat: Viasat's Multi-Domain Unmanned Secure Integrated Communications (MUSIC) solution connects disparate networks and enables seamless information sharing and command and control (C2) across different unmanned/autonomous systems. This software-defined network architecture solution provides a mesh overlay that interconnects Layer 2 networks and provides multipath autonomous resiliency across line of sight (LOS) and beyond line of sight (BLOS) communications for unmanned missions anywhere and is built on NetAgility, a software-defined network (SDN) platform application.
• Space Sustainability Innovation – Astroscale: Active Debris Removal by Astroscale - Japan (ADRAS-J) is a commercial debris inspection demonstration satellite designed, manufactured and operated by Astroscale Japan, a subsidiary of Astroscale Holdings Inc. Launched in February 2024, the ADRAS-J mission was the world's first attempt to safely approach, characterize and survey the state of an existing piece of large debris in LEO through Rendezvous Proximity Operations (RPO). ADRAS-J demonstrated the most challenging RPO capabilities necessary for on-orbit services, leading the way towards a clearer space environment and a circular economy in space.

The distinguished judges panel reviewed nominations from around the globe to ultimately name the top submission for each award category.

MSUA 2025 Satellite Mobile Innovations Awards Judges

• Antonio Franchi, Head of 5G/6G NTN Programme Office, European Space Agency (ESA).
• Silvano Payne, Founder & CEO, SatNews Publishers.
• Chris Quilty, Founder, Quilty Space.
• Randy Segal, Co-head of Space and Satellite Group, Partner Hogan Lovell
• Diana Gamzina, Founder and CEO, Elve Speed

Sponsors for the annual awards program included Delta Airlines, Endeavour Technology, Globalstar, Hughes, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Iridium, Kymeta Corporation, Mission Microwave, Solstar Space, ST Engineering iDirect, and Viasat.

MSUA is currently offering special membership offers for 2025. To learn more and apply for MSUA membership, visit msua.org/join or contact [email protected].

Media Contact

roger lanctot, Mobile Satellite Users Association, 1 7038602005, [email protected], Mobile Satellite Users Association

SOURCE Mobile Satellite Users Association