(28 October 2024 – New York City & London) – Space & Satellite Professionals International (SSPI) announced today the recipients of the industry’s tenth annual Better Satellite World Awards. The awards honor established companies along with disruptive innovators who make the world more prosperous, healthier, better-educated, more sustainable and more inclusive. An international jury selected Speedcast, Andre L. Jones, Hughes, Microsoft and Colombia’s MICT – Juntas de Internet: Connectivity Communities program as recipients of this year’s awards. They will be honored at the Better Satellite World Awards Dinner on 2 December in London along with the SSPI UK chapter’s Personality of the Year, who will be announced live at the Dinner.
The selection of recipients was made by an international jury consisting of a broad cross-section of industry thought leaders and distinguished professionals.
“Once again, we witnessed the growing influence and capabilities of space and the satellite industry to help regions and societies achieve key social and economic goals and stabilize places struck by disaster. Each of this year’s recipients are commercial enterprises, or people who have served in the industry, who turned their formidable expertise and resources toward the common good. It is what makes the often-misunderstood technologies of satellites a primary tool for a better world,” said Louis Zacharilla, SSPI’s Director of Innovation and host of the Better Satellite World Awards Dinner since its inception.
The Better Satellite World Awards Celebration, a festive networking event and dinner, will be held at Whitehall Place on 2 December. It is produced by SSPI and its UK Chapter. The UK Chapter is chaired by Betty Azzarelli, CEO & Founder, AB5 Consulting.
2024 Better Satellite World Award Recipient: Speedcast
Speedcast has consistently demonstrated a commitment to humanitarian aid and disaster response efforts by providing essential connectivity solutions during crises. In areas affected by natural disasters, the company has delivered reliable communications as a vital lifeline for both the affected communities and first responders working to aid them. In May 2024, Speedcast contributed to disaster response efforts in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, when the region experienced catastrophic flooding. Rio Grande do Sul received an entire year’s worth of rain in a matter of hours, leading to widespread landslides, the collapse of a key dam and many deaths. Speedcast took quick action to donate and deliver Starlink terminal kits and airtime to the Brazilian government, providing necessary connectivity to police, hospitals, the Brazilian army and various local and state government departments, which dramatically improved disaster response efforts. These quick-to-deploy solutions from Speedcast proved instrumental in reaching isolated areas and supporting recovery operations.
In August 2023, Speedcast supported local crisis response teams battling wildfires in Maui, Hawaii, providing essential hardware and connectivity, including dozens of Starlink kits. The company’s immediate support allowed the teams to establish critical connectivity within days, improving emergency response efforts and enabling more efficient coordination. Speedcast’s global network, combined with in-region teams and deep expertise in disaster recovery and remote engineering, has enabled the company to respond swiftly to major crises worldwide.
Speedcast is the world’s leading authorized Starlink integrator, with more than 9,000 kits sold since adding the service to their connectivity portfolio in late 2022. Starlink’s high-capacity, low-cost service, paired with its automated, self-aligning terminals, has made it an invaluable tool for disaster response, enabling internet connectivity in mobile and remote sites. Recognizing the need for rapid deployment, Speedcast introduced a new Rapid Deploy Kit designed for on-the-go connectivity and critical disaster response. This portable solution, which hosts a Starlink Flat High Performance Kit and a network device, is packaged in an airline-checkable case, making it an ideal choice for first responders, remote workers, NGOs and humanitarian aid organizations.
About the Better Satellite World Campaign
Working with partner associations and supporting companies around the world, Space & Satellite Professionals International’s Better Satellite World campaign (www.bettersatelliteworld.com) is changing the global conversation about satellites and their influence on the economy, business and societies everywhere. The campaign was launched in Washington, DC during SATELLITE 2015. It has since become a cornerstone and a viral effort that is successfully communicating the incredible power of satellites for human good.
SSPI has published a series of stories and videos that dramatize the immense contributions of the “invisible infrastructure” of satellite to life on Earth, which are widely shared by individuals, companies and the media. The Better Satellite World campaign is available for repurposing by any organization or person who wishes to use the content to help promote the industry at www.bettersatelliteworld.com and through the Twitter hashtag #bettersatelliteworld.
###
About SSPI
Founded in 1983, Space & Satellite Professionals International (www.sspi.org) is on a mission to make the space and satellite industry one of the world’s best at attracting and engaging the talent that powers innovation. The space and satellite business has never seen a time of greater experimentation and disruption than we see today. Investment is the fuel for transformation, but people are the engine. SSPI helps the industry attract, develop and retain the talented people it needs to keep the engine turning. People who connect through high-profile events and gain recognition from prestigious awards. People who rely on SSPI for a broader understanding of the industry as much as for individual networking and career mentoring. From young people seeking a career path to industry veterans with wisdom to share, SSPI connects them all.
Talent, investment and opportunity flow to industries that make a difference. SSPI is the only organization that also promotes the enormous value of space and satellite through dramatic stories of our technologies and companies making a better world. Those stories overturn misconceptions about the industry that hold it back. They inspire our people and attract new ones to the industry. They help justify investment and give new customers a reason to care about our services and products. Through the stories we tell and the people we serve, SSPI inspires the growth of the $1 trillion space economy of the future.