Jason's Industry Insights - Issue #37

Your weekly Broadband, SatCom and AI Market Insights.. and some other stuff, too.

Author

Jason Presement
September 20, 2024

Issue #37 - September 20, 2024

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A selection of headlines of the week:

🛜 High-speed Internet across the country with Canada’s largest space program

🥶 Canada: First fiber optic ring in permafrost is ready

⚖️ SaskTel Takes CRTC to Court Over Fibre Network Ruling

🚦 Traffic Coordination System for Space (TraCSS)

🤖 OpenAI o1 Model Warning Issued by Scientist: 'Particularly Dangerous'

🦾 This AI-powered robot spells the end to one of the most dangerous urban jobs

☢️ Dispelling Myths: Nuclear Power in Data Centers

🐝 Parasitic 'horror' wasp that bursts from a fly's abdomen like an 'Alien' xenomorph discovered in Mississippi backyard

** In this Issue **

..and more.. inside.

Remember, if you enjoy this newsletter, pass it along to others who would as well!

Canada Broadband and Some US Stuff

High-speed Internet across the country with Canada’s largest space program

Telesat Lightspeed will expand Internet and 5G networks in communities across Canada, with affordable, high-speed broadband connectivity. As a low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellite network, it will take less time to send and receive information, leading to better and faster Internet service, even in rural, remote, and Northern communities. The network will accelerate the federal government’s work to connect all Canadians to high-speed Internet by 2030.

LILLEY: In Trudeau's Canada terrorists belong but not Elon Musk

Read the full, yet incomplete, release from the Gov’t of Canada

My Take: As with everything else, details, reading between the lines and the fine print matter. Here’s a section of the Government of Canada release;

“Telesat Lightspeed will expand Internet and 5G networks in communities across Canada, with affordable, high-speed broadband connectivity. As a low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellite network, it will take less time to send and receive information, leading to better and faster Internet service, even in rural, remote, and Northern communities. The network will accelerate the federal government’s work to connect all Canadians to high-speed Internet by 2030.”

Gov’t Release

Everyone went nuts, as the linked articles above demonstrate.

First, “Conservative MP Michael Barrett, representing the Leeds-Grenville-Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes riding”, asked Musk online to weigh in on the matter, to which Elon replied that Starlink could provide service to every Canadian household for “less that half that amount.” (monthly fee notwithstanding)

Next, some called it political chicanery to secure electoral support in Quebec by promoting initiatives that benefit the province (by way of MDA Space, the satellite builder located in Quebec) instead of spending a fraction of the money using commercially available solutions developed outside of the country.

And then, of course, there’s this type of comments that follow any funding announcement from any Federal or Provincial program;

“A similar deal inked by the federal and Ontario governments last August awarded Rogers Communications $215 million to expand its fibre-optic network for rural communities across the province. According to the National Post’s Tristan Hopper, had Starlink instead been commissioned to connect the roughly 66,000 houses to their satellite grid, it would have cost Canadians under $50 million.”

But here’s the thing—it seems none of them read the “fine print” (i.e., Quick Facts) in the release (which, in my opinion, should have been part of the main body and messaging) or really understand what Telesat is offering. They see space, Internet, $2B, and LEO and then immediately jump to the wrong conclusion

“Telesat Lightspeed will provide satellite capacity to multiple industries, including aviation, maritime, and defence. It will also provide capacity to Internet service providers to bring Internet services to residences, businesses, and public institutions in remote communities.”

Gov’t Release

It doesn’t say anything about providing services directly to consumers. It says they will provide CAPACITY to multiple industries, including Internet Service Providers.

People forget that just because you can go to Best Buy and pick up a WiFi router doesn’t mean you have access to the “Internet”. Many remote communities remain underserved or, worse, unserved because facilities to connect the community to the Internet don’t exist or do exist but in some limited capacity.

Telesat provides, or rather will provide, a high-speed, low-latency, reliable connection for the community - for the local provider to use to distribute Internet services to their subscribers over wireless or fibre infrastructure within the community. They’re not selling direct to the consumers - that’s the job of the local Internet provider.

In some communities, there is only a single provider of transport (i.e. connectivity) services out of the community to an Internet exchange point or other Internet connection point. As we have seen, natural disasters, accidental fibre cuts, extreme weather events, and a car driving into a pole are all events that can disrupt traditional terrestrial-based services and completely knock out a community. In many cases, individual standby Starlink kits have been used to keep critical infrastructure points running during such events. For these communities, however, Telesat’s Lightspeed constellation will provide a redundant and resilient option, keeping the complete community connected in times of need with a satellite-based connection not impacted by terrestrial impairments.

Overall, asking Starlink to provide terminals to every underserved Canadian is absurd. I don’t even think they can support the required density, let alone provide the benefits of a generational fibre optic asset. Aside from that, providing Starlink to everyone does nothing to support the competitive service provider market that consumers (apparently) so desperately want in this country. Sure, a Starlink kit can be had for under $200, but the monthly service charge still reaches $150 in most cases.

Enabling service providers to build networks in rural and remote areas based on sustainable business plans, and employing local resources to build and operate the networks is where the focus should be, not just handing over subscribers to a company operating outside of Canada and hoping for the best.

Finally, Telesat is servicing more than just Canada and more than just what people see as the “Internet.” Maritime, government, Defence and other industrial applications comprise their target market.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m a fan of Starlink. I was a subscriber for years, but let's make sure we reserve it for the very rural and remote users with no other option (yet). Starlink continues to be a viable solution for them and, in some cases, a permanent solution. In others, it’s a stop-gap until a more “generational” and fixed offering is in place. Yes, money will likely be spent more than once to cover certain areas of Canada. People don’t buy one car and drive it for 30 years.

Ultimately, Telesat’s Lightspeed is not an apples-apples comparison to Starlink. It squarely positions Canada in the LEO space segment, creating jobs, enhancing connectivity, and offering competitive and essential services demanded at home and abroad.

Bell and MacLean advance the next generation of mining operations in Canada, driving enhanced safety and sustainability

The installation of a Bell Private Mobile Network (PMN) at the MacLean Research & Training Facility in Sudbury, Ontario, provides a communications infrastructure perfectly suited for mining vehicle innovation. Bell's PMN will transform the test facility into a Centre of Excellence, leveraging Bell's secure 5G/LTE network that delivers persistent, dedicated bandwidth and signal stability from the surface shop to the underground environment.

Read the full release

My Take: Look! This is the third article I have posted on Private 5G in as many weeks! Why are there so many naysayers?

Canada: First fiber optic ring in permafrost is ready

The Canada North Fibre Loop is ready. It brings redundant bandwidth to north-western Canada, and therefore also to the German satellite station in Inuvik.

Look at that thing!! Plow Battlebots, that’s what we need

Read the full article

My Take: This was quite the project! 4,000 Km. The longest permafrost installation in the world, they say. Conditions are more harsh on the cable than submarine applications. Bell Canada owns it today, but it will be transferred to the indigenous group acquiring NorthWest Tel.

And look at that plow! Would hate to get in the way of that.

SaskTel Takes CRTC to Court Over Fibre Network Ruling

The crown corporation argues that the CRTC’s decision will hurt its ability to recover the money it invested in building the network, especially in rural and Indigenous areas. SaskTel claims the decision does not consider the unique challenges of serving Saskatchewan’s widely spread population.

SaskTel also says as a publicly owned Crown corporation, it has a different mission than larger private companies, which focus more on profits. SaskTel is asking the court to either cancel the CRTC’s decision or send it back for reconsideration with new guidelines.

Read the full article

My Take: So, public money is being used to build infrastructure to compete with other privately funded competitive providers in Saskatchewan, but they don’t want to be subjected to a framework set to enhance competition from and wth other providers. Did I get that right?

UK is the latest to designate data centers as 'critical' infrastructure

Thomas King, CTO at DE-CIX, told Fierce that from a U.K. perspective, the critical infrastructure designation generally means two things. First, it means data center operators – think hyperscalers but also players like Equinix and Digital Realty – need to demonstrate that they’ve implemented a certain level of security. That includes both physical security to protect data center facilities as well as cybersecurity.

Read the full article

My Take: Connectivity. What about connectivity? Did I miss that on the list of critical infrastructure?

Microsoft said that the AI fund will have up to $100 billion in total investment potential

Microsoft’s Vice Chair and President of MicrosoftBrad Smith commented: “The capital spending needed for AI infrastructure and the new energy to power it goes beyond what any single company or government can finance. This financial partnership will not only help advance technology, but enhance national competitiveness, security, and economic prosperity.”

Read the full article

Learn About..

Nothing. Learn About nothing this week.

Space

What’s in Space This Week

Traffic Coordination System for Space (TraCSS)

NOAA’s Office of Space Commerce (OSC) is developing the Traffic Coordination System for Space (TraCSS) to provide basic space situational awareness (SSA) data and services to civil and private space operators and to support spaceflight safety, space sustainability, and international coordination.

Read the full article

My Take: More SSA stuff to build on last week’s Podcast recommendation. Near real-time data on pending “conjunctions” is a critical step to support the 10’s of thousands of satellites expected to be in LEO orbit over time. Coordinating it globally is an ever bigger issue.

“Very excited that we have about 2,500 aircraft under contract now, bringing what was effectively a startup to now what we think is a growing experience that’s going to resonate with all the passengers and the airlines worldwide,” Nick Galano, SpaceX director of Starlink aviation sales and partnerships, said during a panel at the World Space Business Week conference in Paris.

Read the full article

My Take: …and Starlink just keeps on taking.. Will there be anything left for the likes of Kuiper and others once they launch? This should be an exceptional in-flight user experience.

York Space confirmed the successful optical communications test in a news release on Tuesday. York said this demonstration makes York the “second SDA provider to achieve this major milestone and the only provider to successfully establish both space-to-ground Link 16 and a laser communications links in orbit.”

Read the full article

My Take: SDA, or the Space Development Agency, is an arm of the US Space Force and sets the standard to which others must conform for inter-satellite communication. All about space relay and interoperability.

SoftBank Corp. and Intelsat Launch Landmark Collaboration to Create Ubiquitous Network

SoftBank Corp. (“SoftBank”) and Intelsat signed a groundbreaking collaboration agreement that will lead to the launch of a single “Ubiquitous Network” enabling customers to stay connected everywhere they go. SoftBank and Intelsat will jointly lead research and development of seamless 5G connections between terrestrial mobile networks and satellite communications networks.

Read the full article

My Take: Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should?? Does everyone want to be connected all the time, everywhere they go? A great technical exercise.

SATCOM providers changing tactics to compete with NGSO-led capacity growth

The past three years have seen a dramatic, eight fold increase in global satellite capacity supply, reaching around 27 Tbps in 2023, a figure that is accounted for more than 80% by Starlink. This dominance can be partially attributed to delays from initial target dates from most other constellation projects and software-defined satellites. However, new LEO constellations, such as Telesat, Lightspeed, and Amazon Kuiper, alongside second-generation Starlink and Eutelsat OneWeb constellations, as well as Very High Throughput Satellites (VHTS) such as Viasat-3, are expected to drive growth to 260 Tbps by 2029.

Read the full article

My Take: Forced consolidation and partnerships?

NGSO revenue to overtake geostationary market by 2028

The geostationary Earth orbit market represented around 85% of the $12 billion in total satellite capacity revenue in 2023, despite a recent slowdown in GEO orders from operators waiting to see how the rise of Starlink and other NGSO constellations shake out.

Read the full article

My Take: Starlink is driving over 70% of high-throughput satellite traffic, with expectations that it may reach as high as 90% in the coming years. Prices will fall. Demand will rise. These solutions are ready for prime time, but Starlink isn’t right solution for every application.

AI

Learning to Reason with LLMs

We are introducing OpenAI o1, a new large language model trained with reinforcement learning to perform complex reasoning. o1 thinks before it answers—it can produce a long internal chain of thought before responding to the user.

Read the full article

My Take: This is a really informative article that explains how the new o1 model is differentiated and includes an example of an exercise to decode ciphertext using 4o vs o1. The output clearly shows the impact of complex reasoning.

Also, check out TRACKING.AI to see IQ Test results and insights for the various models.

OpenAI o1 Model Warning Issued by Scientist: 'Particularly Dangerous'

…However, this advancement has raised concerns among experts in the field. Bengio, a professor of computer science at the University of Montreal and a renowned figure in AI research, issued a warning about the potential dangers of these new models.

Read the full article

My Take: Now that this stuff is starting to reason, check itself, correct itself and iterate better replies, it’s only a matter of time before we hear about some “accidental” outcome.

Turn your blogs into stunning, shareable infographics, powered by AI.

Convert your complex blog posts into visually engaging infographics that simplify information, boost engagement, and skyrocket shares.

Visit the Site!

My Take: Someone try this and let me know how it goes. Another interesting tool for a single subject type of blog.

This AI-powered robot spells the end to one of the most dangerous urban jobs

One of the most iconic jobs in the world is heading to the boneyard. The window washers who hang from skyscrapers in New York, London, and other global metropolises are on the brink of becoming a thing of the past. After multiple successful tests runs across the world, Skyline Robotics has installed Ozmo, the world’s first automated window cleaning system in a 45-story office building located at 1133 Avenue of the Americas in Manhattan. 

“In the United States, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) documented 88 accidents involving window cleaners over a 15-year period, with 62 resulting in fatalities. In New York City alone, it’s estimated that one out of every 200 window cleaners dies on the job each year. In the U.K., up to 30 serious injuries occur annually among window cleaners​.”

Read the full article

My Take: Wow. Who knew? Seems reasonable to replace people with robots. I wonder how many supermarket cashiers die on the job every year?

Most US Teens Use Generative AI. Most of Their Parents Don’t Know

A fresh wave of anxiety about children and technology is cresting, with parents and pundits increasingly interrogating how kids use smartphones, social media, and screens. It hasn’t stopped teenagers from embracing generative AI. New research reveals what AI tools teenagers in the United States are using, and how often—as well as how little their parents know about it.

Nearly half of the parents surveyed had worried that the arrival of generative AI tools might hurt their children’s writing and critical thinking skills. It wasn’t all pessimism, though; parents were split about how these tools would impact research skills, and more than a quarter reported that they expected AI tools to help their kids generate ideas.

Read the full article

My Take: Same as keyboards impacted people’s ability to write cursively..I think the critical thinking becomes the exercise of generating the proper prompt to yield the best outcome.

Tidbits

Dispelling Myths: Nuclear Power in Data Centers

Increasing pressures on the data center industry – including power reliability and sustainability – fuel interest in nuclear power, notably SMRs.

Nuclear power has gained acceptance in recent years as a clean solution to overcome rising pollution and climate change while also appealing to those who see it as a means to fuel industrialization and economic growth.

Despite its growing acceptance, myths about nuclear power and SMRs continue to persist.

Read the full article

My Take: Seeing as South Asia has all the coal (see below), demand continues and will continue to increase; there are limited options short of sending everything into space.. So bet on SMRs to save the day. Forget all those EV investments.

Study suggests automakers might not want to get too creative with new sounds for EVs

The electric future may not include the familiar rumble of a V8 engine. But automotive sound designers might want to make EVs sound a little bit more like, well, cars.

Read the full article

My Take: It’s like a vegetarian eating plant-based meat. If you want the real thing, buy the real thing, although I do like the spaceship noise that Teslas make when they’re reversing.

Delta Air Lines Emphasizes Flight Attendant Uniform Compliance Begins With Hiring

From grooming to phone usage, Delta believes its flight attendant appearance requirements will promote a memorable experience for passengers. Even prospective employees are subject to some rules.

Read the full article

My Take: “Interestingly, Delta also reminds the inflight workers and candidates that “proper undergarments must be worn but must not be visible.”…. The real question is why the reminder is even necessary. And what does “proper” mean? What happened to prompt this reminder? I thought they wanted memorable experiences for their passengers?

Fortinet confirms data breach, extortion demand

The security vendor published a blog post Thursday evening that disclosed that an unknown threat actor gained unauthorized access to a limited number of files stored on a third-party cloud-based shared file drive. Fortinet said the attacker did not breach its corporate network and that the incident did not affect operations or services.

Read the full article

My Take: There’s a certain irony about cyber security companies getting breached… Although I don’t necessarily think this was secured by their products…

Parasitic 'horror' wasp that bursts from a fly's abdomen like an 'Alien' xenomorph discovered in Mississippi backyard

Scientists accidentally discover new species of wasp that lays eggs inside living, adult fruit flies, which then burst from the hosts' abdomens while they're still alive.

My Take: Accidentally? Nature is uber creepy, like all those things that live at the bottom of the ocean.

Infographic Of The Week

No comment. Odd for me, I know.

Podcast Recommendation

The AI Skills You Should Be Building Now

“Generative artificial intelligence is here to stay, and that means employees and managers need to think even more carefully about how to make the most effective use of it. Accenture’s H. James Wilson, global managing director of technology research and thought leadership, and Paul R. Daugherty, chief technology and innovation officer, argue that we all need to build what they call “fusion skills.” They include intelligent interrogation (using research-backed prompting techniques to deliver better results), judgment integration (ensuring there is a human in the loop when necessary), and reciprocal apprenticing (training ChatGPT, Claude, Co-pilot or proprietary tools to improve while we get better at working with them). They offer advice on how to hone all three.”

My Take: It was a pretty interesting episode, especially breaking down the specific skills to be able to focus on development where needed.

Movie/Streaming Recommendation

Speak No Evil

IMDb: 7.2/10

JMDb: 6/10

Ah, "Speak No Evil" (2024) - Hollywood's latest attempt to prove that Americans can be just as awkwardly polite as their European counterparts. This remake of the 2022 Danish thriller swaps out the fjords for the English countryside but keeps the core premise of "what if your Airbnb hosts were actually psychopaths?

"James McAvoy leads the charge as the charming yet creepy host, proving once again that a Scottish accent can make anything sound simultaneously inviting and menacing. The film follows the Dalton family, who apparently never learned the valuable lesson of "don't visit strangers you met “

"While the original was a slow-burn descent into nihilistic horror, this version decides to sprinkle in a bit more action and a dash of hope - because apparently, American audiences can't handle pure, unadulterated despair. It's like they took the Danish film, gave it a pep talk, and sent it to the gym.

Despite losing some of the original's gut-wrenching bleakness, this remake manages to deliver its own brand of cringe-worthy tension. It's a solid choice for those who enjoy their horror with a side of social awkwardness and a sprinkle of "why on earth would you do that?" moments.

Why only 6/10? It took a while to get where it needed to go. My Skittles were depleting quickly.

Until Next Time

Comments here are my own and do not represent the opinions, views or thoughts of any person, company or organization that I may be associated with.

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