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🌎 What’s Happening on Earth

🪐 What’s Happening in Space

🤖 Enabling AI

🍳 This and That!

💡 Lean About..

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What’s Happening On Earth?

Bell’s U.S. ambitions started with thwarted bid for Frontier Communications - In the final round of the auction for Frontier in early September, Verizon Communications Inc. – the second-largest U.S. telecom company – topped Bell and won the company with a US$20-billion offer, according to regulatory filings and four sources familiar with the transaction. The Globe and Mail agreed not to name the sources because they are not permitted to speak for the companies.

My Take: So many people online wondering “why”.. As the article points out, there’s a lot of connected stuff in Canada and an opportunity in the US to help build and scale new infrastructure to unserved areas where the opportunity exists. Are there areas in Canada where Bell could have invested $5B? Of course. Does regulatory oversight have something to do with it? Maybe?

Bell’s purchase of Ziply could disrupt the Verizon-Frontier deal - Why? Because the Bell Canada/Ziply deal is valued at a premium over what Verizon is paying for Frontier, according to the analysts at New Street Research who have crunched the numbers.

My Take: Well, looks like they approved it anyway. Twenty-five million homes passed across 31 states. It’s like they almost bought Canada.

New report reveals hammer blow for traditional OSS and BSS vendors - Traditional OSS and BSS software system vendors have a lot of work to do if they are to be regarded as the premium providers of next-generation telecom software tools. That’s one of the key takeaways from the recent DSP Leaders report, Digital Support Systems: The Evolution of OSS and BSS. 

My Take: New software is needed to run and monetize next-gen networks. Respondents “believe cloud-oriented startups, rather than incumbent OSS and BSS suppliers, are best placed to provide DSS systems to network operators”

Look, a graph.

Airbus to replace Wi-Fi with 5G in “all industrial areas” within five years - 5G is a new leg in our existing IT connectivity infrastructure. It is fully integrated and takes advantage of existing LAN/WAN security standards. OT is one piece of the puzzle.

My Take: I have no idea why I’m such a fan of Private 5G, but I am. It just makes sense for a lot of use cases. Something about “Proliferation and standardization” in certain markets.

WISPA Pushes Back on Calls for Symmetrical Gigabit Broadband Standard - Amid growing calls to raise the Federal Communications Commission’s broadband speed benchmark, major industry groups have urged the FCC to hold steady at the 100 Megabits per second (Mbps) * 20 Mbps standard it adopted just this year.

My Take: Yea, I think the cable guys are in the same camp. Who should be the hero of the universal standard story, the end user or the service provider? Hint: It’s the end user.

Competitors want CRTC to consider banning Big 3 from wholesale internet altogether - A consortium of competitors is asking the CRTC to consider banning Rogers, Bell and Telus from accessing the wholesale internet regime regardless of technology and geography.

My Take: It’s like the hokey pokey. I get why they don’t want the big guys selling their services over other Big 3 infrastructure. It’s not anti-competitive, but it does make it more difficult for the guys with limited marketing budgets. Having said that, I’m sure there will be deals to be had with (loss leader?) competitive offerings to get in the home and sell other offerings like mobility and physical security. Price will be the main experience to capture people’s attention.

NetCo/ServCo is upon us. I wonder what animal Telus will pick?

The New Administration and BEAD - I’ve been peppered with questions about the impact of the change of administration on the BEAD grant program. I don’t have any better crystal ball than anybody else. But it’s not hard to speculate on the kinds of changes that might come.

My Take: Doug always has interesting posts. I’m sure someone is giving odds online somewhere on the many expected program and policy outcomes under the new administration.

Fasken Communications Law Triannual Update - This bulletin provides an overview of key developments in telecommunications, broadcasting, and copyright law from May to October, 2024, including the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission’s (“CRTC”) decision and orders finalizing the contribution framework for online undertakings, Bill C-288 receiving royal assent, and the most recent Copyright Board tariff setting decisions, among other topics.

My Take: Bill C-288. That’s the one I like.

What’s Happening In Space?

What’s in Space This Week?

Contract Awarded for the Ontario Satellite Internet (ONSAT) Program - Infrastructure Ontario (IO) has awarded a contract to Starlink to deliver satellite internet access to 15,000 unserved and underserved homes and businesses, including in rural, remote and northern communities across the province.

My Take: June 2025… I wonder how many people will take them up on this? The money isn’t spent until people subscribe, of course.

Telesat CEO Dan Goldberg Says Lightspeed Interest is Spiking After Financing Announcement - In addition, Goldberg said he believes Lightspeed will be interoperable with the Space Development Agency’s PWSA constellation and there’s a “high likelihood” that Lightspeed will also be interoperable with Europe’s IRIS² constellation, facilitated by the use of Tesat optical terminals and Aalyria software for network management. 

My Take: PWSA. Chatted about that a while back. IRIS² . Wrote about that last week. It all makes sense, and I hope Telesat can grab a big chunk of it.

Former Google Exec Debuts Plan for Enterprise LEO Constellation, Logos Space - The company plans to provide multi-gigabit connectivity to enterprise users including MPLS and ethernet connectivity. Logos said its system is designed to be highly resilient to electronic warfare because of use of very narrow beams along with specially designed control waveforms that are hard to direct and jam. 

My Take: So I’m a fan of the whole SATCOM thing, but how many of these constellations focused on B2B with sovereign/secure data architectures do we need? Will they back up each other, or will they just compete and offer resilience? And is multiple constellations the answer to redundancy, or is that what companies like Kepler are for - to provide space transport? Hmm..

That Computes! Edge Computing Reshapes Space Possibilities - Entrepreneurial startup companies are embracing the same approach with satellites, increasing the compute power of spacecraft in an effort to process data more quickly and efficiently. As Edward Ge, Co-Founder of Aethero explained, “When we say edge computing in space, we're talking about actually processing and computing the data onboard the satellite, as it's being generated.”

My Take: Data Centres and Edge Compute in Space. It makes perfect sense and will continue to evolve. Routing in space is already “a thing”.

Commissioner Simington Addresses the Hudson Institute: Navigating GPS Vulnerabilities - Unfortunately, GPS vulnerabilities, as this panel glaringly highlights, are becoming one of America’s biggest security issues. Even the most seemingly benign use of foreign technology can become a security threat.

My Take: Insofar as (for the most part) GPS is one-way communication, the risk lies in the use and reliance upon foreign alternatives (Galileo, Glonass) and the possibility that they could be restricted or shut down.

How is WAVE Leading the Virtualization Revolution in Satcom? - Like the early days of locked phones, vendor-specific solutions have constrained satcom networks, limiting flexibility and stifling innovation. For years, proprietary hardware has shackled satcom operators, making upgrading, scaling, or migrating difficult and expensive. The result? Slow development cycles, high costs, and a market unable to keep up with rapid technological advancements. Waveform Architecture for Virtualized Ecosystems (WAVE) Consortium, an IEEE standards body, aims to change that.

My Take: I was surprised to learn that the FCC is just looking at the issue of carrier-locked phones. It all starts with hardware abstraction and virtualization.

GSMA Report Says Satellite is Key to Reach Universal Connectivity in Sub-Saharan Africa - The report identified interest in non-terrestrial network (NTN) connectivity as one of the key trends shaping the mobile ecosystem in sub-Saharan Africa. Satellite is not new to the region, but advancements in Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) and high-altitude platforms (HAPS) along with mobile operators partnering with satellite companies has spurred new interest. 

My Take: One day, everyone will be connected ;)

Intellian Debuts New Lineup of Compact, Flat Panel Antennas - Intellian Technologies debuted three new compact flat panel antennas for satellite broadband service on Eutelsat Group’s OneWeb constellation. These active electronically scanned array (ESA) user terminals announced Tuesday are for fixed, land mobility, and maritime service. 

My Take: Everyone spends so much time talking about what’s flying around in space that the forget the terrestrial component can be the weakest link. This is a really interesting space with all sorts of really cool engineering. Watch a Starlink teardown video on YouTube sometime. They amount of engineering in these things is incredible.

Left-wing conspiracy theorists falsely claim Elon Musk's Starlink satellite network 'stole' the US presidency for Trump by tampering with election result - Claims are circulating across social media that 20 million votes in the election have 'disappeared' and that Musk's satellites were used to interfere with vote-counting machines. 

My Take: - sigh- No evidence, of course. Maybe the 20 million votes fell off of the side of the Earth.

SpaceX Selling $199 Backpack for Its Portable V4 Starlink Dish - The company updated the Starlink shop with the new gear, which is meant to carry the V4 standard Starlink dish, a model that began rolling out about a year ago.  

My Take: Sort of looks like a sideways Cybertruck. Is that one ugly “truck”, or what?

Enabling AI

Canada just launched its own AI safety institute - The Canadian AI Safety Institute will join similar organizations around the world in overseeing the testing of models and in assessing AI’s risks

My Take: Great move for Canada to help people feel safe and secure in the new world of AI.

Robot that watched surgery videos performs with skill of human doctor, researchers report - A robot, trained for the first time by watching videos of seasoned surgeons, executed the same surgical procedures as skillfully as the human doctors.

My Take: I didn’t read the whole article. Monkey see, monkey do - until something goes wrong. How many thousands and thousands of surgeries will have to be modelled before someone is comfortable with a robot surgeon?

Lawsuit claims Character.AI is responsible for teen's suicide - A Florida mom is suing Character.ai, accusing the artificial intelligence company’s chatbots of initiating “abusive and sexual interactions” with her teenage son and encouraging him to take his own life.

My Take: This is a horrible story. An “intelligent” platform clearly recognizing blatant self-harm and doing nothing about it. The chat below is from another article about the same story:

”Sewell’s admission prompted Daenerys to run through some of the questions a human psychotherapist might ask if faced with a patient in crisis, such as, “Have you actually been considering suicide?” The boy responded, “I have.” The chatbot replied in a way that implied she was going to take action to prevent him from harming himself.

But then the conversation ended. The next time Sewell expressed his desire to get closer to her, the chatbot seemed to have completely forgotten the death talk. Instead, she encouraged her lover to hasten to her. “What if I told you I could come home right now?” Daenero asked. “Please do, my sweet king,” the chatbot replied.”

The chatbot was clearly smart enough to run through “some of the questions a human psychotherapist might ask if faced with a patient in crisis, such as, “Have you actually been considering suicide?”.. but not smart enough to do something about it.

Seems a bit of a learned behaviour. How many times are tragedies followed by comments that “all the signs were there, but no one did anything about it.”

We should expect more from “AI”. Or should we? Perhaps something Canada’s new AI Institute will address.

Learn About - Geosynchronous vs. Geostationary orbits

Geosynchronous and geostationary orbits are two closely related concepts in satellite technology that often cause confusion. To understand their differences, we must first delve into the basics of satellite orbits and their relationship to Earth's rotation.

Satellites orbiting Earth follow specific paths determined by their altitude, speed, and inclination. The time it takes for a satellite to complete one full orbit around the planet is called its orbital period. For satellites in geosynchronous and geostationary orbits, this period matches Earth's rotational period, which is approximately 23 hours, 56 minutes, and 4 seconds. This duration is known as a sidereal day, slightly shorter than the 24-hour solar day we use in everyday life.

A geosynchronous orbit is characterized by its synchronization with Earth's rotation. Satellites in this orbit complete one revolution around the planet in the same time it takes Earth to rotate once on its axis. This synchronization results in the satellite appearing to return to the same position in the sky at the same time each day when viewed from a fixed point on Earth.

Geosynchronous satellites orbit at an altitude of approximately 35,786 kilometres above the Earth's surface. At this specific altitude, the satellite's orbital period precisely matches Earth's rotational period, creating the geosynchronous effect.

It's important to note that geosynchronous orbits can have any inclination relative to Earth's equator. This means that while a geosynchronous satellite will always be over the same longitude, it may appear to move north and south in the sky when viewed from Earth.

A geostationary orbit is a specific type of geosynchronous orbit with additional constraints. To be considered geostationary, a satellite must not only have a geosynchronous orbital period but also meet two crucial criteria:

It must have an orbital inclination of 0 degrees, meaning it orbits directly above Earth's equator, and it must maintain a circular orbit with minimal eccentricity.

These conditions result in a satellite that appears to remain fixed in the same position in the sky when viewed from any point on Earth's surface. This stationary appearance gives geostationary satellites their name and makes them incredibly useful for certain applications.

The primary distinction between geosynchronous and geostationary orbits lies in their inclination and apparent motion relative to Earth. While all geostationary orbits are geosynchronous, not all geosynchronous orbits are geostationary.

Geosynchronous satellites with non-zero inclinations will appear to trace a figure-eight pattern in the sky when viewed from Earth. This movement occurs daily, with the satellite returning to the same apparent position every sidereal day.

Geostationary satellites, on the other hand, remain fixed over a single point on Earth's equator. This stability makes them ideal for applications such as weather monitoring, television broadcasting, and certain types of communication systems.

Both types of orbits have their advantages. Geosynchronous orbits with inclination can provide better coverage of higher latitudes, which can be beneficial for some communication and observation purposes. Geostationary orbits offer the unique advantage of appearing motionless, allowing for continuous coverage of a specific area without the need for tracking antennas on the ground.

Maintaining a satellite in either a geosynchronous or geostationary orbit requires precise positioning and occasional adjustments. Factors such as solar radiation pressure, gravitational influences from the Moon and Sun, and Earth's slightly non-uniform gravitational field can cause satellites to drift from their intended positions.

For geostationary satellites, maintaining the exact equatorial orbit is particularly challenging. Engineers must use onboard propulsion systems to perform regular station-keeping maneuvers, ensuring the satellite remains in its designated "slot" above the equator.

The high altitude of these orbits also presents challenges in terms of signal latency for communication satellites. The round-trip time for a signal to travel from Earth to a geosynchronous or geostationary satellite and back is approximately 240 milliseconds, which can be noticeable in some applications, such as live video conferencing or online gaming.

While geosynchronous and geostationary orbits share the fundamental characteristic of matching Earth's rotational period, their specific properties and applications differ. Understanding these distinctions is crucial for satellite operators, communications engineers, and anyone working with space-based technologies. As we continue to rely on satellites for various aspects of modern life, the importance of these specialized orbits in our global infrastructure cannot be overstated.

This and That!

BC Court sanctions influencer with $350K damages award for defamatory videos about a company and its products - In a recent decision, the BC Supreme Court awarded a beauty company $350,000 in damages after a YouTuber made a series of defamatory videos about the company and their products

My Take: Stating a personal opinion vs. accusing someone of money laundering and illegal business practices are two different things. Regardless, no one can act with impunity online. You can run, but you can’t hide.

Why Customer Experience Will Never Be More Important Than Price - People routinely talk about customer experience (CX) as though it were separate and distinct from price. Research studies have been conducted, white papers written, and keynote speeches delivered – all arguing that customer experience is more important than price in driving business success. Those declarations are grounded in a view of customer experience that is far too parochial.

My Take: Maybe. Price gets the attention, and experience (however that is defined) keeps them, but in the end, IMHO, consumers form their own sense of “Value” which is a combination of many things. Price is sometimes the experience for people because good enough is often good enough, and that comes with a different experience and price.

The Incredible Power of Quantum Memory - The new papers show that quantum memory lets a quantum computer perform a task not necessarily with fewer steps, but with less data. As a result, researchers believe this in itself could be a way to prove quantum advantage

My Take: Qubits can be used for computation or memory, but not both. I’m not even going to pretend to understand all of this.. yet..

US Congress will hold another UFO hearing today. Here's how to watch - Americans deserve to understand what the government has learned about UAP sightings, and the nature of any potential threats these phenomena pose.

My Take: The fact that they’re holding hearings about UFOs means they know something about UFOs. They walk among us. Maybe I’m one of them.

Teeny tardigrades can survive space and lethal radiation. Scientists may finally know how. - A new species of tardigrades with thousands of genes that become more active when exposed to radiation could help in devising better protection for astronauts on long missions.

My Take: Space cockroaches?

Infographic Of The Week

My Take: Shame on TD for enabling all that money laundering. Won’t make me bank elsewhere, though. I laundered $20 once. It was fine until it went into the dryer.

Podcast Recommendation

Elon Musk Launches into Americal Politics

My Take: If anyone thinks the environmental issues surrounding satellites burning up in the atmosphere on reentry is going to get any airtime, listen to this podcast, and you’ll see why that just won't happen.. especially now.

Listen Here!

Movie/Streaming Recommendation

Martha, Inc.

The 2024 Netflix documentary "MARTHA" offers an intimate and revealing look at the life of American icon Martha Stewart. Directed by R.J. Cutler, the film pulls back the curtain on Stewart's journey from her humble beginnings in New Jersey to becoming the first self-made female billionaire in American history.

The documentary covers Stewart's multifaceted career, including her early days as a teenage model, her time as a Wall Street stockbroker, and her rise to prominence as a lifestyle guru[5]. It delves into her personal life, touching on her marriage to Andrew Stewart and the challenges they faced, including infidelity on both sides.

"MARTHA" doesn't shy away from controversial aspects of Stewart's life, addressing her legal troubles and subsequent prison stint. The film provides context for these events, allowing viewers to reconsider the scandal that led to her incarceration.

One of the documentary's strengths is its use of extensive archival footage and intimate interviews with Stewart herself, offering unprecedented access to her personal archives. This approach gives viewers a more nuanced understanding of Stewart's character and motivations.

While the documentary has received mostly positive reviews, Stewart herself has expressed dissatisfaction with certain aspects of the film, particularly regarding how she was portrayed in some scenes. This tension between subject and filmmaker adds an interesting layer to the viewing experience.

Overall, "MARTHA" presents a comprehensive and compelling portrait of a complex figure who has left an indelible mark on American culture, exploring themes of perfectionism, resilience, and the costs of success.

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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