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In Today’s Issue

Jason’s Industry Insights, The Podcast

Episode #5, The Final Upload: Why the Future of Data Centers Is in Space - Philip Johnston, CEO and Co-Founder, Starcloud

In this episode, I sit down with Philip Johnston, co-founder and CEO of StarCloud, a pioneering company at the forefront of orbital data centers. Philip makes a bold prediction: within 10 years, all data processing will be in space—and he’s on a mission to make that happen.

We dive into the game-changing advantages of space-based data centers, including unlimited solar power, passive cooling, and scalability—all of which could make terrestrial data centers obsolete. Philip breaks down the economic and engineering realities of launching massive compute infrastructure into orbit, tackling key challenges like thermal management, radiation shielding, and space debris.

He also shares insights into:

🚀 The role of optical communications and its potential to overcome bandwidth limitations.
🌍 The environmental impact, explaining why space-based computing is actually more sustainable than Earth-based data centers.
🛰️ The first steps—StarCloud’s upcoming launch and how their modular approach will scale computing in space.
🤖 The future of robotic maintenance and how humanoid robots could soon service infrastructure in space.
🧠 And yes, we even get into Dyson Spheres and Matryoshka Brains—the ultimate endgame of intelligent civilizations. I got schooled ;)

This conversation is a fascinating deep dive into the future of computing, energy, and space infrastructure. If you think the cloud is the future—think bigger.

Listen on your favourite player or at:

Check it out on Apple, Spotify, or find us and follow on whatever player app you use.

What’s Happening On Earth?

How Fast Is the Wi-Fi in the World’s Most Visited Countries? - Forget sightseeing itineraries — according to a recent study, 63% of travelers rank fast internet as a top priority when choosing a destination. Whether it’s navigating unfamiliar streets, booking last-minute plans, or streaming after a long day, a bad connection can turn a dream trip into a logistical nightmare.

My Take: I just changed my mobile plan.. It costs me less per month, and I have 200G of data up to 1Gbps. Why do I need WiFi? 😉 (I will never use even close to that much data)

T-Mobile slices through public safety with major NYC deal - T-Mobile officially announced its New York City public safety deal as it talked up its T-Priority 5G network slice for first responders at an event in New York on Thursday night.

My Take: Network Slicing. Great to see some real applications.

How will AI impact fiber infrastructure? Anticipating AI traffic, Zayo to build 5,000 fiber route-miles - Amid a boom in AI investments around servers and data centers, there are also signs that fiber infrastructure will need to have its capacity and capabilities upgraded in order to support AI traffic.

My Take: Power. Cooling. Land. Fiber. - “Keeping pace with the next wave of AI growth will require new long-haul networks to enable the rapid scaling of capacity needs in both existing and emerging AI data center markets”

🇨🇦 Bell Canada launches AI-powered network operations solution built on Google Cloud - Bell Canada today announced its network AI Ops solution built on Google Cloud, which has been successfully deployed and is already revolutionizing how it detects, analyzes, and presents network issues. This AI-driven approach has significantly improved Bell's mean time to resolution (MTTR), enabling proactive network management that enhances reliability and optimizes the customer experience.

My Take: As long as it enhances customer experience…

AT&T CFO: Fiber M&A is not really our top focus - AT&T’s CFO said the carrier doesn’t feel ‘compelled’ to pursue fiber M&A, despite moves from T-Mobile and Verizon

My Take: “Pure play fiber players are not very common and small,” he explained. “It’s much easier to build where they want to build rather than buy something that comes with all kinds of things that they don’t like.” .. Probably cheaper, too, based on current valuations. And then there’s the whole Gigapower thing..

AT&T Exec Says Fixed Wireless Has a Role in BEAD - AT&T’s fixed broadband business is centered around fiber, but the company’s not opposed to some of the $42.5 billion set aside for federal broadband grants going to other technologies.

My Take: Well, why would they be opposed to it?

ANALYSIS: Hedging your bets with the BEAD Program - What effect will debates swirling around the Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program have on your current or future grant proposals? What effect might BEAD changes have on potential competitors? And what, if anything, can carriers do about it? And what’s going on in other federal agencies with substantial broadband involvement? Here’s an update.

My Take: I didn’t read the whole thing. I just know that BEAD is taking forever and some will go ahead an build without it.

How telehealth could offset the cost of the Affordable Connectivity Program - A reinstated Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) could bring about a positive economic impact to healthcare and the workforce. 37% of ACP recipients were also enrolled in Medicaid, according to a Brattle Group study

My Take: One of the benefits of connectivity has always been access to “tele” services. If they can offset medical costs with the savings from Telehealth, then it may make sense.

Vail community hopes to set new multifamily connectivity standard - The firm behind a new development planned for Vail, Colorado has selected Comcast Smart Solutions to implement state-of-the-art technologies.

My Take: An example of a good SmartCommunity solution

🇨🇦 Prescriptive rules on broadband labels unnecessary, potentially harmful: ISPs - The CRTC must take a light-touch regulatory approach when it comes to determining how internet service providers (ISPs) present certain technical plan details, as being too prescriptive risks providing unnecessary information while adding implementation costs, according to several large service providers.

My Take: See links to the referenced report.

Lumen taps Ciena to supercharge AI network capacity - Specifically, Lumen will employ Ciena’s WaveLogic 6 coherent optics solution, which can deliver 1.6 Tbps over a single wavelength across a 1,000-kilometer (~621 miles) distance. The vendor’s Navigator Control Suite (NCS) will help Lumen automate managing and controlling its fiber assets.

My Take: I’m still stuck on 1.6Tbps over 1,000km.

State of PON 2025 vBASE Webinar Replay

My Take: Good Webinar. Lots of great info, although a little deep at some points.

SK Telecom adds quantum to its AI mix with IonQ - South Korea’s SK Telecom (SKT) has upped the quantum-safe networking ante by striking a multi-faceted partnership with US quantum technology specialist IonQ with the aim of integrating its new partner’s technology with its AI infrastructure assets and AI applications. 

My Take: Is QaaS that far off?

What’s Happening In Space?

What’s in Space This Week?

🇨🇦 Government of Canada publishes framework to expand wireless services via satellites - Canadians need to be able to count on reliable telecom services no matter where they live. High-quality telecom services not only support economic and social activities but are also crucial for emergency services and public safety.

My Take: Not so sure that many other countries have frameworks in place to ensure coverage where its needed most.

The State Of Orbital Traffic Management Webinar Replay

My Take: For your viewing pleasure..

US Threatens To Shut Off Starlink If Ukraine Refuses Minerals Deal: Report - Ukraine's continued access to SpaceX-owned Starlink was brought up in discussions between US and Ukrainian officials, sources said.

My Take: True? Not true? Either way, one man with an “off button” is why sovereign solutions are critical.

Vodacom readies to deploy Amazon’s Project Kuiper satellites - While South Africans are still waiting for the deployment of SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service, Vodacom is readying to connect Africans using Amazon’s Project Kuiper satellites.

My Take: I think many countries and are waiting for Kuiper.. soon?

Verizon completes its first satellite to cellular enabled video call with AST SpaceMobile BlueBird 2 - Verizon and AST have yet again pushed the boundaries of what can be done with mobile devices by successfully trialing a live video call between two mobile devices with one connected via satellite and the other connected via Verizon’s terrestrial network connection

My Take: The sector is moving very quickly. End users don’t care about standards, etc. They just want to use the phone in their hands and have coverage no matter where they may roam.

🇨🇦 Mavenir and Terrestar Achieve Industry First Satellite Voice Over NB-IoT Call in NTN Mode - Mavenir, the cloud-native network infrastructure provider building the future of networks, and Terrestar Solutions Inc.), Canada’s premier mobile satellite operator, have achieved a groundbreaking milestone by successfully completing an industry first Voice over NB-IoT (Narrowband Internet of Things) call in NTN (Non-Terrestrial Networks) mode.

My Take: This is a significant industrial technical achievement using a standards-based approach, but again, end users don’t care. This was a voice trial. Verizon completed a video trial.

T-Mobile's satellite messaging put to the test: Here are the results - Wireless network research company Signals Research Group (SRG) published some of the results from its recent tests of T-Mobile's new satellite messaging service, running through SpaceX's Starlink satellites.

My Take: It worked, and in places they didn’t expect. It was slower than terrestrial texting, as expected, etc. Full Report, if you’re so inclined. I’m sure there’s more in here, but I haven’t read it.

True Blue Connection: AT&T and AST SpaceMobile Take Connectivity to New Heights - AT&T and AST SpaceMobile have successfully completed another video call by satellite to an everyday smartphone over AT&T spectrum.

My Take: More video trials, with AST Mobile (as with Verizon). All the announcements in advance of Mobile World Congress.

Bridging the Horizon: How Mobile and Satellite Convergence Will Create Truly Global Connectivity - We are experiencing a satellite revolution. Since the turn of the century, the number of satellites in orbit has risen from around 8,770 in 2000 to over 28,000 in 2024. As technological advancements and reduced production costs have made the technology more accessible, we are now seeing new services, solutions and partnerships emerge as diverse industry sectors consider the value.

My Take: Yes, it will.

Starlink vs. Chinese SpaceSail vs. Amazon's Kuiper: The Satellite Internet Battle - Competition for Elon Musk's Starlink is now rising globally as China state-supported SpaceSail and Amazon Project Kuiper hasten their satellite launching plans. Starlink may already have a monopolistic hold with approximately 7,000 satellites in low-Earth orbit. Its opponents, on the other hand, are boosting their global outreach and network of satellites.

My Take: The non-aligned countries will look at SpaceSail. Others will leverage Kuiper against Starlink. The next number of years will tell the story, hopefully with connecting people as the beneficial outcome!

LEO satellite broadband: a cost-effective option for rural areas of Europe - In this study, we consider the potential for LEO satellite broadband to meet end users’ needs in a more cost-effective manner than FTTH in the rural areas of seven EU countries:

Closing the Digital Divide in the EU: The Promise of LEO Satellite Broadband - Millions of people across the European Union (EU) could benefit from satellite connectivity at a lower cost than fibre alternatives.

My Take: Fiber where you can. Wireless where you must. Look at the long term, not the short term - that seems to be the issue. Consider the cost to support the expected demand going forward. Even though the page of bandwidth consumption has slowed, the next inflection point is around the corner.

Singapore To Test New Intersatellite Laser Link Tech In 2026 - Singapore will launch two satellites next year to test new high-speed low latency inter-satellite communication laser terminals that could help bring the internet to the world’s under-connected regions. 

My Take: Ok.

Eutelsat hails pioneering 5G test over LEO - Amid growing efforts to bridge satellites and mobile networks, Eutelsat said it has successfully employed its OneWeb low Earth orbit (LEO) constellation to connect a broadband terminal with a core 5G network using next-generation smartphone protocols.

My Take: Standards-based backhaul over satellite. An easier path to integration?

U.S. Air Force to explore Xona Space’s commercial alternative to GPS - Xona is developing a commercial PNT service through a constellation of low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites, named Pulsar, which aims to serve as both a complement and a backup to the Global Positioning System (GPS). The U.S. military is particularly interested in testing Pulsar’s capabilities for uncrewed aircraft operations and autonomous vehicles, areas where precise navigation is crucial.

My Take: Is there too much reliance on GPS?

FAA tests Starlink terminals as Musk claims Verizon tech is ‘not working’ - The Federal Aviation Administration has started testing the use of SpaceX Starlink satellite internet terminals in the national airspace system, nearly two years after Verizon was awarded a $2 billion contract to perform similar work.

My Take: Elon will control the underlying communications for the FAA to enhance reliability in remote sites? Better to have that than a system that could lead to catastrophic outcomes.

Satellite Technology of the Year Nominees for 2024 - Via Satellite presents six nominees spanning different parts of the industry, demonstrating an exciting range of new technologies.

My Take: I like Speedcast’s SIGMA platform.

Direct-to-device satellites are being deployed in LEO and VLEO but scale is required for mainstream services - Performance data from the SpaceX D2D constellation and AST SpaceMobile’s severely limited coverage highlight that significantly more scale is needed to operate the hundreds to thousands of LEO or VLEO satellites that are needed for continuous connectivity."

My Take: We knew this, didn’t we?

🇨🇦 Telesat Partners with Intellian to Develop Ka-Band Flat Panel User Terminals for Telesat Lightspeed LEO Constellation - Under this agreement, fully optimized Ka-band LEO flat panels for the Telesat Lightspeed network are being designed and manufactured to deliver high-speed throughput for markets including fixed enterprise applications, wireless backhaul, government, land mobility and maritime connectivity.

My Take: A little bit closer, every day.

SEACOM and Q-KON announce partnership to improve low-earth-orbit satellite connectivity in South Africa - LEO solutions enable SEACOM clients to integrate LEO connectivity into their network infrastructure and business continuity strategies. Data is routed through satellites beamed to teleport facilities and then to various network centres and endpoints. Q-KON provides the Twoobii-LEO satellite enterprise solution built on the global Eutelsat OneWeb high-speed, low-latency constellations in key African countries. ​

My Take: Twoobii. I like it.

Amazon Web Services focuses on optimizing artificial intelligence in space - Artificial intelligence and machine learning are turning into requirements for space operations, and Amazon Web Services is optimizing its products to reflect that view, according to the former Air Force major general who’s now in charge of AWS’ aerospace initiatives.

My Take: We’re going to have to develop some purpose-built things optimized for allowing us to do advanced AI, ML and generative AI on orbit that may not exist today, but are going to be COTS tomorrow,” he said. Listen to the podcast.

What’s Happening SubSea?

Protecting Critical Infrastructure: How Fiber Optic Sensing Detects Threats in Real Time - In today's volatile geopolitical climate, safeguarding critical infrastructure has become more crucial than ever. Recent incidents, such as the suspected sabotage of undersea cables in the Baltic Sea, have highlighted the vulnerabilities in our essential communication and energy networks.

My Take: We don’t hear enough about Fiber Sensing applications!

Echo: A Tech Company Consortium Project - The 12 fibe pair Echo subsea cable aptly illustrates how American Digital Giants are increasingly dominating the Pacific subsea telecommunications market.

My Take: More, more and more.

Enabling AI

Introducing GPT-4.5 - By scaling unsupervised learning, GPT‑4.5 improves its ability to recognize patterns, draw connections, and generate creative insights without reasoning.

My Take: More natural. Better “EQ”. Less hallucinations.

Some telecom firms still not embracing AI – Nvidia report - Nvidia has published its latest State of AI in Telecommunications repor. It has many positive conclusions about AI adoption in the sector. But, somehow, there are still some telecom sector companies not engaging with AI tools in any way, according to Nvidia’s survey results.

My Take: Download the report. Lots of cool info.

Google Agentspace - Unlock enterprise expertise for employees with agents that bring together Gemini’s advanced reasoning, Google-quality search, and enterprise data, regardless of where it’s hosted.

My Take: The integration with NotebookLM and other tools is cool.

Get coding help from Gemini Code Assist — now for free - Developers worldwide now get free AI-assisted coding help with the highest usage limits available, as well as code review assistance.

My Take: Will coders become obsolete or will AI just get them 80% of the way there, with the coders cleaning up the rest?

Apple preparing Google Gemini integration with Apple Intelligence - Currently, Apple Intelligence offers the ability to direct Siri requests to ChatGPT, providing more contextual answers than what Siri would be able to offer. Back at WWDC24, Apple software exec Craig Federighi suggested in an interview that they’d like to offer integration with other AI models, including Google Gemini. That integration may arrive in the not too distant future, according to a new leak.

My Take:  Introducing Alexa+, the next generation of Alexa

Demonstrating the value of interoperable multi-vendor AI in wireless networks - Qualcomm Technologies and Nokia Bell Labs are continuing to work together to demonstrate the value of interoperable, multi-vendor AI in wireless networks.

My Take: Agents can speak with Agents, but this is more than that.

Claude 3.7 Sonnet and Claude Code - Today, we’re announcing Claude 3.7 Sonnet¹, our most intelligent model to date and the first hybrid reasoning model on the market. Claude 3.7 Sonnet can produce near-instant responses or extended, step-by-step thinking that is made visible to the user. API users also have fine-grained control over how long the model can think for.

My Take: I don’t spend enough time with Claude. Maybe I should.

Study finds 92% students using generative AI in UK, universities warned to ‘stress test’ assignments - Universities across the UK have been asked to run all student assessments through a “stress test” after new research revealed that pupils have been using artificial intelligence in their studies.

My Take: Wrong. So much for the detection tools.

WANXAI.COM - Wan is an advanced and powerful visual generation model developed by Tongyi Lab of Alibaba Group. It can generate videos based on text, images, and other control signals. The Wan2.1 series models are now fully open-source.

My Take: China is really pulling ahead in the development game. Some very cool examples on the site… if it actually works as advertised.

AI 'brain decoder' can read a person's thoughts with just a quick brain scan and almost no training - A brain decoder uses machine learning to translate a person's thoughts into text, based on their brain's responses to stories they've listened to. However, past iterations of the decoder required participants to listen to stories inside an MRI machine for many hours, and these decoders worked only for the individuals they were trained on.

My Take: Great. Remind me not to sign up.

🇨🇦 TELUS Digital Survey Reveals Enterprise Employees Are Entering Sensitive Data Into AI Assistants More Than You Think - Nearly seven out of 10 (68%) enterprise employees who use generative AI (GenAI) at work say they access publicly available GenAI assistants such as ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot or Google Gemini through personal accounts, and more than half (57%) have admitted to entering sensitive information into them.

My Take: Time for some new corporate policies? Maybe more training videos that no one pays attention to?

The Agentic era is here — how can CSPs capitalize on this paradigm shift? - AI is no longer optional—it is a strategic necessity for CSPs: AI-powered automation is essential for reducing opex, enhancing customer experience, and unlocking new revenue streams. Agentic AI and generative AI will drive the next evolution in CSP automation: self-optimizing networks, predictive maintenance, and intelligent service assurance are the future of telecom operations. But, what does the road to get there look like?

My Take: See the link to download the full report.

This and That!

Your Boss Wants You Back in the Office. This Surveillance Tech Could Be Waiting for You - Warehouse-style employee tracking tech has expanded into job after job. Now, as millions are called back to the workplace, it’s finally coming for the office worker.

My Take: Wearables that will “not only monitor turnstile entrances, exits, and floor access by way of elevators but also parking, the use of meeting rooms, the cafeteria, printers, lockers, and yes, vending machine access.” A little invasive and creepy?

Astronomers don’t want ads in space - And the American Astronomical Society would prefer it stay that way, releasing a statement last year encouraging laws be enacted now to prevent “obtrusive space advertising” in the future. 

My Take: How long before there’s a big Amazon logo on the side of the Moon?

Big Tech data center buildouts have led to $5.4 billion in public health costs - Cancers and asthma among illnesses linked to air pollution from powering data centers.

My Take: That’s why we need data centres in space! Aside from that, yea, well, so AI is killing people? Nuclear. SMRs. Natural Gas. Problem solved, until the they come up with the next correlation.

'That's Zero Folks!': Asteroid 2024 YR4 is no longer a hazard - The likelihood of asteroid 2024 YR4 hitting Earth in 2032 rose and fell last week. NASA's impact odds are now so slim that the asteroid is no longer a hazard on the Torino asteroid scale.

My Take: Wow. 1:32 chance. 1:64 chance. 1:32 chance and now ZERO. Good new cycle, though.

Dogs may have domesticated themselves because they really liked snacks, model suggests - Competing theories explain how dogs came to be domesticated from wolves. Now, a new study adds further support to the idea that they domesticated themselves.

My Take: Who doesn’t like snacks?

Infographic Of The Week

My Take: Any bets on who will take Tesla’s 4%?

Podcast Recommendation

Space journalist and TV personality Sarah Cruddas joins the On Orbit podcast this week ahead of her appearance as guest host at SATELLITE 2025. 

Sarah has had an exciting career in space journalism and communications from being a weather presenter and science correspondent to being a TV personality, industry consultant and author. She’s extremely passionate about how space technology can make life better on Earth, and wants to see the industry get out of its bubble and do a better job of communicating why space technology matters. 

Sarah tells the story of how she covered the final Space Shuttle launch and landing in 2011 using a satellite dish to send a signal back to the BCC, and how she took a scientific look at reports of alien activity and UFOs as part of her work on two TV shows. We also talk about what she’s looking forward to at SATELLITE, from the keynotes, GovMilSpace program, and networking opportunities to connect with folks in the industry.

Listen Here!

Movie/Streaming Recommendation

IMDb: 7/10

JMDb: 7.5/10 (I kept seeing Todd from Breaking Bad..)

In Netflix's latest political thriller "Zero Day," Robert De Niro makes his American TV series debut as a former president thrust back into action. This six-episode rollercoaster ride pits De Niro's George Mullen against a devastating cyberattack that's crippled the nation. While the premise is as timely as tomorrow's headlines, the execution leaves something to be desired.

De Niro's gravitas anchors a star-studded cast, but even his considerable talents can't fully overcome a script that often stumbles into convoluted territory. The pacing keeps you on edge, but at the cost of character development and thematic depth.

Visually, "Zero Day" struggles to convey the scale of its cyber-catastrophe, leaving viewers to imagine a disaster that should be front and center. Despite its flaws, the series offers enough intrigue to keep you clicking "Next Episode," even as you wish for more substance beneath its slick surface.

Is it binge-worthy? Perhaps. But don't expect it to linger long after the credits roll.

My Take: Could the Plot of Netflix's 'Zero Day' Occur IRL? (Spoiler. Not really..)

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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