Issue #25 - June 28, 2024

Welcome to Issue #25!

Some headlines of the week:

💩 Pooping on the Moon Is a Messy Business

💰 2024 hasn't been 'year of execution' for BEAD

🌎 What would we do if an asteroid slammed Earth on July 12, 2038?

..and

Learn About - Synthetic Aperture Radar! (what? I know!)

and… even more.. inside.

Remember to repost, share, like, and comment (good and bad).

Enjoy Issue #25!

Canada Broadband and some US Stuff..

Internet speed transparency bill receives royal assent

A private member’s bill that proposed amending the Telecommunications Act to require internet service providers to provide Canadians with the “typical” download and upload speeds that customers should expect during peak periods received royal assent last week, after passing third reading in the Senate earlier this month.

Read the full article

My Take: I think I commented earlier and noted that this issue isn’t really with fixed-line HFC and FIber builder. Unless they have seriously underprovisioned network capacity, including peering capacity, the experience is consistent. The only reason anyone would check—by running a speed test—would be in some moment of impairment.

Satellite & FWA—I think this applies more to those networks. Again, one can design all the capacity required, but no one can control Mother Nature.

Finally, what’s the source of truth?

The Commission is to hold public hearings to address, in part, the following:

“the methodology that is to be used to determine what constitutes typical download and upload speeds for different fixed broadband services packages offered in different regions across Canada;”

So many variables to consider. The metrics will need to be highly relative and with variability

“the types of Canadian carriers, if any, that should be excluded, in whole or in part, from the application of subsection (2)”

Why should any provder be exempt?

“the measures that are to be taken, including in respect of compliance monitoring and enforcement, to ensure that the fixed broadband services provided by Canadian carriers reflect the information made available under subsection”

Without a standardized, industry-wide practice, there won’t be any way to police it. Who absorbs the associated costs?

CRTC wants analysis of wholesale broadband transport options in Canada

The CRTC is seeking a contractor to analyze the wireline transport market, as it prepares to make a decision on an updated wholesale internet access framework.

According to the procurement document, dated Thursday, the regulator is looking for a contractor to draft a definition of wholesale wireline high-speed transport services market, which should “allow for upcoming technological changes.”

The CRTC is also seeking to collect and analyze information describing the “products currently available that are or could be used to offer wholesale wireline high-speed transport services in Canada, including their locations, capacity and limitations;” a description and assessment of network configuration and competitor requirements for purchasing transport services; and an analysis of the smallest geographic areas where consumers would not be willing to switch supplier.

Read the full article

My Take: I hope they publish the full study results. I wonder how long it will take and how much it will cost. (Doesn’t the government already have all sorts of companies under contract from which they could borrow?)

2024 hasn't been 'year of execution' for BEAD

One year has passed since the White House announced how much money each state and territory will receive from the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program. But those dollars have yet to make it out the door. 

“There is an undeniable tension between the urgent need to close the digital divide and the time that is required to create a well-functioning government program,” said Jake Varn, associate manager for Pew’s Broadband Access Initiative.

According to the agency’s Initial Proposal Progress dashboard (last updated June 14), just 15 states and territories have received approval on Volume 2 of their BEAD proposals. 

Read the full article

My Take: "It's no secret that the struggling communications industry is pinning its hopes on BEAD money for a revenue boost, but funding delays could quash those hopes. “

I try to attend or read the transcripts from the investor calls of companies in which I hold a stock position. All I’ve heard for the past few quarters is “BEAD, BEAD, BEAD.” I wonder if any companies will adjust their expectations accordingly unless they baked 2025 well into their plans.

Learn About - Synthetic Aperture Radar

I know. You woke up this morning thinking, “You know what’s missing from my life? An explanation of Synthetic Aperture Radar". Well, Iike the government, I’m here to help.

In the world of remote sensing, Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) stands out as a powerful tool for observing our planet. Unlike traditional optical sensors, SAR can peer through clouds, darkness, and even some surfaces, providing unique insights into Earth's landscapes and processes.

SAR is an active sensing system that emits microwave signals and measures the energy reflected back from the Earth's surface. The "synthetic aperture" in its name refers to the technique of using the motion of the radar antenna to simulate a much larger antenna, resulting in high-resolution images.

As the SAR sensor moves along its path, it continuously transmits pulses and receives echoes. Advanced signal processing techniques then combine these echoes to create detailed two-dimensional images or even three-dimensional reconstructions of the terrain.

The key principle behind SAR is that it uses the platform's motion and sophisticated signal processing to synthesize a very long antenna, achieving high azimuth resolution that would be impossible with a real antenna of practical size. This allows SAR systems to produce high-resolution images from space or high-altitude platforms, independent of daylight or weather conditions.

The versatility of SAR has led to its adoption in numerous fields:

• Environmental Monitoring: Tracking deforestation, ice melt, and soil moisture levels

• Disaster Management: Assessing damage from floods, earthquakes, and oil spills

• Agriculture: Monitoring crop health and soil conditions

• Urban Planning: Mapping infrastructure and detecting subtle ground movements

• Maritime Surveillance: Detecting ships and monitoring sea ice

• Defense and Intelligence: Conducting reconnaissance and identifying changes in areas of interest

SAR is able to work day and night in all-weather conditions, producing high-resolution images and even being able to penetrate certain surfaces.

However, SAR does require very complex data processing and interpretation to produce images, is often impacted by “speckle-noise” (a granular type of noise that affects radar, ultrasound and optical coherence tomography images) and can have variations in image quality due to terrain and incidence angle.

Despite these challenges, ongoing advancements in SAR technology and data processing continue to expand its capabilities and applications. As we face increasing environmental and societal challenges, SAR remains a crucial tool in our Earth observation toolkit, providing valuable insights that complement traditional optical imagery.

SAR imagery offers a powerful tool for Earth observation, providing detailed and reliable data under all weather conditions and during both day and night. Its applications range from urban planning and agriculture to disaster management and maritime surveillance, making it an indispensable resource for scientists and policymakers.

Space

What’s in Space this week?

Amazon Delays Launch of Project Kuiper Broadband Satellites

The company now aims to start the first customer tests of its Project Kuiper network in 2025, production operations chief Steve Metayer said at a ribbon-cutting event to open Amazon’s satellite production facility in suburban Seattle. Commercial service, which can begin in a limited fashion when Amazon has hundreds of satellites aloft, will follow later in 2025. 

Read the article

My Take: Everyone has product delays. Problem is that every delay gives the 800lb SpaceX gorilla more runway to continue to capture share.

ISS astronauts take shelter in Boeing Starliner and other return spacecraft after June 26 satellite breakup

Nine astronauts on the space station briefly moved to their docked return spacecraft late Wednesday (June 26) as a satellite broke up in low Earth orbit.

NASA did not specify which satellite was associated with the incident, but satellite monitoring and collision detection firm LeoLabs identified a "debris-generating event" that same evening. "Early indications are that a non-operational Russian spacecraft, Resurs-P1 [or] SATNO 39186, released a number of fragments," the company wrote on X.

Read the full story

Here’s another happy story - One Satellite Crash Could Upend Modern Life

What would we do if an asteroid slammed Earth on July 12, 2038?

NASA's latest asteroid impact exercise, conducted with FEMA, simulated a potential asteroid strike on Earth in 2038. The exercise aimed to assess international response capabilities and improve coordination. Using data from the successful Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission, the team proposed reconnaissance and deflection missions. However, challenges such as funding, international cooperation, and misinformation remain significant hurdles.

Read more here.

Florida family files claim with NASA after ISS space junk crashes into home

A Florida family has filed a claim with NASA after debris from the International Space Station crashed through their home in Naples, causing significant damage. The debris, identified as part of a pallet of used batteries, unexpectedly survived reentry. The family, represented by a law firm, argues that NASA should be held accountable under the Space Liability Convention, which traditionally applies to international incidents.

Read more here.

My Take: Good thing it didn’t hit anyone.. Assault and Battery, and all that..and don’t blame the Canadarm…

NASA awards SpaceX contract for space station deorbit vehicle

NASA has awarded SpaceX an $843 million contract to develop a spacecraft for safely deorbiting the International Space Station (ISS) at the end of its operational life, around 2030. The United States Deorbit Vehicle (USDV) will perform critical maneuvers to guide the ISS into a controlled reentry over a remote ocean area. This vehicle, based on the Dragon spacecraft, ensures a safe transition in low Earth orbit. NASA will later procure a launch service for the USDV.

Read more here

Pooping on the Moon Is a Messy Business

Managing human waste on the moon is a challenging task that poses unique legal, ethical, and practical issues for space agencies planning future lunar missions. These concerns include the environmental impact of waste disposal on the lunar surface and ensuring the health and safety of astronauts. NASA and other space agencies must develop new technologies and strategies to address these issues as they prepare for extended missions and potential lunar habitation.

Read more here 

Fun fact: The Apollo poo bags were left on the moon

AI

YouTube tries convincing record labels to license music for AI song generator

YouTube is negotiating with major record labels to secure licensing agreements for its new AI-powered music generator. This initiative aims to create AI-generated songs using licensed music to ensure quality and compliance with copyright laws. The effort underscores the growing intersection of AI technology and the music industry, aiming to offer innovative music creation tools while navigating complex legal landscapes​,

Read more here.

My Take: Sounds like Google’s fishing for more data!

Swallow this robot: Endiatx’s tiny pill examines your body with cameras, sensors

The PillBot has come a long way since its inception. The current prototype measures just 13mm by 30mm and boasts impressive capabilities. “It can transmit high-res video at 2.3 megapixels per second, and we have plans to quadruple that video quality soon,” Smith enthused. The CEO himself has played a vital role in testing, having swallowed 43 PillBots to date, including live on stage in front of a stunned audience. 

Read the cool story

My Take: I have visions of some camera moving through my body and seeing things looking back at me.

Writer Alarmed When Company Fires His 60-person team, replaces them all with AI

The pace at which AI has damaged countless industries is whiplash-inducing. And no one understands this better than a writer who in 2023 was excelling at his copywriting job with a team of writers 60 people strong — and by the next year found himself the last human standing, arm in arm with AI imitators he was expected to drag along and get up to speed.

"They wanted to use AI to cut down on costs," the writer told the BBC, using the pseudonym Benjamin Miller.

Read the full story

Tidbits

Low margins on connected car services are forcing operators to innovate

Operators are finding it challenging to differentiate and monetise data services for connected cars with the result that some are now looking to adjacent markets to find revenue growth and improve margins

Despite the theoretical potential of the connected car market, most mobile operators have yet to do much more than provide basic (and often low value per gigabyte) data connectivity services to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), and they have struggled to generate significant revenue. 

Read the full article

My Take: I always wondered why I can’t do more with my connected car. I can’t do anything with the heating or cooling. I can lock, unlock, start and stop the car. Pretty useless. It provides me with stats in my app — hard acceleration, hard stops, things like that, but who cares? I can put it in “guest mode” and monitor someone else’s driving. Ok, sort of handy if I still had kids at home driving my car. Some integration with home automation would be nice, geo-fenced, of course. If my car could pay for my parking at the electronic meters, that would be nice. What else?

Ex-Millionaires Are Revealing How They Lost All Their Money, And I'm Actually Speechless

Reaching millionaire status is a feat people dream of achieving. But unfortunately, having millions of dollars doesn't mean you're invincible, as evidenced by redditor u/HypnoticMushrooms, who asked people to share how they or someone they knew became an "ex-millionaire." I'm genuinely surprised at how some of these people weren't responsible with their money. Here are some of the most insightful stories:

Read about the millionaire misfits here

How underwater drones could shape a potential Taiwan-China conflict

A potential future conflict between Taiwan and China would be shaped by novel methods of drone warfare involving advanced underwater drones and increased levels of autonomy, according to a new war-gaming experiment by the think tank Center for a New American Security (CNAS). 

The report’s authors detail a number of ways that use of drones in any South China Sea conflict would differ starkly from current practices, most notably in the war in Ukraine, often called the first full-scale drone war. 

Read the interesting story

Buy your underwater drone home-kit here

Infographic of the Week

Podcast Recommendation

5G from Space, Network of Networks and Connectivity for Everyone

“5G from space holds the promise to make mobile connectivity accessible to everyone and everywhere. Past efforts to mainstream satellite communications did not have the advantage that 5G brings - a single technology standard that enables Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and satellite service providers to complement each other’s networks to deliver nearly ubiquitous, instantaneous connectivity for large numbers of devices globally.

With us today on Constellations Podcast is Lucas Hansen, Vice President and General Manager of Wireless and Satellite Direct-to-Device Communications at Keysight Technologies to discuss the opportunities, challenges, use cases and future of 5G from space.”

Listen here!

Movie/Streaming Recommendation

Megan Leavey - Netflix

IMDb - 7.1/10

JMDb - I concur

Megan Leavey is a heartwarming tale about a Marine and her dog, Rex. Kate Mara stars as Megan, a young woman who joins the Marines because, well, why not? She ends up bonding with Rex, a bomb-sniffing dog who’s probably the best actor in the film. Together, they save lives and face the horrors of war, all while making you wonder if you should adopt a dog or join the military. The film is predictable but touching, and if you don’t cry at least once, you might be a robot. It’s a must-watch for dog lovers, anyone who enjoys a good cry, or has 1h 56m to kill.

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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