​The World Radiocommunication Conference 2019 (WRC-19) to be held at Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, from 28 October – 22 November 2019, will address requirements for some of the leading edge technological innovations set to play a pivotal role in tomorrow's digital economy with immense implications for the trillion-dollar telecommunication and ICT industry. It will be preceded by the Radiocommunication Assembly 2019 (RA-19), 21 – 25 October 2019.

ND SATCOM, the premier supplier of and integrator for innovative satellite communication systems and solutions, announced today the acquisition of TECNA located in Dakar, Senegal. This important strategic move will further enhance outreach and interaction between the company and its customers, partners and the leading communication companies in the West Africa region.TECNA Suarl has been renamed ND SatCom SENEGAL.

Long, long ago, when commercial teleport companies were a new thing, they had a terrific business model that offered access to the satellite network.  They leased transponder capacity long-term, sliced and diced it up and served it out to customers – initially for broadcast TV and then for a gradually expanding set of applications from corporate data networks to the internet.  Margins were good and the market was in growth mode.

The recurring themes running through the three European Conferences (World Satellite Business Week in Paris, IBC in Amsterdam and VSAT and Next Generation Satellite Applications in London) durig the month of September, were the need for flexibility and the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) constellations.

The Satcoms Innovation Group (SIG) is partnering with WORK Microwave to host its European Workshop on 22^nd -23^rd October 2019 in Holzkirchen.

Electro Optic Systems (ASX: EOS) has agreed to acquire space communications company EM Solutions Pty Limited (EMS), an Australian technology company in the field of microwave satellite communications.EMS will form part of EOS Communication Systems.

Singapore Technologies Engineering Ltd (ST Engineering) announced that further to its announcement made on 27 March 2019, its subsidiary Singapore Technologies Engineering (Europe) Ltd has today completed the acquisition of a 100% ownership in Newtec Group NV (Newtec) following the fulfilment of completion conditions, including the receipt of applicable regulatory approvals.

The Space & Satellite Professionals International (SSPI) today announced the second annual “20 Under 35” list of outstanding young space and satellite professionals under the age of 35. The honorees will be celebrated at SSPI’s Future Leaders Dinner on October 8 during Satellite Innovation 2019 in Mountain View, California.

iDirect Government, a wholly owned subsidiary of ST Engineering iDirect, has acquired Glowlink Communications Technologies, Inc., a Mountain View, CA, a solutions provider for mitigating satellite interferences and improving the quality of satellite communications.

Space industry conferences come in all shapes and sizes. As someone who has spent most of my career covering the commercial and government satcom industry, most of the conferences I attend are more commercial in nature—discussion tends to focus on business plans that are already in existence, or otherwise, on the horizon.