Thread by @thesheetztweetz

Satellite constellation operators panel at #SATShow:

Viasat president Evan Dixon $VSAT
SpaceX Starlink VP Jonathan Hofeller
Telesat VP Erwin Hudson $TSAT
OneWeb senior advisor Ruth Pritchard-Kelly

@SATELLITEDC @SpaceX @ViasatInc @Telesat @OneWeb Hofeller says SpaceX is "building close to 8" Starlink satellites per day at its facility in Redmond, WA.

@SATELLITEDC @SpaceX @ViasatInc @Telesat @OneWeb Hofeller: "Getting the cost of the user terminal down is key to being prolific," as SpaceX has cut its Starlink terminal costs "down by two-thirds from the original version."

@SATELLITEDC @SpaceX @ViasatInc @Telesat @OneWeb Hudson, who leads $TSAT Lightspeed development, says the effect of the pandemic and supply chain disruptions has "cost us about a year in schedule."

"We expect our first launch to be in 2025" and to begin offering service in 2026.

@SATELLITEDC @SpaceX @ViasatInc @Telesat @OneWeb Pritchard-Kelly notes this morning's SpaceX / OneWeb news, and says "I don't think either of us can give any more specific than that but we are super excited."

@SATELLITEDC @SpaceX @ViasatInc @Telesat @OneWeb Pritchard-Kelly highlights that Amazon, which is working on its Project Kuiper satellite internet, is not on today's #SATShow panel.

@SATELLITEDC @SpaceX @ViasatInc @Telesat @OneWeb Pritchard-Kelly: When Amazon announced Kuiper, "boy did Wall Street and the city of London sit up and take notice."

"They were like: 'Oh, Jeff Bezos. He's never lost money at anything, so he think he can be last and still beat all these competitors."

@SATELLITEDC @SpaceX @ViasatInc @Telesat @OneWeb Dixon says the pandemic changed $VSAT service demand in the U.S. and Europe from "having a peak busy hour in the evenings" to suddenly "all day was a peak period" with "massive amounts of usage."

@SATELLITEDC @SpaceX @ViasatInc @Telesat @OneWeb Hofeller: There are "seemingly ridiculous amounts of money" being funneled into broadband connectivity.

SpaceX thinks "the incentive structure is incorrect," where the government is "giving people money to build infrastructure versus incentivizing the outcome."

@SATELLITEDC @SpaceX @ViasatInc @Telesat @OneWeb Hofeller: During the pandemic, SpaceX "had folks that would call us on a Friday, and their school was connected on a Monday."

"That sort of instant gratification is not something governments know how to react to, in the pace in which we were reacting."

@SATELLITEDC @SpaceX @ViasatInc @Telesat @OneWeb Pritchard-Kelly: "I think we're all being approached by various government entities, seeing what can be done both in and nearby Ukraine, but I don't think it's that significantly different from other emergencies."

"Satellite has long been the go-to technology."

@SATELLITEDC @SpaceX @ViasatInc @Telesat @OneWeb Dixon says the $VSAT network has been "restored" after a cyber attack took down service to Ukraine / parts of Europe.

"We're doing plenty in Ukraine right now but that is not something we publicize. We're certainly not going to make publicity out of a war."

@SATELLITEDC @SpaceX @ViasatInc @Telesat @OneWeb Hofeller says SpaceX believes in-flight connectivity is "ripe for an overhaul."

Passengers' expectations have "changed faster than the technology has changed."

@SATELLITEDC @SpaceX @ViasatInc @Telesat @OneWeb Hofeller: Starlink currently has 250,000 total subscribers, a number which counts both consumers and enterprises.

In terms of profitability, "the number one challenge is not going bankrupt."

@SATELLITEDC @SpaceX @ViasatInc @Telesat @OneWeb Pritchard-Kelly: In terms of OneWeb being commercially viable, "since we're a B2B, the answer is one."

Currently OneWeb's capacity "is sold out over Alaska and possibly also Scotland."