I visited the Satellite Catapult to attend the SME day last Friday. The UK’s Satellite industry is already a significant and profitable contributor to the UK economy and the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills is looking to expand upon that success. This is clearly a very genuine effort to encourage growth in the satellite industry. Never before has the UK’s government focused so heavily on our industry and made it such a strategic priority. So what will our industry’s role be in Britain’s future?

There are some growth strategies the government’s best placed to implement. You may say they should be working to help the industry anyway, but with strategic focus it should get done quicker. Regulatory changes to allow the development of space ports and allow foreign companies to see their developments would be welcomed here. Influence with ITU and increased ESA funding (which should come back our way). All good stuff.

What I also admire is that they are not directly spending money or picking winners. They facilitate introductions to funding through the Satellite Finance Network. We all know “The City” raises money – like the debt finance- for Apple, and the IPO of the Post Office. What is also a “truism” is the difficulty in raising small amounts of finance for small business. The Catapult is connecting smaller business with investors eager for a return in the fast growing SME sector- and with a turnover of £30Bn by 2030 it is attracting a lot of interest.

On the other hand, expanding the current exports from £2Bn now to £25Bn by 2030 is a daunting prospect. Can the governmental environment really have such a huge impact? In conclusion- I’m really happy to be in satellite at the moment, and iSat has huge experience in export to Africa and Middle East, and is excited by the prospect of increasing business to these regions. 

iSat announces Heads of Terms agreement with Atlas mounting.

ISAT LTD, ENGLAND- (Hampshire) -- 07/08/13 – Integrated Satellite Application Technologies (iSat), A systems integrator specialising in satellite earth stations for frequencies such as X-band and Ka band for use by government, satellite operators and broadcasting organisations, today announced that it signed a heads of agreement to purchase Atlas Mounting for a deferred cash consideration.

Atlas Mounting initiated the idea of lighter non-penetrating mounts for 2.4mtr antennas made out of Aluminium material. For the last 6 months, iSat have re-engineered the satellite mounts from the ground up and produced mounts that retain their weight advantage, but have increased their durability and robustness. These objectives were achieved by utilising durable aircraft grade aluminium and pioneering a tangential system of supports which resulted in less torque and increased strength. A modular design which minimised components and deployment time was also utilised. The overall weight for a 2.4mtr mount is 75Kg, and iSat have placed a heavy emphasis on good customer service so packing with 6 carry handle straps allows for easy man handling off lorries, and deployment to roofs - which often have restricted access. Compare this to a 325Kg steel mount normally delivered with a 2.4mtr Prodelin antenna, and you can imagine that this new mount takes the physicality out the earth station construction.

Owning the drawings and being able to adjust for special situations will gradually grow the product range. Accessories such as mounts for solar panels can be integrated into a final solution.

To find out more please go to: www.isatnetworks.com

iSat banner design prototype.