Keynote
Doreen Bogdan-Martin
Secretary-General, International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
Thank you, Julie [Zoller, SIA Board Chair], for that kind introduction and for your leadership.
You've left a lasting mark on ITU.
I want to thank SIA President Tom Stroup and the SIA Board for the invitation.
It is a privilege to join so many outstanding satellite industry and government leaders.
It's an added honour to share the stage with [US Federal Communications Commission (FCC)] Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel.
Tonight, I want to talk about the future of the satellite industry — what's at stake, and ITU's role in it.
But first…
Let me take you back to 1963.
We're in Geneva, where ITU is holding the first conference on space radiocommunications.
President Kennedy's call to Congress to accelerate the development of satellites is still fresh in everyone's minds.
The satellite race is on.
It's a very exclusive, expensive, and risky race.
Most countries can't fathom having a satellite of their own.
It's the era of Intelsat, Inmarsat, Roscosmos, Eutelsat.
The satellite world is state-centric, with national security and defence at the centre of attention.
Now, fast forward to the early 1990s.
I'm a grad student at American U [the American University, Washington, DC].
The same landscape prevails when I land a coveted internship with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) in the Commerce Department, which is right in the midst of reviewing the government's separate satellite systems policy.
Satellites became my first love.
I served at NTIA long enough to see the shift toward commercial satellites play out both in policy and in real time.
I also made friends for life, and many are here tonight. But that's another story.
This path ultimately led me to ITU at the dawn of the commercial Internet and mobile revolutions.
Both will turn out to significantly influence the satellite industry.
Over the decades, the satellite industry has kept innovating to adapt to changes in underlying demand for communications — from voice telephony to television broadcasting, to Internet connectivity.
The latest wave of constellations and direct-to-device technology is just the latest chapter in a long story of reinvention that highlights this industry's resilience and ingenuity.
As for ITU, we've never stopped managing the shared resources crucial for the industry and the entire global economy carefully.
I'm talking about the radio-frequency spectrum and associated orbits that satellites need to operate.
Because these natural resources are finite, they must be available, reliable, and free from interference for space-based assets to function.
That's where the Radio Regulations come into play.
Every four years, ITU Member States come together to review and revise this international treaty at the World Radiocommunication Conference.
Today, the entire space ecosystem is underpinned by ITU regulations and standards — giving the satellite industry the legal certainty and regulatory stability it needs for investment and innovation to thrive.
Three months ago, our last radio conference recognized the essential role played by satellites.
ITU Member States came to key decisions ranging from adding spectrum for Earth-exploration satellites to establishing a more stable and transparent regulatory framework for novel space services.
More than 80 per cent of the next World Radiocommunication Conference in 2027 will be space-related — with items on direct connectivity between mobile devices and satellites, and the first generation of lunar communications.
The intensified focus on space at ITU is being driven by tectonic shifts in the space industry itself.
Lower cost to access space is a good example.
It has had a huge effect on space innovation.
We see this in the price of heavy launches to low-Earth orbit falling from USD 65,000 per kilogram to USD 1,500.
Payload costs are going down everywhere, from China to India.
All this leads to an unprecedented increase in satellite launches, with over 2,300 satellites launched in 2022 alone.
Only 14 nations operated satellites 24 years ago, at the turn of the century.
Since then, satellites from 91 countries have reached orbit — tracking climate and supporting schools, hospitals, businesses, and governments.
This translates to more and more space-faring nations, more and more space-services customers, dynamism in the private space sector, and new industries such as mining, servicing, and manufacturing being drawn to space activities.
But, as always, opportunities come with their own set of challenges.
Gone are the days when we believed only governments could engage in such activities.
Yet space governance continues to be centred around the nation-state.
As space activities intensify, frequency coordination becomes increasingly more complex.
Maintaining a safe and clean, interference-free space environment — with assets worth trillions of dollars — also becomes more urgent.
A new future is upon us.
Tonight, I want to leave you with three thoughts about how to be ready for it.
First, we can't leave anyone behind.
Worldwide, only 50 per cent of the population in rural areas is connected.
In low-income countries, less than one in five people living in these areas uses the Internet.
Brianna is one of them. As a student in rural Honduras, her life has been transformed by Giga — the ITU-UNICEF initiative to connect every school to the Internet. For Brianna, and so many like her, satellite broadband is game changing.
With 2.6 billion people still offline globally, the satellite industry has a critical role to play in bridging digital divides between rural and urban areas, between wealthy and lower income countries, and between men and women.
ITU is here to support you as you take up this challenge.
Second, we must protect our environment on Earth — and in space.
The sustainability of the shared space environment — particularly the radio-frequency spectrum — has to be a top priority as we continue to push the limits of space innovation.
The recent Radiocommunication Assembly has defined ITU's role in space sustainability, encouraging our members — satellite operators, manufacturers, launch providers and others — to share voluntarily their de-orbit strategies and plans to build awareness for safe physical coexistence in orbit.
Back on Earth, half of countries worldwide are still unprotected by early warnings.
Satellite systems offer new possibilities for resilience as reliable, survivable networks in the face of increasingly devastating climate events.
That's why ITU is excited to leverage these systems through the UN Early Warnings for All initiative.
By our count, at least 40 per cent of the Sustainable Development Goals set out by the United Nations back in 2015 rely on Earth observation and global navigation satellite systems.
Third, we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to build this sustainable, inclusive future together.
All of you here tonight are key to ensuring not only that satellite technology and business continue to thrive, but that we continue to share their potential.
The opportunities are very real for someone like Mouhamadou, a young entrepreneur in Senegal. His start-up company, Tolbi, uses satellite data and AI (artificial intelligence) to support smallholder farming across West Africa.
And the results speak for themselves: farmers using his platform have increased yields by over 200 per cent in some cases. Mouhamadou's example shows why the potential is enormous.
In September, world leaders will gather in New York for the Summit of the Future. They are expected to adopt a Pact for the Future.
This pact and this summit come at a time when we need to redefine our common project for humanity.
Both see space as an engine of sustainable development.
I was in Italy just last week for the meeting of G7 Digital Ministers. And they, too, recognized the important role of satellites across the global economy — highlighting the need for resiliency and long-term sustainability of outer space activities.
I certainly see the same determination in this room tonight.
Space can and must remain a domain for collaboration.
Together, we can harness the power of satellite technology for sustainable development on Earth — now and for future generations.
Thank you very much.
