The MSAT Push-To-Talk (PTT) Satellite Radio has become the most important Public Safety and First Responder satellite communication system and network in the country. This is a wonderful example of where our government has succeeded to serve the public interest over US corporate deal making.
With the public announcement that Ligado’s PTT Networks will not support interoperability with the newer MSAT G3 Network from Cobham and Viasat, not to mention other striking deficiencies, this basically puts the last nail in the coffin to the competing Viasat network.
The importance of the MSAT G2 cannot be overstated. Since its original launch in 1995/96 by AMSC (American Mobile Satellite Corporation), this communication network has grown to be the most important and robust Public Safety satellite network in the United States, providing seamless Radio Dispatch capability to every City, County, State, and Federal Agency that demands “one to many” broadcast communication. The network does not depend on terrestrial infrastructure, which can be affected by catastrophic weather and earthquakes. It has been through this long and slow uptake to this technology that has created the most resilient, powerful, and reliable means to have interoperability between the many different public safety agencies throughout the country on one commercially available network. No one can be left out or denied access to this network if their budgets can support the hardware and airtime network operating costs which are some of the lowest in the industry.
With these current turns of events, Ligado is rethinking its commitment to the importance of its US based emergency communications network and commitment to its growth and success for the years to come. Perhaps we might even see a new hardware design for the radio and antenna system in the future.
The next great shift in satellites is interoperability. 
Starting in January 2017, Iridium began launching Iridium NEXT satellites into low Earth-orbit (LEO) to replace their aging satellite network. Many of the older satellites are no longer in active service, are partially functional, have tumbled out of control, or have reentered the atmosphere. The new NEXT satellites will form a second-generation global network of telecommunications satellites. In our previous blog post 
We have all seen the seemingly endless tide of natural disasters around the United States. With wildfires, mudslides, hurricanes, flooding, and other natural disasters it’s important to have a business plan in place for your business.