Connecting the world’s disconnected is a mission we take to heart at On Orbit. After all, our debut episode focused on bridging the digital divide. We like to think of this endeavor as satellites enabling global economic equality.

In this episode, Hughes Network Systems’ Dave Rehbehn and Peter Gulla join On Orbit host Jeffrey Hill for a granular look at the global effort to bring the world online. Dave and Peter provide a boots-on-the-ground viewpoint on the role of both existing and new constellation satellites for providing affordable access – from cellular backhaul to community Wi-Fi to the deployment of new GEO and LEO assets. The trio also talks a bit about Hughes’ own community Wi-Fi program and its utilization of community advocates and entrepreneurship, as well as how the industry as a whole can advance understanding of the value of satellite in the connected future.  

ATTENTION MUSICIANS! Like most new podcasts, we use public-use music tracks for our opening and commercial break themes. The stuff we use now is suitable for now, but we’d like to switch things up a bit. If there are any musicians out there who want to contribute theme songs or music tracks to our show, send us an email at [email protected]  and we’ll let you know how you can send us your tracks. We’ll give you full credit on the show, share links to the rest of your music, and we’ll throw in a few extras to make it worth your time. Again, if you’re interested, email us at [email protected] 

Episode Links & Notes:

Hughes' Community WiFi Program (more info here)

Pew Research Statistics on Digital Divide

FCC 2019 Report on Digital Divide

Dave Rehbehn on LinkedIn

Hughes Connect on LinkedIn