Last June in Copenhagen, while at DTW Ignite, we had a quiet moment away from the show floor with two industry colleagues we've worked alongside for years through the SATCOM Catalyst at TM Forum: David Villegas and Amina Bouvendir.
The exchange gave us both sides of the table: David bringing the operator's view, pushing requirements forward and translating them into real customer experience; Amina bringing the manufacturer and standards side, shaping how those requirements become interoperable technology.
It's a candid look at what happens when two very different vantage points on the same industry have to agree on something. They talk about what surprised each of them most once they started collaborating closely. Also, they explain something counterintuitive: a standards process, that's supposedly rigid and competitor-driven, ended up being what made their projects move faster, not slower. At one point, David shares why he keeps hearing "standards will slow us down" from other satellite operators, and why he thinks that's exactly backwards.
They also walk through where AI is already changing the SATCOM industry today, not in five years: From natural-language interactions to closed-loop automation and their potential.
If you work anywhere near standards, satellite connectivity, or the terrestrial-satellite convergence space, there's something in here worth hearing straight from two people who've lived it from opposite sides for years.
Press play and let David and Amina take it from here while you carry on with your day.
