Introducing David Geiling, Global Invacom’s Head of Sales, APAC

David Geiling recently joined our growing team at Global Invacom as the head of Sales for APAC. David brings more than 25 years of international leadership experience across the satellite, space, defence, and connectivity sectors. His career includes senior leadership positions with Kymeta, Eutelsat, Intelsat, PanAmSat, and COMSAT. David brings extensive experience across satellite operators, government and defence organisations, strategic partnerships, and next-generation connectivity solutions throughout Asia Pacific.

We caught up with him to get his take on the APAC region, the future of satcoms, and how Global Invacom is poised to help the region succeed.

What made you want to join Global Invacom?

This is a really exciting time for the satcoms industry, especially across Asia Pacific and I believe Global Invacom has a huge potential to address many of the challenges being faced across the region.  I’ve spent twenty-five years in the satellite and space industry, including nearly a decade based in Asia-Pacific, and have held senior leadership positions with some of the biggest names in satcom including Eutelsat, Intelsat, PanAmSat, COMSAT and Kymeta. All of these companies are iconic and have addressed critical communications needs, but it is clear that no single technology or provider can solve all the challenges in the Asia-Pacific region, even those that are vertically integrated. 

What is very clear is that governments and critical infrastructure concerns require PACE (primary, alternative, contingency and emergency) enabled solutions – and in Asia, sovereign solutions are also very prominent for the government and defence buyers.  What impresses me about Global Invacom is the company’s ability to address requirements in multiple frequency bands and multiple orbits – leveraging its in-house vertical integration with ability to partner with key technology providers in order to bring the best solution for customers’ needs.  The fact that the company has transitioned from a historical OEM provider to an innovative solutions provider – and has such a solid team with a wealth of diverse and deep experience in the industry was very exciting and I am thrilled to have a chance to play a role in a pivotal point in the company’s growth story as the ground segment goes through a radical transformation.

Why is satcom so important in Asia Pacific?

Asia Pacific has always been a significant user of satellite connectivity. Its diverse and vast landscapes, which include huge island archipelagos and the highest mountains, make rollout of terrestrial communications to rural areas challenging and expensive. 

Though Asia is home to many towns and cities with very high population density, there are many remote communities and businesses that require connectivity. As the world becomes increasingly connected, these communities must be able to take their place in the global marketplace, to have access to public services such as education and healthcare.

The region is also a hotbed for extreme natural events such as typhoons, monsoons, tsunamis and earthquakes, all of which can quickly wipe out terrestrial networks. Rapid re-establishment of communications in areas affected by these kinds of events is vitally important. Portable and non-permanent solutions that are fast to deploy and simple to operate for non-technical users enable affected regions to quickly re-establish communications while terrestrial networks can be fixed.  

What surprised me after I joined GI is the volume of requests we receive from our regional customers for support.  The feedback I have received with respect to our capabilities and innovative solutions has been consistently strong and positive.  It is also clear from those we work with that the company has a solid reputation.

What role is satellite playing in defence and government communications across the region?

The shifting geopolitical situation has also resulted in an intense focus on connectivity for the government and defence sector which is highly reliant on satellite technology to securely connect disparate platforms on land, sea and air. 

There is a growing requirement for fast-deploy, highly agile and flexible connectivity solutions that enable forces to spin up networks in minutes. Higher frequency bands such as Ka-band are being widely adopted across APAC for defence communications because they enable the high performance and high-bandwidth connectivity required.

Outside of defence and national security, governments in Asia-Pacific understand that connectivity is the lifeblood of their economies – and that investment in reliable communications networks, such as what satellite can bring, is essential for accelerating economic growth.

What will we see in the region in 2027?

In 2027 we expect to see the beginnings of new High Throughput Satellite (HTS) GEO spacecraft entering into operation in the region. Some of this will come from relocation of existing spacecraft to APAC, for example with Hylas-3, and others will be new launches. The ground segment needs to be ready to keep up with the rise in satellites.

The other significant trend of note is that many of the GEO operators across the region are looking into, or even in active development of, Earth Observation as a new potential revenue stream. The vast and diverse landscapes mean that Earth Observation is particularly critical across the region. At the same time, it is clear data is king and Earth Observation is a significant driver for data from space.  

How are you ready to respond to those new developments?

Global Invacom's leadership in electronics and motorisation make us a perfect fit for GEO operators' new HTS spacecraft's user terminals - we are unmatched not only in technology but also in ability to quickly scale.  

We are also in a strong position to support existing and upcoming Earth Observation requirements. Our TerraLink solution is a fully integrated, cost-effective ground station, optimised for EO. Thanks to a low-loss protective radome, it can enable high availability and full-pass capture, even in the most extreme conditions. TerraLink enables our satellite operator colleagues to implement EO solutions quickly and effectively.

What else is new for Global Invacom?

This quarter will also see the launch of our Ku-band Flat Panel Antenna. This will be exciting for the APAC region due to many of the reasons mentioned above. The vast and diverse landscapes coupled with the need to react quickly during extreme natural events or for defence operations means the region needs portable solutions that are fast to deploy and simple to operate. At the same time, these solutions need to be adaptable, resilient, and robust to deal with tough terrain while ensuring consistent and seamless connectivity across multiple orbits. 

These FPAs feature motorised pan and tilt capability, which means they can switch seamlessly between orbits without signal loss, something which has historically been challenging for these types of antennas. We believe this will be a gamechanger in the market, giving our customers the ability to ensure resilient connectivity in mobility settings, especially important for defence and disaster recovery. We will be following up this launch with the Ka-band version launching in Q1.