SIA Report Encourages Policymakers and Emergency Planners to Strongly Consider the Resilience of Satellite Services for Disaster Planning and Response

With Atlantic Hurricane Season Beginning on June 1st, Report Reminds First Responders, Relief Agencies and Consumers of the Reliability of Satellite Services Should Terrestrial Networks Be Damaged or Unavailable

Washington, D.C., April 24, 2025 – With the Atlantic hurricane season beginning in less than six weeks, the Satellite Industry Association (SIA) today encouraged policy and lawmakers to continue considering the vital role satellites play in providing communications and other important services before, during and after a natural disaster. The Association summarized the various services satellites can provide both before and after an emergency, plus recent industry disaster response initiatives in its newly updated SIA Report titled, “Natural Disasters – Satellites to the Rescue”.

The Atlantic Hurricane Season runs for six months beginning on June 1st. Preliminary forecasts project a slightly above average number of named cyclones for 2025. In 2024, hurricanes such as Helene and Milton caused casualties, widespread damage and devastation to parts of the Carolinas, the U.S. gulf coast and Georgia. Earlier this year, wildfires including the Palisades and Eaton fires in LA County killed more than 30 persons while burning an estimated 16,000 homes and buildings.

“With hurricane season beginning in less than 2 months and dangerous wildfires now impacting parts of the U.S. throughout the year, we remind government planners, relief agencies, private enterprise and even consumers to consider the unparalleled level of reliability and ubiquity of satellite services when planning for natural disasters,” said Tom Stroup, president of the Satellite Industry Association. “Satellites have been providing emergency communications and remote sensing data for decades, and now thanks to recent leaps in innovation, advanced multi-spectral imaging and direct to device emergency communications services are now available, providing even more critical services before, during and after a disaster.”

Satellite networks operate far above the Earth’s surface; therefore, they are not vulnerable to damage by storms or other natural disaster emergencies such as wildfires which could damage or impair terrestrial mobile services. Communication and Earth observation satellites provide a wide variety of services including telephony, data connectivity, emergency messaging and advanced Earth observation imaging for improved cyclone and wildfire forecasting and monitoring, even in darkness or under tree canopies and cloud cover, plus the ability to track critical emergency assets and assess post-disaster damage. To view a copy of the updated 2025 SIA Satellites and Natural Disasters Report and to learn more details about the role satellites can play before and after natural disasters such as hurricanes and wildfires, please click HERE.

About The Satellite Industry Association
SIA is a U.S.-based trade association providing representation of the leading satellite operators, service providers, manufacturers, launch services providers, and ground equipment suppliers. For more than two decades, SIA has advocated on behalf of the U.S. satellite industry on policy, regulatory, and legislative issues affecting the satellite business. For more information, visit www.sia.org.

SIA Executive Members include: Amazon; Comtech; DIRECTV; EchoStar Corporation; Eutelsat Group; HawkEye 360; Intelsat S.A.; Iridium Communications Inc.; Kratos Defense & Security Solutions; Ligado Networks; Lockheed Martin Corporation; Planet Labs PBC; SES Americom, Inc.; Spire Global Inc.; and Viasat Inc. SIA Associate Members include: The Aerospace Corporation; Artel, LLC; AST Space Mobile; Astranis Space Technologies Corp.; The Boeing Company; Eutelsat America Corp + OneWeb Technologies; ExoAnalytic Solutions; Integrasys LLC; Kinematics; Kymeta Corporation; Omnispace; Ovzon; Panasonic Avionics Corporation; Skyloom and Telesat. SIA Affiliate Members include: AvL Technologies; COMSAT; Cooley LLP; DLA Piper; Globalstar; Greenberg Traurig LLP; Hon Hai Technology Group (Foxconn); Hogan Lovells; Keysight Technologies, Inc.; Media Broadcast Satellite; Orbital Research; Peraton; Plexus Corp; Quadsat; Sheppard Mullin; Wiley; Xairos Systems Inc., and XTAR, LLC.

Media and PR Contact: Dean Hirasawa
Satellite Industry Association
Email: dhirasawa@sia.org
Endeavour Communications