SIA President Tom Stroup Testifies Before House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology Regarding Resiliency of Global Satellite Networks

Washington, D.C., April 30, 2025 – The Satellite Industry Association (SIA) today testified on the importance and resilient nature of satellites before the House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology (Committee on Energy and Commerce) hearing titled Global Networks at Risk: Securing the Future of Communications Infrastructure. SIA President Tom Stroup provided testimony on behalf of the Association.

Earlier this month, Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and Congressman Richard Hudson (NC-09), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, announced the hearing with the following statement. “Our adversaries continually seek to exploit vulnerabilities in our communications infrastructure to jeopardize our national security, disrupt critical services, and steal Americans’ data. As the United States faces new and evolving threats, we must act quickly to strengthen our networks and support greater resilience by outpacing those who seek to do us harm. We look forward to this conversation with experts from across the industry on what steps Congress should take to ensure Americans continue to have access to secure and reliable networks.”

“Satellites are the backbone of modern society and provide critical services to hundreds of millions of Americans and billions of people around the world every day,” said Tom Stroup, president of SIA. “The companies represented by SIA are poised to provide resilient services in any situation to empower U.S. leadership and support U.S. citizens and allies in an interconnected and contested world.”

Mr. Stroup added, “Our members are dedicated to advancing national interests, ensuring the competitiveness of satellite companies in the U.S. and globally, and driving progress for the benefit of all Americans.

“In furtherance of these goals, we have five priorities:

1. Promote American space innovation through streamlined regulations without unnecessary red tape and bureaucracy. Congress and the Administration should embrace policies in regulatory areas such as licensing and export controls that allow the market and consumers, not government regulators and policymakers, to choose “winners” and “losers.”
2. Lead standards development internationally. In particular, strong U.S. leadership at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) on spectrum matters has been critical to enabling US industry innovation and advancement. Without sustained investment and leadership by the United States in the ITU, others – particularly China – will fill the void, threatening U.S. national and economic security interests.
3. Enact effective space debris policies and rigorously advocate for adoption of similar policies in other countries and in international fora. That would include encouraging responsible behavior by China, which (contrary to industry norms) has been leaving the upper stages of rocket launchers in low Earth orbit. An appropriate pro-investment, stable and transparent regulatory environment for the commercial space industry, among other things, means ensuring that federal policies regarding orbital debris mitigation and remediation enable the U.S. to lead the international commercial space industry, protect those operating in space from collisions and debris, and do not have unintended consequences.
4. Streamline space system procurement for greater efficiency in government acquisition. The U.S. government should continue its focus on investing in and procuring cutting-edge satellite capabilities from the commercial space sector, including hardware as well as remote sensing data and analytics, broadband, and other services.
5. Spur development and investment through access to sufficient spectrum resources. The U.S. should ensure sufficient spectrum allocations are available domestically and internationally to support innovative and rapidly growing commercial satellite operations.”

During the hearing, Mr. Stroup was joined by fellow witnesses including David Stehlin, Chief Executive Officer, Telecommunications Industry Association, Jamil N. Jaffer, Founder and Executive Director, National Security Institute and Laura Galante, former Intelligence Community Cyber Executive and Director, Cyber Threat Intelligence Integration Center, Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

A written copy of SIA’s testimony is available at the following link: https://sia.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Testimony25-SIA-House-EC-April-2025-Testimony-FINAL.pdf

A video copy of the hearing is available on the House Energy and Commerce web page and Youtube channel at the following link: https://energycommerce.house.gov/events/communications-and-technology-subcommittee-global-networks-at-risk-securing-the-future-of-telecommunications-infrastructure

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