February 12, 2024 • 35 mins
We've all been there: mid-conversation or deep into a work session, only for our digital lifeline to suddenly drop, leaving us stranded in a sea of silence. It's these moments of unexpected disconnection that highlight a pervasive gap in our modern, connected lives.
Well, Today on Things Have Changed Podcast, we're joined by Damien Garot, CEO, and Hassan Aouisse, CTO of Stellar, a deep tech startup on a mission to perfect internet while on the move.
Through their innovative blend of cellular, Wi-Fi, and satellite technologies, they're tackling the universal challenge of reliable connectivity, promising a future where digital accessibility knows no bounds.
Join us as we delve into the journey of Stellar, uncovering the inspirations, challenges, and breakthroughs that mark their path towards a seamlessly connected world. This episode is more than just a peek into the future of technology; it's a conversation about how bridging the digital divide can reshape our daily lives, making every moment of connection count.
So stay curious, and let's explore together how Stellar is lighting up the dark spots on our digital maps, ensuring that no call, no message, and no byte of data is ever lost in transit again.
THE HIGH-EARNING WOMEN PODCASTThis podcast empowers high-earning women to make informed financial decisions and thrive.
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Episode Transcript
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Shikher Bhandary (00:02):
Whether you're on the road, Traveling from
home, heading to your vacationdestination, or simply commuting
to work?
Have you ever felt thefrustration of unreliable
internet?
As the world strives forincreased connectivity, slow and
spotty internet on the go hasbecome all too common.
(00:23):
Well, today Podcast, we'rejoined by Damien Garreau, CEO,
and Hassan Owais, CTO ofStellar.
A deep tech startup on a missionto perfect internet while on the
move.
Damien Garot (00:37):
I just know that I can simply not have.
a quality discussion with myparents when they're on the
ride.
Hassan Aouisse (00:45):
The land mobility remains the area where
there is no solutions up to nowthat really covers the problem
of disconnection while on theroad,
Shikher Bhandary (00:56):
Stellar is reshaping this landscape of
connectivity with arevolutionary approach that
integrates cellular, Wi Fi, andsatellite networks.
This ensures a seamless andreliable internet experience
regardless of your location.
Hassan Aouisse (01:13):
There is no solutions up to now that covers
the problem of disconnectionwhile on the road, because it's
not just about what's theservice availability, but also
how many times you getdisconnected over an hour or 30
minutes drive.
And that's what Stellar issolving for the land mobility
(01:33):
sector.
The next step is to combine themtogether is that's where we'll
bring that value to solve thelast problem
Shikher Bhandary (01:42):
So join us as we explore how Stellar is
tackling the challenges oftoday's digital divide and
reshaping the future ofconnectivity.
Jed Tabernero (02:28):
Come 2023 Amazon released their new return to
office policy, which had a tonof us exactly.
Oh, a ton of us in my generationand my work and my team
thinking, Oh no, we've all movedout to the boonies, to the
suburbs.
And now we're having to comeback to the office.
(02:50):
One huge thing I had to do wasactually commute to Washington
DC.
That's more than a 200 miledistance from my home.
And my office that's huge, butthankfully the Northeast
regional train Amtrak, I neverthought I would be saying this
Amtrak was offering train ridesfrom Newark to Washington, DC.
(03:16):
Amazing.
The only problem was the traintook four and a half hours, four
and a half hours.
So I started doing that aroundMay, June.
And I realized, okay, my workallows me to work from home some
points of the time.
So maybe I could just work onthe train.
No time wasted four and a halfhours working on the train.
(03:40):
Only the biggest problem Iencountered was Let's just say
the internet was less thanstellar.
It got me thinking, there'sProbably a lot of people doing
this the most used train line inthe united states is the
northeast regional train linefrom boston all the way down to
dc There's millions of peoplethat use this on a yearly basis,
(04:04):
so trying to make the best of mycommute I just found it really
frustrating that I didn't havegreat internet, wasn't able to
continuously take calls, wasn'table to continue to do my work.
And that's exactly why I'm superexcited about our guest today.
Today we've got Damien Gareau.
And Hassan Aouiz, bothrepresenting the company called
(04:27):
Stellar, our first space companyin Things Have Changed podcast.
I am so excited.
They're doing the incrediblework of providing reliable
connectivity solutions,combining cellular, Wi Fi, and
satellite.
They might just have a solutionfor our problem.
Damien Hassan, welcome to ThingsHave Changed podcast.
(04:48):
We're super excited to have youhere.
Damien Garot (04:50):
Thanks a lot.
I'm super excited as well.
Jed Tabernero (04:52):
So just to kick things off, I'm curious, how did
you both identify this gap inthe market and really what
sparked the idea to solve it?
Damien Garot (05:03):
It's a very good question, and I must say before
answering to your question thatyour testimony is something that
we hear every day.
Each time we do a pitch, westart by asking people, so how
is it on the train or in theback of a Uber?
How is it when you try to do aFaceTime with your family and
friends?
And they just hate it.
(05:23):
It's so frustrating.
You say the word yourself,frustration.
So I will start with my personalexperience and Hassan, please
chip in.
For me, I'm from thecountryside.
I'm a countryside boy.
So I know what it is to feel thedigital divide between the
countryside and the citycenters.
And.
Even today, when I call myparents, so I live near Paris,
(05:45):
but when I call my parents inthe countryside and when I hear
the engine of the car humming inthe background, I'm not even
trying anymore to have adiscussion.
I'm just saying, okay, I'll callyou right back.
And I will wait for an hour forthem to arrive wherever they
are.
I even don't know where they'regoing.
I just know that I can simplynot have.
(06:07):
a quality discussion with myparents when they're on the
ride.
It's simple as this.
Hassan Aouisse (06:12):
From my side, satellite has been connecting
well and solving the problem ofconnectivity for other mobility
sectors, maritime as well as forair on board aircraft on which I
worked for several years andthe.
The land mobility remains thearea where there is no solutions
(06:32):
up to now that really covers theproblem of disconnection while
on the road, because it's notjust about what's the service
availability, but also how manytimes you get disconnected over
an hour or 30 minutes drive.
And that's what Stellar issolving for the land mobility
sector.
Shikher Bhandary (06:53):
just on that, like you mentioned, Damien, I
was literally on a call with mymother who's in India and she's
visiting my grandmother in thevillage and because they were
traveling, I couldn't speak toher.
She's like, Oh, the connectionis bad.
So I would say 90 percent of thepopulation has experienced
connectivity problems whiletraveling.
(07:14):
So jumping into the Stellarsolution, I know you have
mentioned how there are suchpillars.
You have the cellular, you havethe wifi, you have the
satellite.
So I would love to understand,at least in a layman's term, how
your hybrid network works.
It's really complicated as youmight know.
Damien Garot (07:35):
You're right.
The pillars, wifi is a greatpillar at home.
You want to have reliable wifi.
Cellular is also great such assatellite, but while the pillars
they're also silos.
And, it's, you still don't get5G from space.
You still don't get an antennathat can go from space to Wi Fi
(07:55):
seamlessly.
This ability to break throughthe silos and to make it
seamless.
So at the end, you and I do noteven know where the pipe is
coming from.
Is it from the ground or is itfrom the sky actually?
Nobody needs to know.
All you need to know is that youcan rely on that solution.
So that's the way we started theidea on Stellar, making sure
(08:19):
that you would be connectedwherever you are.
COVID really impacted the way weare using connectivity today.
We are using internet today.
Right now, when I call myparents, they insist on having a
FaceTime.
Voice is not enough.
And it's, it is clear that thisis a future making sure that we
can be connected with thesevehicle, which is really part of
(08:43):
our everyday lives, but also forthe vehicle themselves that are
truly smartphone on wheels,they're the line of compute in
vehicles is huge these days andthey're only growing.
So.
They do need to have thisconnectivity the way we have at
work at home.
Hassan Aouisse (08:59):
And from the technology perspective, if you
take each one of thesetechnologies, satellite,
cellular, and wifi, they.
They had time to maturate.
They've been there for tens ofyears, and I would say they are
reaching the maximum off of whatthey can deliver, and each one
have its advantages.
The next step is to combine themtogether is that's where we'll
(09:21):
bring that value to solve thelast problem, which is this
connectivity while you are onmobility on the roads or on the
rails.
Shikher Bhandary (09:31):
Yeah, we were just reading through it and Jed
and I had that aha moment, whichy'all might have had two, three
years ago.
Some of those ideas wheresuddenly it just clicks where
you're like, yeah, obviously.
We have a satellite, we have acellular, like being able to
toggle.
seamlessly between them tofigure out, okay, maybe during
(09:52):
the day we need more of onepillar and during nights we need
more of the satellite pillar.
Damien Garot (09:58):
It is true that we get often the comments saying
this idea is kind of obvious.
How come others didn't have ityet?
And that's true.
Maybe there is a reason for thatis that Hassan and I are both
space engineers.
And we're not that younganymore.
Let's be clear.
So we know that for the spacesector.
(10:21):
To integrate itself, in today'sworld, in today's economy, it
cannot be a standalone solution.
It has to work with othertechnologies, other wireless
technologies, such as cellular,such as wifi.
So we basically had ingrainedalready in our engineering
culture, the fact that spaceAlready had to embed itself with
(10:45):
other technologies, and this iswhere this idea of having hybrid
solutions across all differenttechnologies was born.
Jed Tabernero (10:54):
Yeah, I was trying to conceptualize how to
explain this because my wife theother day was asking me, Oh, who
are the guests are going to havenext?
We have it.
Mostly every weekends and I tryto explain to my wife how these
technologies worked before thecall so that I have a clear idea
of how to explain it in layman'sterms during the call and an
(11:15):
anecdote that I came up with wasconnectivity as you being in a
car driving in a lane.
Technically, if I were drivingin one lane and my connectivity
is me relying on, let's say, WiFi is one of those lanes, and
you're driving on this one ofthese lanes that represents Wi
(11:35):
Fi, the solution that you'reoffering basically says, listen.
You have now a ton moredifferent lanes.
How do you leverage all of themto get to your destination
faster or better or smoother inthat experience?
That was the way I thought ofexplaining it to my wife.
I don't know if that anecdotemakes sense at all, but that was
(11:55):
helpful for me to think, Okay,yes, they exist, but how do we
connect the two into a one lanehighway that has, five different
lanes?
And how do we leverage whichones to go swerve through
traffic in a way that makessense for connectivity?
Damien Garot (12:07):
Do, do you have for this?
Because I'd like to I'd like topick it up actually to use it
because honestly,
Jed Tabernero (12:13):
please, please use it.
Please use it.
Damien Garot (12:15):
the idea that we going now to the granularity of
using a different line.
Given the type of application,some applications required that
super reliable spaceconnectivity that you can get.
Okay, fair enough.
You'll have it.
Say, think about safetyapplications, for instance.
Others, when the car needs to beupdated, it's basically a
(12:37):
smartphone today, right?
So it needs to be updated, butit doesn't need to be updated
instantly.
It can be updated.
over a week, something likethat.
So for instance, by using Wi Fiwhenever it's available on a
commercial parking lot at thecharging station, the gas
station.
So this is where we alsobringing some intelligence in
the system, making sure that youwill be having the right lane,
(13:03):
the right pipe.
for the right application.
Jed Tabernero (13:07):
Beautiful.
Yeah I often have issues.
So I drive a car today thatneeds to get updated quite a
bit.
It's a Tesla and I can onlyupdate it if I'm connected to
wifi.
And I live in Jersey City.
It's quite a populated area.
I can't connect to my wifi allthe time.
It's very difficult forever tofind parking if I am connected
to wifi.
(13:28):
So I'll go months withoutupdating the software.
In my Tesla, depending on whereI'm parked, so it's very
difficult.
That's a problem that's verynascent to us.
Damien Garot (13:35):
The friction of today's solutions to update
cars, it's actually on thedrivers, on the passengers to
fix this.
How come the car should be takecare of itself?
Shikher Bhandary (13:47):
Yeah.
Damien Garot (13:48):
simple as this.
We're paying, we're paying heftyamounts of money for these cars.
How come they're not taking careof themselves yet?
Jed Tabernero (13:56):
What's interesting is that I've paid 12
bucks a month now for premiumconnectivity for my car and I
can't update it while I'm on theroad, or even parked at some
random place.
Hassan Aouisse (14:04):
And a good technology is when it works and
you just forget about it.
As Damien said, it'sfrictionless.
You don't anymore think you willbe connected or not.
It's just there, wherever youare.
Shikher Bhandary (14:16):
Congrats on the launch of steer, which is,
really cool.
We'd love to understand the mixbetween the hardware and the
software in your product.
Because I do know steer is.
Aimed at more B2B softwareproduct, but I'm assuming if it
is a car, you would have to havesome amount of hardware because
(14:36):
it's probably retrofitted.
So a car is driving and you havesome system that sits on the car
that's toggling effortlesslybetween cellular, Wi Fi and
space.
Hassan Aouisse (14:50):
So most of the cars that come out of factories
since some time now, they areequipped with what we call a
telematics unit.
So it's basically a cellularterminal that's also capable of
Wi Fi and potentially in thenear future that will also be
extended to be able to connectto satellites.
(15:10):
And those equipment comesalready with integrated compute
capability.
Steer is a software suite andit's designed in an optimized
way.
So it can be easily integratedon the type of compute that's
already available on vehiclestoday.
So same thing, it's frictionlessfor the automotive industry to
(15:34):
adopt the software, of course,there is some.
integration that's needed intheir software architecture, but
it can run on the hardwarethat's currently being produced
by OEMs, by car manufacturers.
I
Damien Garot (15:49):
And as pointed out, Hassan, it is clear that
the next generation of cars willbe satellite equipped.
And there are two reasons forthat.
The first one is that now thelatest generation of phones are
able to directly connect tosatellite constellations.
And that's amazing.
Shikher Bhandary (16:05):
it's the 9 1 1 on iPhones these days the 9 1 1
if you don't have network Itstill goes to the satellite.
So yeah,
Damien Garot (16:14):
You'll go directly to satellite, you can call for
help.
Not called yet.
With Apple, you can send somemessages, but other technologies
are out there making sure thatyou can use satellites to, to
establish a call from your, uh,smartphone.
So that's an amazing technologythat will be deployed in the
next generation of cars.
The second reason.
(16:34):
is more of of the topology ofthe networks and what means
topology is that basicallysatellite systems are really
well in design to provideconnectivity in the low density
area.
Think about the countryside,think about deserts, think about
place where you like to gohiking, for instance.
(16:56):
This is where satellites isfantastic.
At the same time If you want touse satellites in city centers
in, in, in Jersey City, or inNew York, you have urban
canyons.
There is no point trying to usea satellite.
System at that time, becausefirst of all, you don't see much
of the sky and to be able toestablish a connection to a
(17:17):
satellite from a car or yourphone, you need to see the sky.
You need to be able to seebasically the locations where
the site will be.
So that's the first element.
And second in city centers,well, there is plenty of 5g,
plenty of wifi.
So yeah, clearly it'snonsensical trying to use
satellite solutions when Wi Fior 5G is widely deployed.
(17:38):
So that's also where it comes somuch into uh, logical and
actually well balanced solutionsto, to use satellites in
addition to the otherterrestrial technology of 4G, 5G
and Wi Fi.
Good.
All these togethers, and we'retalking here about the existing
networks, well, you can alreadyprovide a hundred percent
(18:00):
coverage for your car or yourphone.
It's amazing.
Jed Tabernero (18:06):
That's really interesting.
And, I guess to provide personalanecdote in my space, we now
have so my job is separated andin three really important
sectors.
One is the satellitemanufacturing.
One is the ground gatewaystations that we're building
near AWS data centers.
(18:27):
And the third one is thecustomer terminals.
My gosh, that is a largelycomplex piece that I haven't
even sunk my teeth into forcustomer terminals.
And you just talked about howcars and phones are able to
communicate with satellites.
In the technologies that arecoming out today.
But for us, when we're thinkingabout when somebody asked me
(18:48):
okay, why would somebody usesatellite?
Why would somebody use yourbusiness right for Kuiper?
And I was telling him, Oh, we'relooking at rural areas.
We're looking at very specificplaces on the planet that don't
have access to the Internet.
But whenever I think about it,as I matched it to the solution
that you have, We are so laserfocused on that population that
(19:10):
is outside of where copper islaid out, right?
Like in the 40s, 50s, 60s, wehad a ton of sub subsidies from
the government to be able tocreate these networks and this
infrastructure for broadbandthat we have today.
And I have to always segment themarket and say, no, no, no, no.
We're only doing the ruralareas.
We're only doing these.
Separate, populations.
I just think it's such abrilliant way to to think about,
(19:33):
how do you utilize thetechnologies that exist today?
I wanted to ask we haveobviously three massive
components here, similar to whatwe have in our space.
The terminal, we have theterrestrial network and we have
the constellation.
Can you shine a little bit oflight on what's going on in that
space for a company?
How are you creating thesepartnerships with folks who have
(19:53):
constellations?
How are you creating thesepartnerships with a terrestrial
network?
Because I can tell you for uswe're manufacturing everything,
right?
So we're starting from rawmaterial and to get there, it
took us so long and it's pretty,pretty difficult to think about
this problem as a whole.
Can you shed some light on howthat's working in your space?
I'm super interested from apersonal space as well.
(20:14):
Maybe a big question.
So
Damien Garot (20:16):
and I guess one way we can describe ourselves is
that we are this missing linkbetween players that have been
barely talking to each other andwhen they've been talking to
each other, they don't have thesame.
They don't have the samelanguage.
So you spoke about terminal forinstance, right?
The solid terminal.
We all know what it is It's anantenna.
(20:36):
It's a modem.
So you get internet If you talkabout a terminal for a car
manufacturer or truckmanufacturers He's thinking or
she thinking about a place wherethe truck will dock To deliver
the goods.
See, the words themselves aredifferent.
They have different meanings.
And this is this is where wespend so much time making sure
(21:00):
that we could be understood fromthe space community the telecom
community, but also theautomotive community, someone
that is not here today.
And obviously we'll be talkingabout the team, but let me just
yeah.
Just emphasis here that we havea third co founder.
She's called Anela and she'sfor, she's the former director
(21:21):
of connectivity for the Porschebrand, for the Porsche car
brand.
And obviously together, we'vebeen able then to create this
common language, this commonvision, making sure that we can
talk to car manufacturers toconvince them about what space
can bring to them and whatsoftware can steer, like steer,
can fix.
(21:42):
As an issues for them becausethey need to update the car, but
it's full of friction as Jebexplained.
And we've been also able to talkto the satellite guys and the
the cellular people because.
Also there, being able tocommunicate with the car
industry is very difficult.
It's so different the way ofthinking, the timeline the,
(22:05):
this, the scrutiny on thetechnology and the way to think
from the customer is reallysomething that is different from
one industry to the next.
So this is where the fact thatwithin the core team, we have
people from the space sector,from The telecom sector, but
also obviously from theautomotive sector is really
making the difference.
Hassan Aouisse (22:25):
quite agree with the fact that the complexity is
in the terminal and as an inputto that is the use cases of each
vertical automotive needs aredifferent than other land
mobility sectors andunderstanding those needs, those
requirements, the expectations.
The roadmap as well is veryimportant.
(22:47):
Otherwise we will be havingthroughput and capacity but that
we cannot deliver to the carbecause it's not designed the
right way.
So terminal is a criticalcomponent because that's what
links the user.
The
Shikher Bhandary (23:01):
got it.
I go on a lot of hikes and Inever get sick.
That's constant.
I have to wait until I get backto my car for me to get signal.
But what I do experience, Inever have zero signal, but I
have one bar, right?
And that's not enough for me toget what I want.
You mentioned about having dataanalysis within your platform
(23:24):
and system.
Is that something that you'relooking at where, Hey, it's not
like This one customer isgetting zero LTE or cellular
signal.
They're getting like one bar.
And in this case, the satelliteis offering two or three bars.
So can we toggle effortlesslybetween the two?
(23:46):
Because it's never zero and one.
It is it's in the middle whereit's hard to decipher which
latency to choose between thedifferent networks.
Hassan Aouisse (23:56):
selection of network is a complex equation of
multiple variables.
One of them is the signalquality.
The other one is the the qualityof the network itself at at the.
Packet level how it handlespackets.
There is also what type ofapplications are running as
Damian mentioned that defineswhich network fit and then There
(24:20):
is also the variation of time ofthe quality of experience on the
different networks There aretimes it's congestion.
There's times that are Thatthere are less congestion.
And these are all the elementsthat are taken into account.
And satellite has also itslimitations when it comes to
areas with within forest, forexample, or where you have
(24:43):
obstacles so that also needs tobe taken into account when you
decide is it the right time tomove to satellite or it's better
to continue living with Anaverage that is their
connectivity.
So there are a lot of variablesthat I've taken into account and
it's all coming to making theswitch over between networks
completely seamless because itwill happen very often.
(25:06):
It could happen between 10 to 20times, even more on a 30 minutes
drive.
Jed Tabernero (25:13):
beautiful thing is this is something that we
don't have to let the customersunderstand.
So it's something the problemthat you were solving, just
avoids from us having to know.
Okay, it's using satellite.
Now it's using Wi Fi.
It's using all this stuff.
So it's so important that wehave all these lanes figured out
that we seamlessly communicatewith each other.
And to your point, you have tohave experts in the space to be
(25:35):
able to, deal with all of thesedifferent complexities in these
different spaces.
For us, yeah.
We have separate expertise perline of business when it comes
to dealing with the government,when it comes to dealing with
cellular providers.
How does this role ofpartnerships and collaborations
play into, building what youneed today?
Damien Garot (25:54):
It's essential to build a strong network of
partners.
It's, there is no way we canmake sure that steer as a
software can be used onto thenext generation of cars.
If we're not able to set up longterm relationship with players
that are.
A gazillion times bigger thanStellar.
So it's it's really somethingthat is I believe that so it's
(26:17):
essential for Stellar toachieve.
And I'm glad that within theteam, we have people that do
understand and value also thisit's.
It's been helping us a lot inmaking sure that right now in
professional associations suchas the 5GA, the 5G Automotive
Associations, where you have thecar manufacturers of the world,
(26:38):
but also the cellular operatorsof the world, and also the the
Nokia, the Ericsson, the Huaweiof the world coming also.
We are there.
Probably one of the fewSatellite related players that
are there, making sure that wecan explain what Satellite can
bring and making sure that wecan establish these partnerships
that are then helping thecommunity to design what would
(27:03):
be the requirement for aSatellite terminal onto a car
that would be fit with therequirement of the automotive
industry, for instance.
Where we could together envisagethe way to open services in
certain area or address certainapplications such as
entertainment or the updates ofthe car, all these kind of
(27:24):
things can be done there.
So, it is to me, partnerships isreally absolutely essential for
Stellar to succeed.
Hassan and myself, such as Anelawe've been having this.
Part of our DNA from the get go.
I don't know, for instance, atPorsche made this deal with this
partnership with Apple to bringnatively the Apple CarPlay into
(27:46):
the Taycan, which is theelectric Porsche.
So that, that was really a firstand she's been driving this,
sorry for the pun.
You know, masterfully, I work atwhich is satellite operator in
Europe.
I strike this deal with Facebookin 2015 to bring broadband
internet to Africa viasatellite.
(28:09):
And that was a first also forthe space sector to be able to
establish a partnership withthis 800 pound gorilla from the
West Coast.
It was absolutely fascinatingand Hassan will tell you in a
minute the amazing partnershiphe's been able to establish in
East Korea.
So it's really something that weunderstood as the co founder and
(28:33):
this is also the way we've beenable to think, Okay, we are
startups.
We are only the three of us.
We only have a Microsoft teamlicense.
We're in the middle of thepandemic right now.
How in the hell do we think thatwe're going to be succeeding?
Partnerships.
Hassan Aouisse (28:49):
And I think the other element is just as we say,
let's use cellular and Wi Fi andcomplete it with satellite is
not to reinvent the wheel.
So if there are other companies,other technologies that already
exist that fits a need, let'spartner and focus on something
that doesn't exist yet that weare inventing.
(29:11):
Which is the steer and thisorchestration software that
allows to maximize the benefitfrom all these technologies
together.
Shikher Bhandary (29:18):
As we're wrapping, I can't believe it's
the end of 2023 already.
It seems since the pandemic,every year is going 60 percent
faster, but that's a differentpodcast conversation.
I just wanted to ask you goinginto the new year as subject
matter experts in this fieldacross multiple industries,
right?
What are some trends that you'rereally excited about that's
(29:41):
going to help Stellar?
Hassan Aouisse (29:43):
So we think that the automotive industry is the
next big space for satellitecommunications.
So satellite communications needautomotive industry to, to
expand automotive industry needalso satellite to be able to do
its next.
Big transformationdigitalization and, and
autonomy.
And I think, so that, that willdefinitely give a big help to
(30:06):
space to expand.
The other element that is veryimportant as well is
standardization.
So the extension of 5G tosatellites or 5G non terrestrial
networks.
Is that other another criticalelement in the equation of the
next step of telecoms and spacein particular, and so rather
promising the fact that thestandardization bodies are
(30:29):
really pushing this forward andwe're seeing release over
release the expansion of thestandardization towards higher
throughput and more use cases.
Damien Garot (30:40):
And 2024 will be an amazing year for Stellar
because we heard loud and clear,uh, Jeb Shaker complaining about
the fact that they're notconnected where they're on the
train or in the back of a car.
So why we obviously mindful thatthe car for the car industry to
integrate our software.
(31:00):
It's a midterm process.
It takes a lot of time, from themoment a car manufacturers
decide to build a car to themoment that the first car is out
of the production line, it's anumber of years, three to five,
give or take.
Which means that It will be alittle bit long for that, but
what won't be long is for us touse our software and to put it
(31:22):
in a box so it will be yourrouter, but when you're on the
move, it will be something thatyou can plug into your car or
you can plug on in the train carso that you can use it wherever
you go.
And it's a product that we, wecall global that, that will be
unveiled.
In Las Vegas at the CS 24.
(31:43):
Indeed, the technology, thecomplexity.
With Hassan together, we met atSkybridge.
So we've been going through allthis complexity.
And really, there are threeparts.
When it comes to satelliteconstellations, the first one is
a technology, obviously thesecond one is the market, making
sure that you designing a systemso that you're actually
(32:05):
addressing the use case of thecustomer.
And for the car industry, thefirst thing that, we getting it,
that's, how power hungry is yourequipment, how heavy is it?
What kind of temperature can yousustain?
So it's not really about thethroughput.
It's really more about, thethings that are so important for
electric cars in the future,stuff like that.
And obviously the third part isfor the for the financing of all
(32:27):
this.
And so really right now theconstellation that we see
unfolding.
are really promising and we hopethat they will be able to bridge
the gap in terms of technologyto make sure that at some point
we'll see broadband into carsthe same way we see broadband at
home, right?
It's really this.
Jed Tabernero (32:45):
a great introduction into this space
we'd like to give the floor opento you both to just shout out to
your team shout out to the folkswho you want to partner with
shout out to the places whereyou'd like to put more heads
into you know this is a greatopportunity to just get into our
audience
Hassan Aouisse (33:00):
What we achieved so far, it's thanks to the great
team we have it's great team ofprofessional experts, but also
of personalities and individualsand that, and both are
important.
When you are building such a achallenging and exciting
product.
And we will be expanding in nextyear.
It's one of also the elementsthat will keep us busy too.
(33:23):
I would say Stellar is a greatplace to, to work in.
We have a great team, a greatthe team general environment and
energy
Damien Garot (33:32):
Join the ride.
It's going to be amazing.
It's a bunch of fun folks.
Let me tell you, uh, I don'tfeel like working at all.
It's a, it's an amazing ride.
Shikher Bhandary (33:42):
That's awesome.
We've really, really enjoyedthis call.
We hope to do this many moretimes in the future.
Wishing you all the success andcannot wait for all the
incredible things coming fromStellar in the next coming
months, coming years.
Jed Tabernero (33:57):
hour is not enough to talk about the space
industry i very much appreciateit i mean
And that's a wrap on today'scosmic journey with Damion,
gavel, and us on always.
Louise from stellar.
A huge, thank you to bothfounders for navigating us
through the galaxies ofconnectivity and showing us how
close the future really is.
(34:21):
So our listeners, don't forgetto connect with us on
thc-pod.com.
Or things have changedpodcast.com.
Join the conversation, shareyour thoughts and maybe even
your own stellar experienceswith connectivity.
As always.
Stay curious.
(34:41):
The information and opinions expressed in this
episode are for informationalpurposes only.
And are not intended asfinancial investment or
professional advice.
Always consult with a qualifiedprofessional before making any
decisions based on the conceptprovided.
Neither the podcast, nor iscreators are responsible for any
(35:02):
actions taken as a result oflistening to this episode.
Whether you're on the road, Traveling from
home, heading to your vacationdestination, or simply commuting
to work?
Have you ever felt thefrustration of unreliable
internet?
As the world strives forincreased connectivity, slow and
spotty internet on the go hasbecome all too common.
(00:23):
Well, today Podcast, we'rejoined by Damien Garreau, CEO,
and Hassan Owais, CTO ofStellar.
A deep tech startup on a missionto perfect internet while on the
move.
Damien Garot (00:37):
I just know that I can simply not have.
a quality discussion with myparents when they're on the
ride.
Hassan Aouisse (00:45):
The land mobility remains the area where
there is no solutions up to nowthat really covers the problem
of disconnection while on theroad,
Shikher Bhandary (00:56):
Stellar is reshaping this landscape of
connectivity with arevolutionary approach that
integrates cellular, Wi Fi, andsatellite networks.
This ensures a seamless andreliable internet experience
regardless of your location.
Hassan Aouisse (01:13):
There is no solutions up to now that covers
the problem of disconnectionwhile on the road, because it's
not just about what's theservice availability, but also
how many times you getdisconnected over an hour or 30
minutes drive.
And that's what Stellar issolving for the land mobility
(01:33):
sector.
The next step is to combine themtogether is that's where we'll
bring that value to solve thelast problem
Shikher Bhandary (01:42):
So join us as we explore how Stellar is
tackling the challenges oftoday's digital divide and
reshaping the future ofconnectivity.
Jed Tabernero (02:28):
Come 2023 Amazon released their new return to
office policy, which had a tonof us exactly.
Oh, a ton of us in my generationand my work and my team
thinking, Oh no, we've all movedout to the boonies, to the
suburbs.
And now we're having to comeback to the office.
(02:50):
One huge thing I had to do wasactually commute to Washington
DC.
That's more than a 200 miledistance from my home.
And my office that's huge, butthankfully the Northeast
regional train Amtrak, I neverthought I would be saying this
Amtrak was offering train ridesfrom Newark to Washington, DC.
(03:16):
Amazing.
The only problem was the traintook four and a half hours, four
and a half hours.
So I started doing that aroundMay, June.
And I realized, okay, my workallows me to work from home some
points of the time.
So maybe I could just work onthe train.
No time wasted four and a halfhours working on the train.
(03:40):
Only the biggest problem Iencountered was Let's just say
the internet was less thanstellar.
It got me thinking, there'sProbably a lot of people doing
this the most used train line inthe united states is the
northeast regional train linefrom boston all the way down to
dc There's millions of peoplethat use this on a yearly basis,
(04:04):
so trying to make the best of mycommute I just found it really
frustrating that I didn't havegreat internet, wasn't able to
continuously take calls, wasn'table to continue to do my work.
And that's exactly why I'm superexcited about our guest today.
Today we've got Damien Gareau.
And Hassan Aouiz, bothrepresenting the company called
(04:27):
Stellar, our first space companyin Things Have Changed podcast.
I am so excited.
They're doing the incrediblework of providing reliable
connectivity solutions,combining cellular, Wi Fi, and
satellite.
They might just have a solutionfor our problem.
Damien Hassan, welcome to ThingsHave Changed podcast.
(04:48):
We're super excited to have youhere.
Damien Garot (04:50):
Thanks a lot.
I'm super excited as well.
Jed Tabernero (04:52):
So just to kick things off, I'm curious, how did
you both identify this gap inthe market and really what
sparked the idea to solve it?
Damien Garot (05:03):
It's a very good question, and I must say before
answering to your question thatyour testimony is something that
we hear every day.
Each time we do a pitch, westart by asking people, so how
is it on the train or in theback of a Uber?
How is it when you try to do aFaceTime with your family and
friends?
And they just hate it.
(05:23):
It's so frustrating.
You say the word yourself,frustration.
So I will start with my personalexperience and Hassan, please
chip in.
For me, I'm from thecountryside.
I'm a countryside boy.
So I know what it is to feel thedigital divide between the
countryside and the citycenters.
And.
Even today, when I call myparents, so I live near Paris,
(05:45):
but when I call my parents inthe countryside and when I hear
the engine of the car humming inthe background, I'm not even
trying anymore to have adiscussion.
I'm just saying, okay, I'll callyou right back.
And I will wait for an hour forthem to arrive wherever they
are.
I even don't know where they'regoing.
I just know that I can simplynot have.
(06:07):
a quality discussion with myparents when they're on the
ride.
It's simple as this.
Hassan Aouisse (06:12):
From my side, satellite has been connecting
well and solving the problem ofconnectivity for other mobility
sectors, maritime as well as forair on board aircraft on which I
worked for several years andthe.
The land mobility remains thearea where there is no solutions
(06:32):
up to now that really covers theproblem of disconnection while
on the road, because it's notjust about what's the service
availability, but also how manytimes you get disconnected over
an hour or 30 minutes drive.
And that's what Stellar issolving for the land mobility
sector.
Shikher Bhandary (06:53):
just on that, like you mentioned, Damien, I
was literally on a call with mymother who's in India and she's
visiting my grandmother in thevillage and because they were
traveling, I couldn't speak toher.
She's like, Oh, the connectionis bad.
So I would say 90 percent of thepopulation has experienced
connectivity problems whiletraveling.
(07:14):
So jumping into the Stellarsolution, I know you have
mentioned how there are suchpillars.
You have the cellular, you havethe wifi, you have the
satellite.
So I would love to understand,at least in a layman's term, how
your hybrid network works.
It's really complicated as youmight know.
Damien Garot (07:35):
You're right.
The pillars, wifi is a greatpillar at home.
You want to have reliable wifi.
Cellular is also great such assatellite, but while the pillars
they're also silos.
And, it's, you still don't get5G from space.
You still don't get an antennathat can go from space to Wi Fi
(07:55):
seamlessly.
This ability to break throughthe silos and to make it
seamless.
So at the end, you and I do noteven know where the pipe is
coming from.
Is it from the ground or is itfrom the sky actually?
Nobody needs to know.
All you need to know is that youcan rely on that solution.
So that's the way we started theidea on Stellar, making sure
(08:19):
that you would be connectedwherever you are.
COVID really impacted the way weare using connectivity today.
We are using internet today.
Right now, when I call myparents, they insist on having a
FaceTime.
Voice is not enough.
And it's, it is clear that thisis a future making sure that we
can be connected with thesevehicle, which is really part of
(08:43):
our everyday lives, but also forthe vehicle themselves that are
truly smartphone on wheels,they're the line of compute in
vehicles is huge these days andthey're only growing.
So.
They do need to have thisconnectivity the way we have at
work at home.
Hassan Aouisse (08:59):
And from the technology perspective, if you
take each one of thesetechnologies, satellite,
cellular, and wifi, they.
They had time to maturate.
They've been there for tens ofyears, and I would say they are
reaching the maximum off of whatthey can deliver, and each one
have its advantages.
The next step is to combine themtogether is that's where we'll
(09:21):
bring that value to solve thelast problem, which is this
connectivity while you are onmobility on the roads or on the
rails.
Shikher Bhandary (09:31):
Yeah, we were just reading through it and Jed
and I had that aha moment, whichy'all might have had two, three
years ago.
Some of those ideas wheresuddenly it just clicks where
you're like, yeah, obviously.
We have a satellite, we have acellular, like being able to
toggle.
seamlessly between them tofigure out, okay, maybe during
(09:52):
the day we need more of onepillar and during nights we need
more of the satellite pillar.
Damien Garot (09:58):
It is true that we get often the comments saying
this idea is kind of obvious.
How come others didn't have ityet?
And that's true.
Maybe there is a reason for thatis that Hassan and I are both
space engineers.
And we're not that younganymore.
Let's be clear.
So we know that for the spacesector.
(10:21):
To integrate itself, in today'sworld, in today's economy, it
cannot be a standalone solution.
It has to work with othertechnologies, other wireless
technologies, such as cellular,such as wifi.
So we basically had ingrainedalready in our engineering
culture, the fact that spaceAlready had to embed itself with
(10:45):
other technologies, and this iswhere this idea of having hybrid
solutions across all differenttechnologies was born.
Jed Tabernero (10:54):
Yeah, I was trying to conceptualize how to
explain this because my wife theother day was asking me, Oh, who
are the guests are going to havenext?
We have it.
Mostly every weekends and I tryto explain to my wife how these
technologies worked before thecall so that I have a clear idea
of how to explain it in layman'sterms during the call and an
(11:15):
anecdote that I came up with wasconnectivity as you being in a
car driving in a lane.
Technically, if I were drivingin one lane and my connectivity
is me relying on, let's say, WiFi is one of those lanes, and
you're driving on this one ofthese lanes that represents Wi
(11:35):
Fi, the solution that you'reoffering basically says, listen.
You have now a ton moredifferent lanes.
How do you leverage all of themto get to your destination
faster or better or smoother inthat experience?
That was the way I thought ofexplaining it to my wife.
I don't know if that anecdotemakes sense at all, but that was
(11:55):
helpful for me to think, Okay,yes, they exist, but how do we
connect the two into a one lanehighway that has, five different
lanes?
And how do we leverage whichones to go swerve through
traffic in a way that makessense for connectivity?
Damien Garot (12:07):
Do, do you have for this?
Because I'd like to I'd like topick it up actually to use it
because honestly,
Jed Tabernero (12:13):
please, please use it.
Please use it.
Damien Garot (12:15):
the idea that we going now to the granularity of
using a different line.
Given the type of application,some applications required that
super reliable spaceconnectivity that you can get.
Okay, fair enough.
You'll have it.
Say, think about safetyapplications, for instance.
Others, when the car needs to beupdated, it's basically a
(12:37):
smartphone today, right?
So it needs to be updated, butit doesn't need to be updated
instantly.
It can be updated.
over a week, something likethat.
So for instance, by using Wi Fiwhenever it's available on a
commercial parking lot at thecharging station, the gas
station.
So this is where we alsobringing some intelligence in
the system, making sure that youwill be having the right lane,
(13:03):
the right pipe.
for the right application.
Jed Tabernero (13:07):
Beautiful.
Yeah I often have issues.
So I drive a car today thatneeds to get updated quite a
bit.
It's a Tesla and I can onlyupdate it if I'm connected to
wifi.
And I live in Jersey City.
It's quite a populated area.
I can't connect to my wifi allthe time.
It's very difficult forever tofind parking if I am connected
to wifi.
(13:28):
So I'll go months withoutupdating the software.
In my Tesla, depending on whereI'm parked, so it's very
difficult.
That's a problem that's verynascent to us.
Damien Garot (13:35):
The friction of today's solutions to update
cars, it's actually on thedrivers, on the passengers to
fix this.
How come the car should be takecare of itself?
Shikher Bhandary (13:47):
Yeah.
Damien Garot (13:48):
simple as this.
We're paying, we're paying heftyamounts of money for these cars.
How come they're not taking careof themselves yet?
Jed Tabernero (13:56):
What's interesting is that I've paid 12
bucks a month now for premiumconnectivity for my car and I
can't update it while I'm on theroad, or even parked at some
random place.
Hassan Aouisse (14:04):
And a good technology is when it works and
you just forget about it.
As Damien said, it'sfrictionless.
You don't anymore think you willbe connected or not.
It's just there, wherever youare.
Shikher Bhandary (14:16):
Congrats on the launch of steer, which is,
really cool.
We'd love to understand the mixbetween the hardware and the
software in your product.
Because I do know steer is.
Aimed at more B2B softwareproduct, but I'm assuming if it
is a car, you would have to havesome amount of hardware because
(14:36):
it's probably retrofitted.
So a car is driving and you havesome system that sits on the car
that's toggling effortlesslybetween cellular, Wi Fi and
space.
Hassan Aouisse (14:50):
So most of the cars that come out of factories
since some time now, they areequipped with what we call a
telematics unit.
So it's basically a cellularterminal that's also capable of
Wi Fi and potentially in thenear future that will also be
extended to be able to connectto satellites.
(15:10):
And those equipment comesalready with integrated compute
capability.
Steer is a software suite andit's designed in an optimized
way.
So it can be easily integratedon the type of compute that's
already available on vehiclestoday.
So same thing, it's frictionlessfor the automotive industry to
(15:34):
adopt the software, of course,there is some.
integration that's needed intheir software architecture, but
it can run on the hardwarethat's currently being produced
by OEMs, by car manufacturers.
I
Damien Garot (15:49):
And as pointed out, Hassan, it is clear that
the next generation of cars willbe satellite equipped.
And there are two reasons forthat.
The first one is that now thelatest generation of phones are
able to directly connect tosatellite constellations.
And that's amazing.
Shikher Bhandary (16:05):
it's the 9 1 1 on iPhones these days the 9 1 1
if you don't have network Itstill goes to the satellite.
So yeah,
Damien Garot (16:14):
You'll go directly to satellite, you can call for
help.
Not called yet.
With Apple, you can send somemessages, but other technologies
are out there making sure thatyou can use satellites to, to
establish a call from your, uh,smartphone.
So that's an amazing technologythat will be deployed in the
next generation of cars.
The second reason.
(16:34):
is more of of the topology ofthe networks and what means
topology is that basicallysatellite systems are really
well in design to provideconnectivity in the low density
area.
Think about the countryside,think about deserts, think about
place where you like to gohiking, for instance.
(16:56):
This is where satellites isfantastic.
At the same time If you want touse satellites in city centers
in, in, in Jersey City, or inNew York, you have urban
canyons.
There is no point trying to usea satellite.
System at that time, becausefirst of all, you don't see much
of the sky and to be able toestablish a connection to a
(17:17):
satellite from a car or yourphone, you need to see the sky.
You need to be able to seebasically the locations where
the site will be.
So that's the first element.
And second in city centers,well, there is plenty of 5g,
plenty of wifi.
So yeah, clearly it'snonsensical trying to use
satellite solutions when Wi Fior 5G is widely deployed.
(17:38):
So that's also where it comes somuch into uh, logical and
actually well balanced solutionsto, to use satellites in
addition to the otherterrestrial technology of 4G, 5G
and Wi Fi.
Good.
All these togethers, and we'retalking here about the existing
networks, well, you can alreadyprovide a hundred percent
(18:00):
coverage for your car or yourphone.
It's amazing.
Jed Tabernero (18:06):
That's really interesting.
And, I guess to provide personalanecdote in my space, we now
have so my job is separated andin three really important
sectors.
One is the satellitemanufacturing.
One is the ground gatewaystations that we're building
near AWS data centers.
(18:27):
And the third one is thecustomer terminals.
My gosh, that is a largelycomplex piece that I haven't
even sunk my teeth into forcustomer terminals.
And you just talked about howcars and phones are able to
communicate with satellites.
In the technologies that arecoming out today.
But for us, when we're thinkingabout when somebody asked me
(18:48):
okay, why would somebody usesatellite?
Why would somebody use yourbusiness right for Kuiper?
And I was telling him, Oh, we'relooking at rural areas.
We're looking at very specificplaces on the planet that don't
have access to the Internet.
But whenever I think about it,as I matched it to the solution
that you have, We are so laserfocused on that population that
(19:10):
is outside of where copper islaid out, right?
Like in the 40s, 50s, 60s, wehad a ton of sub subsidies from
the government to be able tocreate these networks and this
infrastructure for broadbandthat we have today.
And I have to always segment themarket and say, no, no, no, no.
We're only doing the ruralareas.
We're only doing these.
Separate, populations.
I just think it's such abrilliant way to to think about,
(19:33):
how do you utilize thetechnologies that exist today?
I wanted to ask we haveobviously three massive
components here, similar to whatwe have in our space.
The terminal, we have theterrestrial network and we have
the constellation.
Can you shine a little bit oflight on what's going on in that
space for a company?
How are you creating thesepartnerships with folks who have
(19:53):
constellations?
How are you creating thesepartnerships with a terrestrial
network?
Because I can tell you for uswe're manufacturing everything,
right?
So we're starting from rawmaterial and to get there, it
took us so long and it's pretty,pretty difficult to think about
this problem as a whole.
Can you shed some light on howthat's working in your space?
I'm super interested from apersonal space as well.
(20:14):
Maybe a big question.
So
Damien Garot (20:16):
and I guess one way we can describe ourselves is
that we are this missing linkbetween players that have been
barely talking to each other andwhen they've been talking to
each other, they don't have thesame.
They don't have the samelanguage.
So you spoke about terminal forinstance, right?
The solid terminal.
We all know what it is It's anantenna.
(20:36):
It's a modem.
So you get internet If you talkabout a terminal for a car
manufacturer or truckmanufacturers He's thinking or
she thinking about a place wherethe truck will dock To deliver
the goods.
See, the words themselves aredifferent.
They have different meanings.
And this is this is where wespend so much time making sure
(21:00):
that we could be understood fromthe space community the telecom
community, but also theautomotive community, someone
that is not here today.
And obviously we'll be talkingabout the team, but let me just
yeah.
Just emphasis here that we havea third co founder.
She's called Anela and she'sfor, she's the former director
(21:21):
of connectivity for the Porschebrand, for the Porsche car
brand.
And obviously together, we'vebeen able then to create this
common language, this commonvision, making sure that we can
talk to car manufacturers toconvince them about what space
can bring to them and whatsoftware can steer, like steer,
can fix.
(21:42):
As an issues for them becausethey need to update the car, but
it's full of friction as Jebexplained.
And we've been also able to talkto the satellite guys and the
the cellular people because.
Also there, being able tocommunicate with the car
industry is very difficult.
It's so different the way ofthinking, the timeline the,
(22:05):
this, the scrutiny on thetechnology and the way to think
from the customer is reallysomething that is different from
one industry to the next.
So this is where the fact thatwithin the core team, we have
people from the space sector,from The telecom sector, but
also obviously from theautomotive sector is really
making the difference.
Hassan Aouisse (22:25):
quite agree with the fact that the complexity is
in the terminal and as an inputto that is the use cases of each
vertical automotive needs aredifferent than other land
mobility sectors andunderstanding those needs, those
requirements, the expectations.
The roadmap as well is veryimportant.
(22:47):
Otherwise we will be havingthroughput and capacity but that
we cannot deliver to the carbecause it's not designed the
right way.
So terminal is a criticalcomponent because that's what
links the user.
The
Shikher Bhandary (23:01):
got it.
I go on a lot of hikes and Inever get sick.
That's constant.
I have to wait until I get backto my car for me to get signal.
But what I do experience, Inever have zero signal, but I
have one bar, right?
And that's not enough for me toget what I want.
You mentioned about having dataanalysis within your platform
(23:24):
and system.
Is that something that you'relooking at where, Hey, it's not
like This one customer isgetting zero LTE or cellular
signal.
They're getting like one bar.
And in this case, the satelliteis offering two or three bars.
So can we toggle effortlesslybetween the two?
(23:46):
Because it's never zero and one.
It is it's in the middle whereit's hard to decipher which
latency to choose between thedifferent networks.
Hassan Aouisse (23:56):
selection of network is a complex equation of
multiple variables.
One of them is the signalquality.
The other one is the the qualityof the network itself at at the.
Packet level how it handlespackets.
There is also what type ofapplications are running as
Damian mentioned that defineswhich network fit and then There
(24:20):
is also the variation of time ofthe quality of experience on the
different networks There aretimes it's congestion.
There's times that are Thatthere are less congestion.
And these are all the elementsthat are taken into account.
And satellite has also itslimitations when it comes to
areas with within forest, forexample, or where you have
(24:43):
obstacles so that also needs tobe taken into account when you
decide is it the right time tomove to satellite or it's better
to continue living with Anaverage that is their
connectivity.
So there are a lot of variablesthat I've taken into account and
it's all coming to making theswitch over between networks
completely seamless because itwill happen very often.
(25:06):
It could happen between 10 to 20times, even more on a 30 minutes
drive.
Jed Tabernero (25:13):
beautiful thing is this is something that we
don't have to let the customersunderstand.
So it's something the problemthat you were solving, just
avoids from us having to know.
Okay, it's using satellite.
Now it's using Wi Fi.
It's using all this stuff.
So it's so important that wehave all these lanes figured out
that we seamlessly communicatewith each other.
And to your point, you have tohave experts in the space to be
(25:35):
able to, deal with all of thesedifferent complexities in these
different spaces.
For us, yeah.
We have separate expertise perline of business when it comes
to dealing with the government,when it comes to dealing with
cellular providers.
How does this role ofpartnerships and collaborations
play into, building what youneed today?
Damien Garot (25:54):
It's essential to build a strong network of
partners.
It's, there is no way we canmake sure that steer as a
software can be used onto thenext generation of cars.
If we're not able to set up longterm relationship with players
that are.
A gazillion times bigger thanStellar.
So it's it's really somethingthat is I believe that so it's
(26:17):
essential for Stellar toachieve.
And I'm glad that within theteam, we have people that do
understand and value also thisit's.
It's been helping us a lot inmaking sure that right now in
professional associations suchas the 5GA, the 5G Automotive
Associations, where you have thecar manufacturers of the world,
(26:38):
but also the cellular operatorsof the world, and also the the
Nokia, the Ericsson, the Huaweiof the world coming also.
We are there.
Probably one of the fewSatellite related players that
are there, making sure that wecan explain what Satellite can
bring and making sure that wecan establish these partnerships
that are then helping thecommunity to design what would
(27:03):
be the requirement for aSatellite terminal onto a car
that would be fit with therequirement of the automotive
industry, for instance.
Where we could together envisagethe way to open services in
certain area or address certainapplications such as
entertainment or the updates ofthe car, all these kind of
(27:24):
things can be done there.
So, it is to me, partnerships isreally absolutely essential for
Stellar to succeed.
Hassan and myself, such as Anelawe've been having this.
Part of our DNA from the get go.
I don't know, for instance, atPorsche made this deal with this
partnership with Apple to bringnatively the Apple CarPlay into
(27:46):
the Taycan, which is theelectric Porsche.
So that, that was really a firstand she's been driving this,
sorry for the pun.
You know, masterfully, I work atwhich is satellite operator in
Europe.
I strike this deal with Facebookin 2015 to bring broadband
internet to Africa viasatellite.
(28:09):
And that was a first also forthe space sector to be able to
establish a partnership withthis 800 pound gorilla from the
West Coast.
It was absolutely fascinatingand Hassan will tell you in a
minute the amazing partnershiphe's been able to establish in
East Korea.
So it's really something that weunderstood as the co founder and
(28:33):
this is also the way we've beenable to think, Okay, we are
startups.
We are only the three of us.
We only have a Microsoft teamlicense.
We're in the middle of thepandemic right now.
How in the hell do we think thatwe're going to be succeeding?
Partnerships.
Hassan Aouisse (28:49):
And I think the other element is just as we say,
let's use cellular and Wi Fi andcomplete it with satellite is
not to reinvent the wheel.
So if there are other companies,other technologies that already
exist that fits a need, let'spartner and focus on something
that doesn't exist yet that weare inventing.
(29:11):
Which is the steer and thisorchestration software that
allows to maximize the benefitfrom all these technologies
together.
Shikher Bhandary (29:18):
As we're wrapping, I can't believe it's
the end of 2023 already.
It seems since the pandemic,every year is going 60 percent
faster, but that's a differentpodcast conversation.
I just wanted to ask you goinginto the new year as subject
matter experts in this fieldacross multiple industries,
right?
What are some trends that you'rereally excited about that's
(29:41):
going to help Stellar?
Hassan Aouisse (29:43):
So we think that the automotive industry is the
next big space for satellitecommunications.
So satellite communications needautomotive industry to, to
expand automotive industry needalso satellite to be able to do
its next.
Big transformationdigitalization and, and
autonomy.
And I think, so that, that willdefinitely give a big help to
(30:06):
space to expand.
The other element that is veryimportant as well is
standardization.
So the extension of 5G tosatellites or 5G non terrestrial
networks.
Is that other another criticalelement in the equation of the
next step of telecoms and spacein particular, and so rather
promising the fact that thestandardization bodies are
(30:29):
really pushing this forward andwe're seeing release over
release the expansion of thestandardization towards higher
throughput and more use cases.
Damien Garot (30:40):
And 2024 will be an amazing year for Stellar
because we heard loud and clear,uh, Jeb Shaker complaining about
the fact that they're notconnected where they're on the
train or in the back of a car.
So why we obviously mindful thatthe car for the car industry to
integrate our software.
(31:00):
It's a midterm process.
It takes a lot of time, from themoment a car manufacturers
decide to build a car to themoment that the first car is out
of the production line, it's anumber of years, three to five,
give or take.
Which means that It will be alittle bit long for that, but
what won't be long is for us touse our software and to put it
(31:22):
in a box so it will be yourrouter, but when you're on the
move, it will be something thatyou can plug into your car or
you can plug on in the train carso that you can use it wherever
you go.
And it's a product that we, wecall global that, that will be
unveiled.
In Las Vegas at the CS 24.
(31:43):
Indeed, the technology, thecomplexity.
With Hassan together, we met atSkybridge.
So we've been going through allthis complexity.
And really, there are threeparts.
When it comes to satelliteconstellations, the first one is
a technology, obviously thesecond one is the market, making
sure that you designing a systemso that you're actually
(32:05):
addressing the use case of thecustomer.
And for the car industry, thefirst thing that, we getting it,
that's, how power hungry is yourequipment, how heavy is it?
What kind of temperature can yousustain?
So it's not really about thethroughput.
It's really more about, thethings that are so important for
electric cars in the future,stuff like that.
And obviously the third part isfor the for the financing of all
(32:27):
this.
And so really right now theconstellation that we see
unfolding.
are really promising and we hopethat they will be able to bridge
the gap in terms of technologyto make sure that at some point
we'll see broadband into carsthe same way we see broadband at
home, right?
It's really this.
Jed Tabernero (32:45):
a great introduction into this space
we'd like to give the floor opento you both to just shout out to
your team shout out to the folkswho you want to partner with
shout out to the places whereyou'd like to put more heads
into you know this is a greatopportunity to just get into our
audience
Hassan Aouisse (33:00):
What we achieved so far, it's thanks to the great
team we have it's great team ofprofessional experts, but also
of personalities and individualsand that, and both are
important.
When you are building such a achallenging and exciting
product.
And we will be expanding in nextyear.
It's one of also the elementsthat will keep us busy too.
(33:23):
I would say Stellar is a greatplace to, to work in.
We have a great team, a greatthe team general environment and
energy
Damien Garot (33:32):
Join the ride.
It's going to be amazing.
It's a bunch of fun folks.
Let me tell you, uh, I don'tfeel like working at all.
It's a, it's an amazing ride.
Shikher Bhandary (33:42):
That's awesome.
We've really, really enjoyedthis call.
We hope to do this many moretimes in the future.
Wishing you all the success andcannot wait for all the
incredible things coming fromStellar in the next coming
months, coming years.
Jed Tabernero (33:57):
hour is not enough to talk about the space
industry i very much appreciateit i mean
And that's a wrap on today'scosmic journey with Damion,
gavel, and us on always.
Louise from stellar.
A huge, thank you to bothfounders for navigating us
through the galaxies ofconnectivity and showing us how
close the future really is.
(34:21):
So our listeners, don't forgetto connect with us on
thc-pod.com.
Or things have changedpodcast.com.
Join the conversation, shareyour thoughts and maybe even
your own stellar experienceswith connectivity.
As always.
Stay curious.
(34:41):
The information and opinions expressed in this
episode are for informationalpurposes only.
And are not intended asfinancial investment or
professional advice.
Always consult with a qualifiedprofessional before making any
decisions based on the conceptprovided.
Neither the podcast, nor iscreators are responsible for any
(35:02):
actions taken as a result oflistening to this episode.
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