ST Engineering iDirect
  • Company
  • Our History

Our History

For over 30 years, ST Engineering iDirect has been a driving force in transforming the economics, technologies, and business models that have expanded satellite communications around the world. While we are proud of our heritage, we are much more interested in what lies ahead of us. With each technical breakthrough, we are leading the industry forward – from the adoption of 5G networking standards and the emerging era of new space innovation today, to whatever comes next tomorrow.

  • ST Engineering iDirect

    2019 - Present

    • ST Engineering’s acquisition of Newtec complete – and we welcome Newtec into ST Engineering as part of our Satellite Communications (satcom) business within ST Engineering Electronics. Over the coming months we will integrate Newtec’s business with that of ST Engineering iDirect

  • 2016 – 2018

    • Develops the industry’s first major global HTS ground infrastructure for enterprise and mobility services, Inmarsat’s Global Xpress®
    • iDirect Velocity® and Pulse® NMS selected to power IntelsatOne Flex service as platform of choice
    • Kevin Steen appointed President & CEO
    • Achieves #1 ranking in maritime market, chosen by 8 out of 10 providers
    • Introduces new highly efficient, powerful remote series based on DVB S2X
    • Opens the way to new mobility applications via ground-breaking flat panel antenna terminal  in partnership with Kymeta
    • Expands partnership with Inmarsat to enable fifth Global Xpress (GX-5) high-speed, broadband communications satellite
    • Fosters industry collaboration for drive to integrate satellite and 5G through participation in industry working groups
    • Reaches major milestone in the integration of satellite with 5G through live, first of its kind demonstrations

  • 2011 – 2015

    • Achieves #1 market share position with over 2,100 iDirect hubs deployed, 62.3% hub market share. Ranked #1 by COMSYS
    • Brings TDMA and SCPC together on one platform for the first time with game-changing iDX 3.0 software
    • iDirect Government becomes a wholly-owned subsidiary of VT iDirect serving the U.S. DOD market with specific highly secure, mobile and portable solutions
    • Rises to world’s largest TDMA enterprise VSAT manufacturer with 32% market share by revenue

  • 2000 – 2010

    • Launches iDirect universal hub, the first of its kind to point to five different satellites and combine multiple topologies in a single hub
    • Enables Virtual Network Operator (VNO) business model enabling low cost of entry and flexible multi-tiered service offerings for greater growth
    • Develops OpenAMIP protocol, adopted as the industry standard to improve integration between stabilized antennas and remotes
    • Pioneers a seamless mobile experience for vessels and planes moving across multiple satellites and beams with the development of the first automatic beam switching (ABS) technology
    • Introduces Group Quality of Service for the dynamic allocation of bandwidth across a range of user groups and applications, opening new tiered service levels

  • 1994

    Company is founded.