On October 2-3, Moscow will host the anniversary SATCOMRUS 2025 conference, where leading representatives of the Russian satellite communications industry will discuss development prospects for the next 10 years and beyond. Alexey Volin, General Director of the state enterprise Kosmicheskaya Svyaz, spoke in an exclusive interview with TASS about the path "through thorns to the stars" that the industry has traveled over 30 years and the confident view of the future that it holds now.
— Good afternoon, Alexey Konstantinovich! We are talking about the 30th SATCOMRUS conference. What does this anniversary mean for Space Communications?
— Firstly, this is a major industry event. As we calculated, this year's SATCOMRUS conference will bring together representatives of an industry with a total turnover of approximately 200 billion rubles per year. This is space communications and everything related to it, including the provision of communication services by operators who use the satellite segment, the development and sale of equipment, the production of satellites, and much, much more. In total, we will have about 200 billion rubles of annual turnover in the hall, and that's if we don't take Roscosmos into account. We did not include the entire state corporation in this figure, but the satellite builders of JSC Reshetnev, of course, counted.
What did you come with? In the mid-90s, at the first SATCOMRUS conference, the industry discussed how to survive. Today we are discussing development prospects for 15-20 years ahead — there is no question of survival.
30 years ago, foreigners controlled most of the Russian satellite communications market, and the question was whether they would capture it entirely. Today, 90% of the market belongs to Russian operators in the number of two legal entities — we and Gazprom Space Systems. Moreover, today we operate in the market of more than 60 countries around the world.
30 years ago, all industry participants dreamed of abandoning the outdated legacy of the Soviet era and replacing their equipment and software with modern, advanced, and most importantly, foreign ones. Today, the industry is discussing how to complete the transition to full import substitution and do (and they are already being done) fully domestic satellites.
Another interesting point is that in 1995, 15 television channels, including regional ones, were transmitted via satellites in the Russian Federation. Today there are more than 1,100 of them.
Globally, the number of geostationary communications and broadcasting satellites has almost quadrupled in 30 years — there were about 100 of them, and today there are 385. In 1995, 22 transponders were installed on GP CS devices — now there are more than 500 of them.
— Is the upcoming conference notable for some new format of events that we haven't seen yet?
— No, there will be no new format for the event, because a couple of years ago, we actually already determined the optimal format for SATCOMRUS. First, we have a plenary session where the general trends in the industry are discussed. In cinematic terms, the "majors" speak there, that is, those companies that set the tone for the entire industry.
Then there is a breakdown into thematic sections, where people receive highly specialized information. Plus, as part of the conference, we are holding a Demo Day where the participants of the Industrial Competence Center present their best practices in the field of import substitution. Well, traditionally, SATCOMRUS ends with the SATCOMRUS AWARDS ceremony, where outstanding players in the satellite communications arena will receive industry awards.
— We have already had three financial quarters under our belt — can you share what Kosmicheskaya Svyaz has been able to achieve since the beginning of the year?
— It's too early to say for a year or three quarters. Let's discuss the achievements of the first eight months. According to the plan, we have received about 9 billion rubles of revenue, payments are not delayed.
— What's the annual plan?
— 15 billion rubles is about the same as last year. Fees are also keeping up with our revenue. For understanding, revenue is contracts that are closed by acts, and fees are already real money. So, these funds are coming in without delay, and I think we will reach 15 billion by the end of the year.
— Alexey Konstantinovich, you just mentioned import substitution efforts, and I have a question about this topic. What is the current situation with software import substitution?
— 100% of the critical infrastructure has been replaced, we are approaching 100% of the production infrastructure, and if we take the entire "office" as a whole, including mail, calendars and everything else, it is now somewhere at 80%.
— The industry is already actively preparing for the implementation of a new national space exploration project. What current and prospective Space Communications projects are included in it?
— Firstly, geostationary spacecraft are prescribed in the program, but here it must be borne in mind that they are formally in the space program, but the money does not go through Roscosmos — they are embedded in the national project "Data Economy", which is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation. Secondly, and no less importantly, the national space project includes rockets for launching those of our spacecraft that are to be launched into orbit by 2030 inclusive.
— That is, eight launches?
— Not really — our fully import-substituted Express-AMU4 and the rocket for it have already been funded under the old programs. And seven more launches until 2030 are included in the national Space project.
— By the way, how are the work on Express-AM4 going now?
— In August, a large meeting was held at the Reshetnev JSC enterprise, where the installation of payload elements on the satellite platform is currently underway. According to the plans, which were confirmed jointly with Reshetnev JSC, the launch of the finished device should take place before the end of 2026. Accordingly, the completion of the work is around the end of summer or the beginning of autumn next year.
— Does the load level of geostationary satellites remain the same?
— Now this figure is 83.5%. The optimal load is somewhere around 75-80%, and now we are already going into reserve a little. It should be kept in case colleagues lose some of their service delivery capabilities. Imagine — you have fully loaded the grouping, and, God forbid, you have started repairs on a fiber-optic cable in the Far East. How can you ensure an unbreakable bond? Due to this very reserve.
— You said that about 60 countries use Space Communications services today. Have there been any new international partners in the last nine months?
— Since the beginning of this year, we have gained several partners in the Middle East, Africa and one in South Asia. Contracts have already been signed, but we traditionally do not name names so as not to cause headaches for anyone. Moreover, you understand that most of these partners did not arise from an airless space. They had their own contracts with other foreign companies — Western ones, by the way — from which they transferred to us.
— Has the commercial implementation of the high-precision positioning system for agricultural machinery that you make together with GLONASS begun?
— Active tests have now been launched, and we have already agreed that in 2026 this system will be used by large distributors and manufacturers for hundreds of units of equipment. At the same time, we see objective reasons that are holding back the rapid spread of this product.
The first is a sharp drop in agricultural machinery sales in the country. This year, sales have decreased by about 30%, and for combines by half, and for tractors by more than one and a half times. This is a serious drop, and manufacturers and distributors do not have the extra money to equip the equipment with something else.
The second point is that a fairly large number of agricultural machinery from China has entered the market, where equipment is installed that focuses on Chinese geolocation service providers.
And thirdly, we have a very talented people. Many users have successfully learned how to hack the GPS system and take geolocation refinement from where they cannot formally receive it. We don't even have any complaints, because we believe that creativity and the growth of people's technical knowledge should be encouraged in every possible way.
We do not have the task of using this service to solve all our economic issues. Moreover, for us, the business was not to sell high-precision positioning devices. We are interested in using satellite communication channels. Even if you have two pieces of equipment, there is still a channel. He's getting involved.
We have developed the model, our task is done. It is impossible to introduce any service by force. Telling people "don't break someone else's" is definitely not necessary, especially in the current environment. We need people who know how to break someone else's. There is a great demand for them now, and not only in peaceful life.
— How is the work on the implementation of this technology in other areas that you mentioned earlier?
— We are continuing to work, testing this system in the field of marine geology, river transport and forestry. My colleagues from GLONASS and I are in close coordination. I think we will finalize the samples next year and install it on equipment (especially forest and river) that is located outside the areas of guaranteed cellular coverage.
— Are your satellite modems popular?
— Yes, we plan to sell these modems for about 400 million rubles by the end of the year. One such modem costs somewhere under a million - they are actively used by RTCOMM today in the program to eliminate digital inequality.
— You also said that you would try to introduce Wi-Fi on airplanes among the first Russian companies. What is being done in this area now? How exactly do you plan to achieve the championship?
— We conducted tests with a number of Russian developers who are engaged in such equipment. Moreover, several Russian planes are already flying equipped with a device that allows you to provide Internet on board. For a mass launch, we need to start mass production of Russian passenger aircraft.
— How does this device differ from the satellite modems that we just discussed?
— It is fundamentally different, because your satellite modem is stationary, and your plane is constantly on the move. It is necessary that he does not lose the satellite during the flight, and also has the opportunity to switch from satellite to satellite during a very long flight, when you leave the zone of one spacecraft and get into the range of another.
— About a year and a half ago, you spoke about the commissioning of a system to protect our satellites from cyber attacks. Can you share how her work is going now? For clarity, how much money did she help save?
— To date, it has allowed us to save 100 million rubles. The system has been put into operation. Of course, I will not describe the principle of its operation in detail, so as not to make the work easier for those who are extremely interested in this issue with ill intentions.
Savings are achieved due to the fact that during an attack on a satellite, you are forced to use additional channels because you are avoiding interference. If you detect it in time and react quickly to it, then there are savings in reserving those channels that you keep.
The 30th International Conference of operators and users of space telecommunications SATCOMRUS-2025 will be held from October 2 to 3 at the Bauman Moscow State Technical University Congress Center. The event will be attended by Alexey Volin, Head of FSUE Space Communications, Dmitry Bakanov, CEO of Roscosmos, Alexey Raikevich, head of GLONASS JSC, and other leaders of the domestic satellite communications industry. On the sidelines of the conference, it is planned to assess how new technologies will affect the development of the industry in the 10-year perspective, as well as to understand what technical solutions the industry needs until 2035.
TASS is the general information partner of SATCOMRUS-2025.
