Yesterday was a busy day at SATCON 2010 in New York with many meetings and today will be a bit lighter on the meeting front which means I get to spend some time in the exhibit hall. There is a collocated content and communications event as well and without a doubt, HD and 3D are helping the satellite business thrive.

In addition, the need for broadband in remote areas is driving growth.

Afghanistan is another growth area partially because the Taliban keeps cutting wires and blowing up towers.

Of course there is also the military and unmanned vehicles are becoming a major source of satellite traffic. As this market continues to grow – and I expect it to, the demands on satellites will only grow which in turn will cause the whole industry to prosper.

Mergers have been a huge part of my meetings as well and keeping track of who is purchasing who and why can keep a small team busy on a full-time basis. The bottom line is many companies in the space are throwing off cash and have diverse revenue streams – military, oil & gas, maritime, aeronautical and broadcast/media. Moreover, the move to IP, HD and 3D is driving upgrades which of course is just one more reason that this market is one of the most recession resistant I have seen in all of tech.