“We see the increased robustness of the bitcoin network and the lower cost of participation contributing to helping businesses rely on the service for backup,” said Blockstream CEO Adam Back. With the fifth satellite announced today, Blockstream Satellite will be able to serve the Asia-Pacific region, covering all major landmasses in the world except for Greenland and Antarctica. In January 2019 the new API will also let users send messages about price and more without the need for the internet. Because the entire bitcoin blockchain will be broadcast, even miners will be able to use the satellite connection to help generate new blocks and receive bitcoin payments. In addition to providing a backup for mesh networks, the new Blockstream Satellite functionality could directly connect these interconnected internet substitutes in isolated regions around the world.

Source: Forbes December 17, 2018 17:02 UTC