 On May 4, 2025, the space & satellite industry lost a giant. Pradman Kaul, Former Chairman & CEO of Hughes Network Systems and a member of the Space & Satellite Hall of Fame, was known throughout the industry as a visionary, an inspirational leader and a paragon of engineering breakthroughs. Mr. Kaul was one of the key developers of the VSAT terminal and prime mover in the development of the digital set-top box products used for direct-to-home satellite television and broadband Internet access. He also played a significant role in the development of the Internet Protocol over Satellite Standard. Mr. Kaul held, individually or jointly, eight patents on breakthroughs in areas such as pulse-code modulation, high-speed logic interconnect, and satellite TDMA that have contributed significantly to the development of affordable VSATs. He served as Chief Executive Officer of Hughes Network Systems from 2000 until his retirement in 2022.
In honor of Mr. Kaul’s lifetime of achievements, SSPI would like to take this moment to reprint an interview from 2009, the year he was inducted into the Space & Satellite Hall of Fame. The interview was originally featured in SSPI’s magazine The Orbiter. The Orbiter: In your work at Hughes, you have made major contributions to the growth of the satellite industry since the 1970s. How do you expect the industry to change in the next 20 years in terms of technology, applications and the markets it serves? Kaul: Demand for broadband is driving the telecom industry overall, satellite included. Within 3 years, the next generation of satellites already under development will deliver 10 times the throughput of today’s, up to 100 Gbps; within ten years we can expect another tenfold increase. Whether it’s distance learning, digital signage, video conferencing or on-line shopping, twittering and blogging, the expanding world of broadband applications is limited only by our imaginations and will continue to fuel the growth of satellite services for all customer segments — enterprise, government and consumer alike. Satellite will continue to be the most cost-effective technology to bring broadband to consumers outside higher density urban areas, whether in developed or developing countries, and offers the greatest hope to close the so-called digital divide globally. Its proven advantages in multi-casting of media-rich content over continent-wide areas will soon usher in a new world of broadband services on–the-move, whether on land, sea or in the air, including development of novel combined satellite and cellular devices, PDAs and the like. All of this points to satellite shedding its niche market role and becoming an integral part of telecom’s mainstream. And it won’t take 10 years. The Orbiter: How does this thinking shape your leadership of HUGHES today? Kaul: We can never let up. Our success is rooted in the continuing ability to innovate — creating the technologies, products and services that lead the market. We’ve achieved the enviable position of being both technology and market share leaders because of our experienced and passionate team, many of whom have been with the company for 20 years or more, some since its beginning in 1971 as a start-up in a Maryland garage. Finding, growing and retaining talented people is our single biggest challenge to success. The Orbiter: What advice can you offer to young people seeking a challenging career in a technology-driven business like satellite communications? Kaul: Go for it! This world of satellite broadband is becoming pervasive and offers seemingly unlimited opportunities in so many areas: from developing core technologies and products to applications and services; and to all facets of marketing, sales, customer service, human resources, training, manufacturing and operations. Just bring your passion and desire to succeed.  Pradman Kaul (left) poses with Erich Fischer, Booz & Company, SSPI Hall of Fame 2009 Underwriter
The Orbiter: In the 1970s, the satellite industry was starting a sustained period of growth and innovation. What makes the satellite business a good choice of career today? Kaul: As I pointed out, it’s all about the opportunity to grow. Few industries have the scope and potential for growth of satellite. The Orbiter: Does Hughes offer internships, recruiting, mentorship and other programs specifically designed to attract and retain bright young people into the business? Kaul: One key to our future success is to hire and retain talented new graduates who will bring in new ideas to the company and challenge us all. We seek interns from the colleges where we recruit new graduates, in the hopes they will join us after graduation. Once on board, through their first year they follow a formal mentorship program which introduces them to all areas of the company, including the senior management of the engineering group. All together the opportunity to work on leading edge technology, to learn through our mentoring programs, to benefit from reward and recognition programs and to see projects through to end user acceptance is highly rewarding and exhilarating for our employees. The Orbiter: Does the new generation of satellite professionals require a different approach to management than the previous generation? Do they push the company in new directions? Kaul: Absolutely! That is part of the excitement for us, and for them, too. Everybody needs to continually be challenged to look at things differently, or they will get stuck in a rut. Our company must change or we will be left behind. In our 35 year history, Hughes has always been dependent on bringing in new graduate talent to keep changing the way we look at things, and to stay on the leading edge of technology. | 