Thunderbird Distance Learning Takes Orbit with Satellite Link

Thunderbird School of Global Management in Glendale, AZ has completed deployment of a commercial satellite communications system that will provide distance learning for its students.

Designed, integrated, and installed by Antenna Technology Communications, the satellite system will provide a Kurtz-under band uplink motorized earth station that will allow the school to transmit curriculum and programming to different remote campuses in the United States as well as Latin America.

"Ku band" is a portion of the spectrum used primarily for satellite communications, such as satellite television. The system will also be used to provide access to information such as professor interviews for news agencies.

"We selected the satellite uplink package because ATCi delivers a high-quality, complete package at the most competitive price, which helps us live up to our school mission statement: 'We educate global leaders who create sustainable prosperity worldwide,'" said Brett Beyers, manager of media services for the school.

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • large group of college students sitting on an academic quad

    Student Readiness: Learning to Learn

    Melissa Loble, Instructure's chief academic officer, recommends a focus on 'readiness' as a broader concept as we try to understand how to build meaningful education experiences that can form a bridge from the university to the workplace. Here, we ask Loble what readiness is and how to offer students the ability to 'learn to learn'.

  • robots organizing stacks of papers

    An AI Adoption Imperative: Centralized Sources of Governed Truth

    Strategies for enterprise teams who aim to build a data foundation to move the institution from AI experimentation to real-world execution.

  • SXSW EDU

    SXSW EDU 2026: Discover How to Incorporate Technology with Impact

    With the proliferation of AI and advanced technology, education leaders have an opportunity to find and implement the right solutions to make a difference for learners. This March 9-12, SXSW EDU 2026 is your chance to discover innovative edtech, connect with trailblazing peers, and find strategies that make an impact.

  • futuristic representation of interconnected individuals within a digital network

    OpenAI Launches Safety Fellowship to Fund External AI Research

    OpenAI is expanding safety efforts beyond its walls with a new Safety Fellowship that will fund external researchers to study AI risks.