Engineering Failure Out of Connectivity
Contrivian Founder & CEO Grant Kirkwood wrote the adaptive connectivity feature for SatMagazine’s Q4 2026 issue. His argument starts with an assumption most networks still share: something will fail, and the job is to recover quickly when it does. Here’s how the article opens:
“The industry continues to design networks around failure. That model is broken. The future is active-active, multi-constellation connectivity governed by real-time path intelligence.
Software needs to continuously measure network conditions across fiber, broadband, 5G and LEO, shifting traffic before users or applications experience disruption. Failure is no longer recovered from. It is engineered out.
For governments, energy, mining and remote infrastructures this is crucial as remote working increases, and virtual meetings are the standard. As businesses become increasingly digital, distributed and always-on, the expectations on network infrastructure have fundamentally changed.”
In the full article, Grant covers:
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The gaps hiding in modern networks Even with today's connectivity options, organizations still face persistent issues that leave them exposed the moment something goes wrong. Grant breaks down where those gaps come from.
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The single-provider trap LEO satellite has transformed what's possible for remote and distributed operations. Relying on one satellite provider, though, introduces a new kind of risk.
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Five shifts for 2026 From Diversity as a Service to software-defined intelligence, Grant outlines what enterprises should be considering now to build networks that hold up.
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A new standard for resiliency Terrestrial networks set the benchmark for reliability. Grant explains what it takes to meet that standard anywhere, including places fiber can't reach.
View the full SatNews SatMagazine Q4 2026 issue at SatMagazine.com
