# Rob Reis

> Rob Reis is the founder and President/CEO of Higher Ground LLC, a Palo Alto-based satellite telecommunications company building the world's most compact, affordable, and secure satellite communicator. With roots at Stanford and a career spanning pioneering ventures in laser turntables (Finial Technology), RFID tracking (Savi Technology), and innovation leadership at Texas Instruments, Reis brings decades of deep-tech entrepreneurship to a mission-critical problem: keeping people connected and safe anywhere on Earth, from the backcountry to the battlefield. His flagship product, the SatPaq, uses geostationary satellites with AES-256 encryption and spread spectrum signaling to deliver two-way messaging, voice, and GPS-backup - independent of cellular infrastructure.

- **Role:** President/CEO at Higher Ground LLC
- **Organizations:** Higher Ground LLC, Consumer Technology Association (Board of Industry Leaders), Society for Science and the Public (Judges Advisory Council), Breakthroughs Innovation Center
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Electrical Engineering (multiple degrees), Stanford University, Engineering Management, University of California, Davis
- **Known for:** Founded Savi Technology (1989), one of the earliest RFID-based asset tracking companies, later acquired by Texas Instruments and Lockheed Martin, Co-developed the LT-1 Laser Turntable at Finial Technology, one of the earliest laser-based vinyl playback devices, showcased at CES 1986, Secured FCC Order DA-17-80 authorizing deployment of up to 50,000 mobile satellite earth stations for Higher Ground

## Career timeline

- **1983** — Co-founded Finial Technology with Stanford EE Robert E. Stoddard; developed the LT-1 laser turntable, showcased at CES 1986; raised $7M in venture capital
- **1989** — Founded Savi Technology, an RFID and asset-tracking company; later acquired by Texas Instruments, then Lockheed Martin
- **1996** — Joined Texas Instruments as Director of the Innovation Center
- **1998** — Departed Texas Instruments; pursued CEO coaching and innovation consulting through Silicon Gaming and Breakthroughs Innovation Center
- **2011** — Founded Higher Ground LLC in Palo Alto, California, focused on affordable satellite telecommunications using geostationary satellites
- **2014** — Higher Ground received experimental FCC licenses for dynamic frequency sharing satellite messaging
- **2016** — IEEE Spectrum covered Higher Ground's controversial FCC filings; company gained national visibility
- **2017** — FCC granted Higher Ground authorization (Order DA-17-80) to deploy up to 50,000 mobile satellite earth stations; GCN covered SatPaq for government use
- **2019** — Joined Consumer Technology Association Board of Industry Leaders; appeared on Techstination podcast discussing affordable satellite communications; SatPaq featured at CES 2019
- **2021** — Received U.S. Air Force contract for GeoFix non-jammable GPS backup solution
- **2022** — SatPaq used in Naval exercises; Navy called performance 'superb'

## Achievements

- Founded Savi Technology (1989), one of the earliest RFID-based asset tracking companies, later acquired by Texas Instruments and Lockheed Martin
- Co-developed the LT-1 Laser Turntable at Finial Technology, one of the earliest laser-based vinyl playback devices, showcased at CES 1986
- Secured FCC Order DA-17-80 authorizing deployment of up to 50,000 mobile satellite earth stations for Higher Ground
- Developed GeoFix, a non-jammable GPS backup using geostationary satellites, with U.S. Air Force SBIR contract support
- Built SatPaq into one of the most affordable two-way satellite communicators on the market at 18-37 cents per message
- Elected to Consumer Technology Association Board of Industry Leaders (December 2019)
- Served on Judges Advisory Council for Society for Science and the Public
- Navigated FCC regulatory challenges and emerged with DoD contracts, proving commercial and military viability of Higher Ground's technology

## Latest updates

- **2022-01** — SatPaq used in U.S. Naval exercises; Navy described performance as 'superb'
- **2021-06** — U.S. Air Force awarded SBIR contract to Higher Ground for GeoFix non-jammable GPS backup solution
- **2019-12** — Rob Reis joined Consumer Technology Association Board of Industry Leaders

## Links

- Website: https://higherground.earth
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-reis-81a6291
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/satpaq
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/satpaq

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/rob-reis
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-15