NSR’s Global Satellite Capacity Supply & Demand, 19th Edition takes a deep dive into an industry now past the COVID-19 contraction and in some areas, growing at a rapid pace. In revenue terms, the 2021 level of $12.1 Billion will grow to $30 Billion in 2031 representing a cumulative opportunity of $207.3 Billion through the decade. Competition, innovation and risk-taking from all player types anchors a space economy currently at the beginning of a growth trajectory.
“The first wave of LEO constellations is being realized with Starlink and OneWeb half-way through their first-generation constellation build- ups. Despite industry hype, the disrupting potential of these initial deployments is limited,” notes NSR Principal Analyst and report author Lluc Palerm. “For example,” continues Palerm, “a demand-hungry region like South Asia sees only 400 Gbps of Non-GEO supply by 2025, a figure easily matched by a GEO VHTS satellite today. True risk of oversupply comes with the second wave of LEO constellations, beyond 2026.”
“The Asia region offers massive Satcom opportunity, especially in bridging the digital divide,” states NSR Senior Analyst & report co- author Vivek Suresh Prasad. “Many activities around regulatory changes, price erosion unlocking elasticities, deployment of new services, etc. in the region are expected in the next 3-5 years. Other regions with huge opportunity in bridging the digital divide are in Latin America and Africa regions.”
While prognosis for Satcom is highly positive across all aspects and metrics, the industry is not without its challenges – declines in Video revenues outpaced acceleration in Data, leading to another year of industry contraction in 2021 (-2.7%). The competitive landscape, price pressure, and regulatory hurdles in key markets all contribute to a highly contended business landscape.
However, the satellite and space industries are in the most exciting phase of their history, where innovation, large-scale investments, and the realization of ROI will lead to further growth and risk-taking. Although satellite communications remain a niche in the overall telecommunications market, its overall importance, impact, and network role will increase over time.
Companies, Organizations, and Investors Mentioned
ABS, Amazon Kuiper, Arsat, Astranis, Antrix / ISRO, APT Satellite, ArabSat, AsiaSat, Avanti Communications, China Satcom, EchoStar, Es’hailSat, Eutelsat, Gazprom Space Systems, Hispasat, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Kacific, KT Sat, Mangata, Marlink, MEASAT, NBN, Nigcomsat, NileSat, O3b, OneWeb, Optus, PT Indosat, PT Telkom, RigNet, RSCC, SES, SingTel Optus, SKY Perfect JSAT, Spacecom, SpaceX, Speedcast, Star One, Telefónica, Telenor, Telesat, Thaicom, ViaSat, and YahSat.
Source: NSR press release