Login
Register

Please use a corporate email account to register.

The Bottom Line

December 21, 2023

The impact of commercial space stations delays on space travel and tourism

The commercial space station market is seeing huge investments lately that raised quite a lot of interest in orbital space travel. Sierra Space recently raised USD290 million to support the development of its Dream Chaser vehicle and Orbital Reef space station, and Axiom Space has received a USD350 million investment to develop its own space.

Read Article
December 19, 2023

How mega-constellations are impacting satellite operators’ financials

2023 has brought about a lot of change in the satellite communications industry, not least the widespread consolidation that has taken place over the course of the year. In May, we saw the closing of Viasat’s acquisition of Inmarsat; three months later came the announcement that Echostar and DISH would merge; and finally, in September,.

Read Article
December 4, 2023

New EO sensors: expanding the pie or stealing the slice?

The industry has witnessed a recent surge in investment in a new class of Earth Observation (EO) sensors such as thermal infrared (TIR), hyperspectral, radio frequency (RF) monitoring and greenhouse gases emissions monitoring. These recent investments demonstrate an excitement for new datasets, for new use cases, and different ways to address the current market. However,.

Read Article
November 23, 2023

Space Travel & Tourism: Is suborbital ready for launch?

Virgin Galactic performed six suborbital spaceflights so far this year, increasing the hype surrounding the space travel market. One would think 2023 would be a turnaround year for Virgin Galactic, but announcements that it is laying off 18% of its current workforce and reducing flights of its VSS Unity to “concentrate on higher revenue opportunities”.

Read Article
November 22, 2023

Lessons can be learned from the unsuccessful partnership between Qualcomm and Iridium for satellite D2D services​

Qualcomm terminated its direct-to-device (D2D) deal with Iridium on 9 November 2023. This is a disappointing development for the D2D market because the deal was meant to be a pioneering D2D service enabling satellite messaging and emergency services in smartphones powered by Snapdragon Mobile Platforms. However, D2D is still in the very early stages, and.

Read Article
November 16, 2023

SpaceX-RAYing In-Flight Wi-Fi via Starlink

Authors: Christopher Baugh | Carlos Placido (independent adviser) On October 13th Qatar Airways announced a collaboration agreement with Starlink for the roll out of a complimentary high-speed, low-latency Internet service. Other airlines had previously partnered with SpaceX including JSX, Hawaiian Airlines and airBaltic. However, the new agreement is significant not only because Qatar Airways is.

Read Article
November 7, 2023

Are the USPs of FPAs more than just price?

The adoption of flat panel antennas (FPAs) has surged in recent years, driven by their compact design, adaptability to various applications, and their capability to provide reliable on-the-move communication. Advancements in technology have enhanced their performance, including beamforming capabilities that allow them to maintain a strong connection while on the move. According to NSR’s latest.

Read Article
November 2, 2023

Earth’s watchdogs: Satellites leading the charge against climate change

The growing global awareness and imperative to address climate challenges has made Earth Observation (EO) a critical asset for businesses and governments worldwide in their quest to combat climate change effectively. Indeed, EO serves as a vital tool for monitoring climate change. To address climate challenges, assesses vulnerabilities, and manage disasters, EO has become a.

Read Article
October 31, 2023

The implications of increasing Earth observation data

Earth observation (EO) is unequivocally a critical asset in understanding and safeguarding our planet. The significance of EO data has taken on new dimensions as its volume skyrockets. The ever-increasing capacity to collect, transmit, and analyse data from space offers unparalleled insights but also presents profound challenges. According to NSR’s Space Traffic Study report, 3rd.

Read Article
October 26, 2023

AI’s Impact on Enterprise VSAT

AI (Artificial Intelligence) has become a reality, and it is looking to transform industries across various sectors. The satellite Industry is no exception as it encompasses a wide range of use cases, solutions, and competitors. Recently, Amazon announced Amazon Forecast that uses machine learning techniques to maximise satellite communication usage. NSR envisions more such solutions.

Read Article
October 25, 2023

Can LEO Broadband Truly Succeed in Developing Countries?

Shortly after SpaceX announced this year that Nigeria became the first African country to access the Starlink satellite broadband service, former president Muhammadu Buhari wrongly claimed that Nigeria’s broadband penetration had then reached 100%. In a wireless-connected world, confusion around access and connections is not uncommon but, regardless of the definitions, the story highlights the.

Read Article
October 24, 2023

Balancing out performance vs cost, what is worth your money?

Flat panel antennas (FPAs) are experiencing rapid adoption across various industries and applications. In 2022, According to NSR’s Flat Panel Satellite Antenna 8th Edition report, over 180,000 FPA units were shipped, which was 6 times more, compared to the nearly 30,000 units shipped in the previous year. In the ever-evolving landscape of modern telecommunications and.

Read Article
October 19, 2023

Satellite opportunity for connecting the unconnected

The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) recently announced that 2.6 billion people, or about one third of the world’s population, remain “offline”, without access to the internet. Recognising this, social inclusion and national broadband strategy programs around the world have been attempting to address this challenge, including with the development of fibre networks taking centre stage,.

Read Article
October 18, 2023

Starlink-Telstra partnership: A new route to rural connectivity?

The rural connectivity game has officially changed. Australia’s Telstra telecommunication company has become the first telco to sign a mobile service agreement with Starlink. The partnership aims to offer voice-only and voice plus Starlink enabled broadband packages to rural customers in hard-to-reach locations. This addition of NGSO to Telco offerings is the realization of a.

Read Article
October 13, 2023

HAPs – Fitting in a rapidly evolving industry

Recently, the UK space agency made a commitment to invest in HAPs (High Altitude Platforms) with over $25M to improve connectivity & technology. Additionally, several companies such as Mira Aerospace (JV between UAVOS & Bayanat) & BAE Systems achieved testing milestones, while Chinese ALifecom is addressing interoperability of HAPs architecture with other NTN systems. These.

Read Article

In the Race to the Moon, where is China?

Since China’s lunar program formally received approval in 2004, CNSA – its space agency – successfully launched the Chang’e 1 to Chang’e 5 missions in just over a decade. The country recently outlined the next phase of its lunar program while also expanding its Wenchang spaceport to put astronauts on the Moon by 2030. China’s.

Read Article
October 12, 2023

Situational Awareness with Cloud Services Matches

The surging trend of Government/Military players gravitating towards cloud-based solutions screams volumes about the recognition of cloud computing’s prowess in handling massive amounts of data, enabling real-time decision-making, and boosting mission capabilities. The matchless scalability, flexibility, and real-time data processing resources make it an ideal fit for time-sensitive applications like mission-critical operations using situational awareness.

Read Article
October 11, 2023

SpaceX betting on open IoT standards

In August 2021, SpaceX made waves by making its first ever acquisition by purchasing Swarm Technologies, a start-up known for its early adoption of proprietary ultra-narrowband satellite IoT solutions, signaling its intention of expanding its capabilities and diversifying its offerings to cater to a broader range of customers. However, what raised eyebrows was Swarm’s announcement.

Read Article
October 6, 2023

Starlink Vs Kuiper – The FPA race has begun

Massive Non-GEO HTS consumer broadband opportunities exists globally. At the moment, Starlink is driving growth with its ubiquitous solution, high speed low-latency offerings and aggressive pricing. Amazon’s Kuiper is also targeting the satellite internet market and is currently focused on the development of key technologies. According to NSR’s Consumer and Enterprise Broadband via Satellite, 22nd.

Read Article
September 22, 2023

Clash of Satellite Internet Giants in North America: HughesNet vs Starlink

In an increasingly connected world, a reliable satellite internet connection is becoming a necessity for those residing in remote or rural areas where traditional terrestrial broadband options are often limited. The North American (NAM) region has been at the forefront of satellite internet adoption with HughesNet and ViaSat driving growth for years. But the landscape.

Read Article
September 13, 2023

5G IoT – a Breakthrough for Satellite/MNO Integration

Satellite IoT has for years been a niche market compared to the overall M2M and IoT market and something that hasn’t been too seriously considered by mobile network operators (MNOs) to date. Although there has been desire for “dual-mode” services that can connect to terrestrial networks and satellite networks, this has traditionally added great complexity,.

Read Article
September 12, 2023

Launch Bottleneck: Who is Going to Orbit?

The launch bottleneck is not a new phenomenon for the satellite industry. However, the available and operational vehicles are few and very busy or experiencing failures, thus creating the shortage we know today, which is limiting access to space. Even giants struggle to launch. Indeed, in early August, Amazon had to change launch vehicle yet.

Read Article
September 7, 2023

​​Government Space Spending Priorities – Earth vs Exploration​

Engaging with space is increasingly attractive for governments. It is a sector with huge potential benefits to nation states, however for new players and emerging space nations involvement is a risk. With the relatively high costs of developing industry, early ‘returns’ are key for on-going stakeholder engagement. Evaluating the potential for long-term investment, interested nation.

Read Article
August 31, 2023

Is Governmental Support Key to Competing Against Starlink and Kuiper?

It is now a widely held belief that Elon Musk’s SpaceX/Starlink is the biggest threat to satellite industry incumbents and in a few short years, Jeff Bezos’ Amazon Kuiper. The threat is not isolated to the space and satellite industries. Telcos/MNOs and cloud industry players are likewise worried that these two players, indeed two key.

Read Article
August 22, 2023

The Future of GEO: Large or Small?

In early May, 2 GEO communications satellites launched on a Falcon Heavy rocket. It was supposed to be the next step in GEO satcom from two opposite ends of the market spectrum: Viasat’s 6-tonne powerhouse delivering massive capacity to compete with constellations, and Astranis’ Arcturus, a 300 kg platform meant to test both the “micro-GEO”.

Read Article

Unpacking the Aftermath of Recent GEO Satellite Failures

Space is tough. GEO satellites are realized on redundancy and reliability as their core philosophy. With decades of research, design, development and operations data, manufacturers have been able to achieve systems & spacecrafts with lower failure probabilities. Clearly, this does not ensure success with every launch. From a market forces perspective, GEO players are experiencing.

Read Article
August 2, 2023

SpaceX Pentagon Contract for Ukraine: A Major Springboard for Starlink

Co-Authored by Jose Del Rosario and Brad Grady CNBC reported that in early-June, “the Pentagon agreed to purchase Starlink satellite internet terminals from SpaceX for use in Ukraine as Kyiv continues to defend itself against a full-scale Russian invasion. Contract details, specifically price, scope and timeline were not disclosed for operational security reasons and due.

Read Article

Is Kuiper a Bigger Threat than Starlink?

Starlink has made significant strides in the satellite industry, positioning itself as a major threat to established players. Within a short period, the company has emerged as a major market shareholder in the consumer broadband sector, achieving a subscriber base of 1.5 million users worldwide. This unprecedented growth is translating to a consistent reduction in.

Read Article
August 1, 2023

Transforming ISR through High-Altitude Pseudo-Satellites (HAPs)

As we journey into an era of rapidly advancing technology, the future of Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) lies in exploring novel approaches that can provide greater accuracy, extensive coverage, and real-time data. For applications such as climate change (i.e., disaster management (i.e., fire, floods, earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis, etc.), and reconnaissance (i.e., battlefield coverage, front-lines.

Read Article

Does the Lunar Market Hinge on Starship?

With international cooperation for lunar missions on the rise, including India becoming the 27th signatory of the Artemis accords, the lunar market has witnessed substantial growth in recent years. Programs like Artemis, Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS), and Human Landing System (HLS) have paved the way for increased involvement of commercial players, propelling the market’s.

Read Article
July 12, 2023

More Wins for Starlink Maritime – But, Can Momentum Continue?

This past June SpaceX’s Starlink competitor OneWeb, in partnership with Speedcast, entered the maritime market. As LEO broadband connectivity is a new market, the key factors that end-users value have yet to be solidified. Nevertheless, both Committed Information Rate (CIR) and the Service Level Agreement (SLA) alongside CAPEX and OPEX will determine the “winner”. Ultimately,.

Read Article
July 7, 2023

Is NGSO the missing link for maritime digitalization 4.0?

The emergence of maritime 4.0 in tandem with the fourth industrial revolution underscores the objective of leveraging maritime data to improve operational and financial metrics. For mariners their objective is to minimize the CAPEX and OPEX through digitalization of operations. Satellite operators and service providers can aid this effort by increasing bandwidth per vessel. While.

Read Article
July 5, 2023

Intelsat and SES, Bound to Reach an Understanding?

Conversations around a possible combination between Intelsat and SES have ceased after months in deal talks. While the Satcom industry will grow at 12.5% in the next 10 years (NSR SCSD20 report), increasing pressure from new entrants like Starlink, OneWeb and Kuiper may force both companies back to the negotiating table. Do Intelsat and SES.

Read Article
July 3, 2023

HAPS: Closing Future Broadband Coverage Gaps?

In the digital age, fair access to dependable broadband services remains a pressing concern, particularly in rural and low-density areas. High-Altitude Platforms (HAPs) appear as a potential options as telecom providers attempt to overcome the digital divide. But how should these businesses choose which solution is the best? NSR’s High Altitude Platform, 5th Edition report.

Read Article
June 30, 2023

Is Satcom Pricing Reshaping the Telco Industry Landscape?

Telecommunication (Telco) companies have traditionally focused on expanding terrestrial infrastructure such as fiber and cellular networks to address the growing demand for connectivity across regions. The trend is changing rapidly as Telco players are increasingly integrating Satellite Communication (Satcom) solutions in their networks to extend coverage and diversify services. The key driver for this shift.

Read Article

The Bright Future of Optical Satcom

In the race to meet the soaring demand for high-volume, high-speed data transmission, satellite operators and connectivity service providers are on an uphill battle. Traditional radio frequency (RF) communications are starting to fall short, hindered by limited data downlink capacity and susceptibility to cyber threats. Enter optical satellite communications (OSCs), a compelling solution that bridges.

Read Article
May 22, 2023

The Moon ‘As-a-Service’ Business Model

Recently, NASA announced the 24th signatory of the Artemis Accords, and opened a new office to review and direct exploration activities coordinated with the future of Artemis roadmap. This growing interest presents a one-of-a-kind business opportunity for commercial companies to offer their products as a service to governments and agencies, and sparked a new collaborative.

Read Article
May 20, 2023

Should MNOs Dabble into Airline Connectivity?

airlines are recognizing the significance of providing reliable and high-speed connectivity to passengers, leading to a growing emphasis on inflight Wi-Fi services and the integration of technology solutions that cater to the connected traveler.

Read Article
May 1, 2023

RVs Lead Connected Vehicle Market

For years the “connected car” has been the holy grail of broadband land mobile connectivity, with operators left and right trying to solve the market puzzle to get flat panel antennas (FPAs) on anything that moves. However, in 2023, this market has now finally become “real”, but not in line with the plethora of announcements of passenger cars over the past years, but rather, due to demand from recreational vehicles (RVs).

Read Article
March 30, 2023

Satellite Cellular Backhaul Leads the Way in Telco Integration

“Direct-to-device (D2D) may be the buzz, but backhaul is still the biz,” sums up some satellite operator sentiment concerning telecom-satcom convergence during a panel at the recently concluded Satellite 2023 industry event. While satellite D2D dominates conversations at broad connectivity industry events, satellite cellular backhaul has come a long way in the telecom-satcom convergence. The.

Read Article
March 23, 2023

Is Non-GEO Primed for Growth in Middle East Energy Markets?

Oil and Gas players are looking to optimize and increase productivity across their operations – which is largely built on data capture, processing, and action. In the Middle East and Africa, digitalization within the energy industry is rapidly transforming the sector. This digitalization is creating focused on moving data from remote locations, congesting existing GEO-centric.

Read Article

Space to Bridge Digital Divide in Middle East and Africa

Government spending and partnerships in space have helped to decrease the digital divide within Middle East & Africa (MEA). Despite those efforts, according to the ITU, only 13% of Africa’s population has connectivity. In reaching the other 87% in Africa and the Middle East, the region will see a 4.5x growth in annual revenues from.

Read Article
March 2, 2023

Optical Ground Stations: Game Changer or Passing Fad?

Communication is the foundation of success in today’s fast-paced world, where businesses, individuals, and governments require speedy, reliable, and secure connection. Satellite networks have revolutionized connectivity on a global scale, but the demand for faster, more secure, and reliable communication has led to growing interest in and adoption of optical satellite communications. While space-to-space optical.

Read Article
February 23, 2023

Pitching Satellite Backhaul

Backhaul is one of the key verticals driving growth for the Satellite industry. What challenges can Satellite solve for the Mobile industry? There is a big potential to be realized by expanding Mobile coverage: attracting new subscribers; enabling new services; or optimizing investments. As the industry heads to Barcelona for the MWC, what should be.

Read Article

It’s Official, WGS 12 is on its way

Despite initial plans, the U.S Wideband Global Satcom constellation (WGS) is growing again. Last month, the 2023 defense bill added $442 million for a new, wideband, military communications satellite. While it seemed likely, though unconfirmed, that a new satellite addition was on its way, it is now finally official. The US Space Force is looking.

Read Article

Is There Room for New Players in Software-Defined Satellites?

Software-defined satellites (SDS) are gaining global attention, as new platforms continue to be announced by major manufacturers. Flexibility of satellite and network design is driving many operators to invest in SDS, with Intelsat’s upcoming launch of a flexible satellite, and Eutelsat’s recent order from Thales Alenia Space showing the pace is faster than ever. While.

Read Article
February 16, 2023

Virtualizing Satcom Business Models

Virtualization has been among the top buzzwords among satcom equipment vendors over the last few years, but the truth is that little tangible progress has occurred. Obviously, the technical requirements of virtualizing network functions need time, but most of the vendors are now about to launch their new iteration of VSAT platforms incorporating some sort.

Read Article

Last Mile Delivery in Space: A Strategic Market

As the space sector experiences growth, satellite manufacturers are improving production capabilities to meet demand from players like EchoStar and Inmarsat. However, even with some good news stories such as for Starship and ISRO’s SSLV, launch service providers still struggle to keep up with the increasing demand for satellite deployment. Last Mile Delivery (LMD) service.

Read Article

Services Drive Space Economy Growth

According to NSR’s latest Global Space Economy (GSE) 3rd Edition report, the Space Economy is poised to generate USD$ 1.4 trillion over the period of ’21 to ’31, with a growth rate of 6.8%. Service revenue is the key driver of future revenues as infrastructure investments today move to service revenues tomorrow. With services largely.

Read Article
February 9, 2023

Polar Militarization a SATCOM Opportunity?

Conversations in 2019 on the U.S. position in the Arctic noted their inability to defend national interests compared to Russian forces within the region. SATCOM for government and military within the Arctic region increased based on these conversations, generating a noticeable CAGR. Non-GEO HTS is a highly attractive option to government and military interests, as.

Read Article
February 2, 2023

Gov/Mil: Optical Satcom Ignitor or Propellant?

Government and military customers have been at the epicentre of demand for optical satellite communications as it transitions from nascent and equipment-centric to a robust emerging ecosystem. Organizations such as SDA, DARPA have been key facilitators for this move through multiple contracts for their planned Tranche 0, Tranche 1 and Blackjack constellations, and research programs.

Read Article
February 1, 2023

Impact of Economic Slowdown on VSAT Market

2022 had been a difficult year for the world owing to the geopolitical challenges such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict, U.S.-China relationship, increase in food and energy prices, continued increase in bank interest rates, and others. It is estimated that the global inflation rate grew by ~ 8.8% in the year 2022. These have led to.

Read Article
January 10, 2023

Will Launch Delays and Failure Slow Down?

Launch delays and failures are common in the space industry, dating back to Explorer 1 in 1958, the initial U.S. satellite, which had been delayed due to weather conditions. One would think that the number of delays and failures would decrease as technology evolves and players gain more experience, but this is not the case..

Read Article

Direct-to-Device Driven by Software-Defined Satellites

Direct-to-device made a huge splash in satellite last year. First, with Starlink’s partnership with T-Mobile to expand coverage through its 2nd generation constellation. Apple followed not long after, investing $450 million into a similar deal with Globalstar. AST Space Mobile’s BlueWalker-3 satellite launched, unfolding its 700 square foot antenna to test technologies for an upcoming.

Read Article

The Real Value Proposition of Suborbital Space Tourism & Travel

Travelling to space and seeing the Earth from above is touted as a profoundly unique, once-in-a-lifetime experience. Despite the excitement that has come with space travel, the industry has also faced challenges in recent years, including launch failures, delays and criticism from people that argue there is no value in space tourism except for billionaires.

Read Article
January 4, 2023

NSR’s Top 10 Predictions for 2023

As the space industry embarks on perhaps its most transformational year yet, we at NSR thought it would be a great time to make bold predictions on the year ahead. The predictions provided herein range across the satellite & space market, but one trend is clear: never before has such change been thrust upon the.

Read Article
December 15, 2022

Unlocking Satellite Connectivity in Asia

The Satellite Communications market is at a critical stage with the change in dynamics across the value chain. Major changes driving the markets include massive capacity supply, horizontal and vertical industry consolidations, increased need of connectivity post COVID-19 and relative reduction in regulatory barriers. With the evolving industry dynamics, stakeholders are looking for new opportunities.

Read Article

Satcom for Smart Mines

In today’s energy world, there is a growing need for resilient, high-speed connectivity that can seamlessly support everything from exploration and upstream scouting to extraction and distribution. Energy companies and remote operations worldwide are looking to improve productivity, crew well-being, and site safety with real-time video streaming, continuous communications, and advanced analytics. Demand for reliable,.

Read Article
December 14, 2022

Race to the Moon: Will SpaceX be Enough?

This past Sunday, NASA’s Artemis I mission splashed down in the Pacific Ocean. It was an historic occasion, both the 50th anniversary of the last human lunar landing, as well as a milestone marking the beginning of NASA’s return to the Moon. Days before, Japanese billionaire, Yusaku Maezawa, revealed his 8-person crew to accompany him.

Read Article
December 8, 2022

FPA’s Time to Cross the “Valley of Death”?

There is no secret that ‘times are hard’. Today is especially hard for early-stage pre-revenue technology ventures. The satellite communications sector has seen LEO constellations come into and out of viability as funding runs out. It should therefore be no surprise that one of their other ‘key enabling technologies’ Flat Panel Antenna (FPA) ventures are.

Read Article

Consumer IoT in a Direct-To-Handset World

Consumer IoT has traditionally been one of the strongest growth opportunities for MSS IoT markets, with Iridium in particular seeing record growth through consumer products such as the Garmin InReach, which currently dominates this market. Globalstar likewise has a strong showing with its SPOT range of devices. However, a growing number of announcements in the.

Read Article

Software Defined Satellites: Winners of the New-SatCom Era

The software defined satellite (SDS) market has been buzzing with news starting with the launch of Eutelsat 10B, upcoming launch of SES’ mPower satellites, and new orders from Eutelsat, Intelsat, and SES. The need for SDS is driven by a variety of factors: demand for satellite-based connectivity, development and availability of new technologies, and support.

Read Article
December 1, 2022

Gateway-Station Partnering with LEO Constellations

Authors: Christopher Baugh | Carlos Placido (independent adviser) Satcom LEO constellations are often assessed through the lens of the last-mile, end-user perspective. This side of the business is where constellations’ missions are ultimately realized so focus is rightly put on deliverables such as user IP bandwidth, visible satellites and the cost of terminals. Nevertheless, having.

Read Article
November 16, 2022

Is the SatCom Wholesale Model Nearing End of Life?

The satellite communications industry is undergoing a reorganization of business models in the face of maturing video broadcasting and the drum of disruption from mega constellation players such as Starlink. Historically, the industry modelled a typical oligopoly with a few dominant global and regional players utilizing critical orbital positions alongside solid barriers to entry and.

Read Article

Should Satcom Start Thinking About 6G?

No, 5G is not the end of the road. In fact, 6G is closer than one might think with standardization efforts starting around 2027 and early deployments rolling out as soon as 2030. To put the timeline in context, this is half-way through the orbital life of a typical GEO satellite launched today! Undoubtedly, the.

Read Article
November 14, 2022

Earth Observation Growth Engine: SAR

The Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery market has traditionally been limited to government and commercial programs with large and expensive satellites. However, new and emerging players are paving the way for operators to establish a foothold in the market with smaller and more nimble satellites and flexible delivery methods. SAR’s key capabilities were highlighted during.

Read Article
November 9, 2022

Is The Satellite Industry Ready for Cyberwarfare?

Satellite cybersecurity is gaining more attention in the industry and among government officials, with raising concerns about a cyber warfare. The biggest space powers are taking the lead in satellite cybersecurity, while governments are publicly addressing how challenging it is to pinpoint security flaws, asking feedback and soliciting industry ideas to better defend satellites from.

Read Article
October 24, 2022

SATCOM Data Traffic in GEO

Space data traffic is dominated by satellite communications (SATCOM), making up 530 EB out of the 566 EB of global space traffic over the period from 2021-2031. The SATCOM market is experiencing a transition from video to data, driven by changing end-user demand and technical innovations, with overall growth amounting to 26% by 2031.  Within.

Read Article

The Endpoint Drives the Architecture in Mobility SATCOM

Connectivity is not a luxury anymore for mobility markets. Be it terrestrial or satellite – anything that moves frequently needs to be connected. Increase the number of people, the cost of the asset or the criticality of its mission – and the need for connectivity scales exponentially. Put those assets – a car, train, ship.

Read Article
October 18, 2022

Satellite-to-Smartphone: LEO Constellation Facets

Unlike technically proven (FSS-band) LEO-HTS satcom constellations requiring communication terminals, these new initiatives aim to deliver on the promise of direct satellite-to-regular-handset communications through cellular and MSS spectrum in areas unreachable by existing cell towers. Yet, architectural facets drive a wide set of capabilities ranging from asynchronous emergency texting to continuous voice and broadband data connectivity.

Read Article
October 5, 2022

Non-Imagery EO Data: Golden Ticket or Pipe Dream?

Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) applications are a major driver for Earth Observation (EO) markets, but the overarching question on demand for non-imagery sources in the long-term, and the size of the opportunity is still front and center.

Read Article
September 19, 2022

To Trust or Zero Trust: Satellite Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity in the satellite & space industry has become a popular topic of discussion since the attack on ViaSat earlier this year. But cyber experts have been raising concerns about cyber threats on critical infrastructure for years, such as power grids, petrochemical plants, nuclear reactors, water systems, and satellites, to name a few. Large scale.

Read Article

Is Non-GEO a Real Threat to Incumbents?

In a word, Yes! However, market dynamics and the interplay of both are not as simple as they seem. For a while now, Non-GEO players have been the locus of mixed viewpoints in the Satellite Communication ecosystem due to market forces resulting into success, failure, delays and challenging scenarios. Despite all odds, the momentum for.

Read Article
September 13, 2022

“Whale-Sized” Disruption by Starlink in Maritime SATCOM?

There should be little doubt that ocean cruise ships, ferries, and river ships require a lot of bandwidth. NSR projects that the average passenger ship will increase from an average of 32 Mbps per vessel in 2021 to upwards of 364 Mbps on average of throughput demand by 2031 in its latest Maritime SATCOM Markets,.

Read Article
August 29, 2022

Finally, SpaceX Joining the Direct Satellite-to-Device Race

T-Mobile and SpaceX announced a technology partnership to develop Direct Satellite-to-Smartphone connectivity and offer ubiquitous coverage and network resiliency. This will be an innovative additional feature for the network, but how real is this market opportunity? What are the technology enablers/challenges? Will this cannibalize telco/satellite revenues? Who is ahead in this race? While this is.

Read Article
August 11, 2022

Another Satellite Capacity Pricing Plunge on the Horizon

Since the first quarter of 2020, satellite capacity pricing decline has been slowing down. NSR’s recently-released Satellite Capacity Pricing Index, 8th Edition report, finds that the global pricing trend averaged a -3% year-on-year change in Q1 2022, a relatively stable range. This compares to -5% in Q1 2021 and -13% in Q1 2020. Even worst,.

Read Article
July 28, 2022

Is the Eutelsat-OneWeb Merger the “Right” Move?

Eutelsat surprised the Telecom community with plans to merge with OneWeb, an announcement that has generated both positive feedback (Exane/BNPP) and negative reactions (shares tumbling after announcement). Eutelsat is fully right about the need to pivot towards a connectivity-centric business. But, there are multiple questions that are not so certain: Is merging with OneWeb the.

Read Article
July 26, 2022

Deconstructing the Maritime SATCOM TAM

440,000 Vessels. That is the size of the total addressable market (TAM) for broadband satellite connectivity in 2021 according to NSR’s latest Maritime SATCOM Markets 10th Edition report. Through to 2031, NSR expects TAM to increase by 156k vessels, resulting in nearly 600k total addressable maritime broadband satcom vessels. Overall, the demand for higher throughput connectivity.

Read Article
July 20, 2022

Launchers as Strategic Edge to Independence in Space

In the last decade, the launch market has shifted considerably from SpaceX delivering on its promise of high cadence reusable launch and rideshare programs becoming the norm, while more innovative approaches on hundred launchers have been in development.  Yet, launch remains the industry’s bottleneck. SLS has been delayed, pushing Artemis & NASA’s ambition to the.

Read Article
June 22, 2022

Complicated Satellite Capacity Pricing Trends

Over the past seven years, satellite capacity pricing has maintained a year-on-year downward spiral, primarily driven by the imbalance in supply-demand dynamics and the transition to High Throughput Satellites (HTS) with better unit economies. However, since 2020, with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, satellite capacity pricing negotiations have become increasingly intricate as service providers.

Read Article
June 21, 2022

Will 5G Mean the End of MSS Land Mobile?

The MSS/narrowband satellite connectivity market has historically offered a straightforward value proposition: connectivity absolutely anywhere, anytime, typically using L-band or other extremely reliable, albeit low-bandwidth frequency bands. Do you have a team on a mining site that you want to have connected 24/7/365, no questions asked? Or alternatively, are you managing a battalion in which.

Read Article
June 13, 2022

ATG Beyond the Pandemic Boost

Demand for Inflight Connectivity (IFC) is at an all-time high, with growth outpacing the general aviation sector’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic heralded two fundamental changes in IFC demand. First, passengers developed more hunger to stay connected while onboard, emulating behavioral patterns learned at home at the peak of the pandemic-induced work-from-anywhere and.

Read Article

Edge Computing in Space: Necessity or Luxury?

The increasing reliance on data for decision-making and the rising number of exploration missions, and EO constellations with high resolution sensors with increased revisit frequencies is growing data generated onboard satellite exponentially. However, the bottleneck on the ground to handle data poses a challenge to obtain low latency actionable insights for critical decision making. Thus,.

Read Article
June 3, 2022

Evolving Business Models in Satellite Backhaul

With Satellite Backhaul continuously playing a bigger role and MNOs now willing to outsource bigger portions of their rural assets, ‘Network-as-a-Service’ business models are thriving. In fact, according to NSR’s Wireless Backhaul via Satellite, 16th Edition report, the service revenues derived from Satellite Backhaul will approach $30 Billion per year by 2031, an opportunity that.

Read Article
May 26, 2022

Can MuskCo Make Connected Car Mainstream?

Over the past couple of decades, vehicles have become smartphones on wheels, with an increasing number of electronic components, chipsets, and devices being connected to a vehicle at any given time. With the advent of electric vehicles, this trend is becoming even more apparent, with what are effectively software-defined cars coming off production lines at.

Read Article
May 17, 2022

Data Downlink: The Shining Star of Satellite-Based Cloud Services

Obtaining data from space remains a massive bottleneck yet to be resolved. The increasing resolution of space-based sensors, data collected at higher revisit rates and the lack of onboard memory or relay systems for massive amounts of information from scientific missions all contribute to the current downlink bottleneck experienced by many operators and scientists. Due.

Read Article
May 4, 2022

Executing Satellite Backhaul Growth Plans

Satellite is a cool technology again! But there is still a lot of work to be done.  By way of background, despite recent significant improvements in Satellite Backhaul fundamentals, specifically throughput, capacity prices, ground segment, and cheaper RAN (among others), the industry was struggling to change MNOs’ mindsets as satellite was still perceived as an.

Read Article
May 3, 2022

Diseconomies of Scale in Aero IFC

The inflight connectivity (IFC) market continues to shine as an attractive vertical for satellite operators, prompting some operators to move downstream. At the same time, service providers are investing in upstream capabilities to remain competitive. Depending on how analysts view the market, IFC shows both signs of a maturing landscape with the recent consolidations and.

Read Article
April 27, 2022

Space Debris Removal: Are Technology and Policy Aligned?

Last week, the U.S. Administration declared a ban on anti-satellite missile tests (ASAT), citing concern over the danger of the resulting space debris. Previously, Russia’s ASAT test was universally condemned due to the large debris cloud produced, and before that, India’s 2019 testing raised similar concerns. The proliferation of new satellites to the rising dangers.

Read Article
March 29, 2022

High Demand for High Bandwidth Laser Communication

The market for optical satellite communications has shaped up in recent years, led by the rise in New Space satellite network operators requiring high bandwidth intersatellite links and remote sensing solutions that demand greater downlink capabilities. Still in its early stages, this market continues to be largely equipment-centric. However, multiple players have moved on from.

Read Article
March 13, 2022

Is Space Tourism a Victim of the War in Europe?

The space tourism and travel market has received significant attention in the media since last year’s groundbreaking suborbital flights from Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin. While the space tourism industry received  criticism for polluting the atmosphere and being an exclusive club, other missions such as SpaceX Inspiration-4 were praised with more enthusiasm around the world.

Read Article
March 11, 2022

Protecting Sovereignty with SSA

From the booming satellite launch market to higher frequency of human activities, the space domain has never been of more important to all space-faring nations. NSR forecasts over 24,000 satellites are expected to launch over the next decade, creating a never seen before problem for operators. This boost in activity has led to a new.

Read Article
March 9, 2022

Benchmarking the Global Space Economy

Interest in space is exploding, with the industry seeing growth and opportunities that weren’t just dormant, they simply didn’t exist 5-10 years ago. Over the next decade, according to NSR’s Global Space Economy, 2nd Edition, cumulative revenue is expected to hit USD $1.25T. Video, the use-case that built most of the satellite industry and continues.

Read Article

What’s the Wi-Fi Password? Exploring Crew & Cargo Data Traffic Volumes

Everyone loves a good selfie. Especially from unique and exotic locations. Even Robots are getting ‘in on the fun’ most recently with NASA’s James Web Space Telescope sending back its own version of a ‘selfie’ – “strictly for engineering and alignment purposes” naturally. As Space Tourism continues to increase, the amount of data traffic ‘strictly.

Read Article
March 3, 2022

Optical Satcom: Into the Light

As satellite communication technology has caught up to the market through past decades, one of the key demand drivers has been that of ever-increasing capacity and data throughputs. High-throughput satellites have become more common, powered by high data rate inter-satellite links in the case of non-GEO constellations, and earth observation sensors have improved tremendously, necessitating.

Read Article
February 22, 2022

The Big Impact of Big Data

Satellite big data services are undoubtedly a growing market. A digital transformation across customer verticals has translated into new business opportunities for satellite operators and service providers, driving adoption of cloud computing at different layers of the satellite big data supply chain. Additionally, a market for analytic solutions that simplifies raw geospatial data to consumable.

Read Article
February 17, 2022

Are Terminals Included for MILSATCOM Systems?

Every year NSR writes about an ‘upcoming wave’ of sovereign SATCOM capabilities – WGS-11+, Skynet-6EC, etc. and today is no different. In the past few months, the UK announced $2B in ‘new funding for military space programs’, the European Commission announced “€6 billion program” with a component focused on secure connectivity, and Australia recently opened.

Read Article
February 9, 2022

Commercial Space Stations : Big Bet or Sure Win?

Last year, NASA awarded Blue Origin, Nanoracks, and Northrop Grumman $416 million in contracts toward the study of designs of commercially-operated space stations. With the ISS currently planned for retirement by 2031, and following the growing commercialization of LEO, its government owners are looking at potential replacements. Space tourism is publicized as the next commercial.

Read Article

Starlink & Other Non-GEOs: Shifting Paradigm for Fixed VSATs?

Non-GEO players are accelerating their go-to-market strategies to penetrate different segments of the Satellite Communication markets, especially in the high volume, highly lucrative fixed VSAT segment. Starlink has already acquired 145,000+ broadband access subscribers globally under the beta plan and now has announced the service roll out plan for enterprise customers. OneWeb is also progressing.

Read Article
February 2, 2022

The CAGRs of Traffic Volumes vs. Revenues

As Satellite & Space Analysts there are few truths in our market: Schedules almost always slip to the right; and the volume of data always increases. While others at NSR frequently comment around schedule (see… nearly anything we publish), the second ‘fact’ requires further explanation. It is no doubt true that the amount of “data”.

Read Article
February 1, 2022

Satcom Interoperability- Is Open RAN the Answer?

Targeting the reduction of infrastructure costs, eliminating vendor lock-in effects and accelerating virtualization (do these objectives sound familiar to the Satellite industry?), Mobile Operators have embarked on the standardization of Open RAN. In fact, this is one of the hottest topics in the Telco industry with major endorsements like the commitment by the 4 largest.

Read Article
January 17, 2022

Satcom 2021 in Review, and Prospects for 2022

2021 saw a continuation of industry-wide transition in the satellite communications market, with the COVID-19 pandemic accelerating or worsening key industry trends. Most of NSR’s guidance for the satcom market persisted through the year, and some are set to accelerate in 2022. These trends include uneven growth across various verticals, vertical integration and horizontal consolidation,.

Read Article

Climate Focus Fuels Satellite Big Data

COP26 in late 2021 saw several plans and promises being announced to address the climate crisis, many that touched upon themes related to deforestation, ocean resource protection and carbon emissions, among others. Countries agreed on rules for international carbon markets, pledged to end deforestation and land degradation, and to cut down on methane emissions. In.

Read Article
January 11, 2022

Bridging the Digital Divide – Satcom Positioning and Opportunity

Wave-after-Wave in this ongoing pandemic, the one element that has been greatly highlighted, is the need for robust Internet connectivity and bridging the digital divide across the globe. Remote learning, working, healthcare, conducting businesses and other key socio-economic activities have become universal and hence have exposed the still wide digital divide across regions and communities..

Read Article
January 10, 2022

How Is the Satellite Industry Impacted by the Electronics Shortage?

The global chip crisis has significantly impacted a variety of industries, and Satcom is obviously not immune to this widespread components shortage. All Satellite equipment manufacturers (be it Ground or Space segments) are encountering challenges meeting growing demand in the current COVID-19 climate. Taking Ground Segment as an illustration, NSR detected a good recovery in.

Read Article
January 4, 2022

Opportunities and Challenges for Software-Defined Satellites

Flexibility is the greatest driver in the satellite industry. From manufacturing to launch, in-orbit to on-the-ground operation, flexible technologies, pricing, and solutions offer diversity and increase the playing field for competition. Yet, more does not always mean better, and the pace and necessity of flexibility can differ widely from market to market, customer to customer.

Read Article
December 16, 2021

Adding Satcom Value by Leveraging 5G

Astranis is revolutionizing the Satcom value chain with a third service provider acquiring its own satellite capacity (PDI, Anuvu and most recently Andesat). This will certainly not be the last instance in which a Communications Service Provider acquires its own Space segment. In fact, in the time of cheap and easy access to Space, satellites become commoditized, and Satellite Operators need to rethink what value they bring.

Read Article

Non-GEO Procurement: The 660 Gbps Question for Gov & Mil Markets

As the U.S. Congress continues to move forward towards the next version of U.S. Defense spending, on the top of lawmakers minds are how exactly Gov & Mil end-users such as the U.S. DoD will engage and leverage commercial investments in Non-GEO HTS networks. The debate seems to be ‘over’ around if DoD will use.

Read Article

EO Fields of Dreams

Investment in the Earth Observation (EO) and related downstream analytics markets has massively increased in recent years, with 2021 more than doubling due to a number of satellite operators that announced plans to go public via SPAC routes. The commercial EO market is becoming increasingly competitive, with an ever-growing diversity in business models that offer.

Read Article
December 9, 2021

Financing Future Satellite Operator Growth

The satcom industry is set to witness the next wave of growth, driven by growing opportunities in consumer broadband, enterprise networks, mobility and government/military services. While some of these opportunities are greenfield application use cases, most of the expected demand is part of the age-long total addressable market (TAM), which has been unreachable due to incompatibility, pricing, supply.

Read Article
December 6, 2021

Lessons Learned from NSR’s Non-GEO Constellations Analysis Toolkit

Authors: Christopher Baugh | Carlos Placido (independent adviser) Mega-constellations are taking center stage in a pivotal time for high-speed satcom, but business-case and architectural facets will drive the multi-orbit, multi-band satellite paradigm. It is thus worth diving into the facts using NSR’s Non-GEO Constellations Analysis Toolkit 2.0 (NCAT2) to infer how LEOs may best interplay.

Read Article
November 10, 2021

Smallsat (IoT) Bits to Drive Large Returns

While NSR has been less optimistic on the prospect of the broadband connected car, one market that does present greater opportunities and is often overlooked is the narrowband connected vehicle market. While this market won’t have the potential mass market appeal of terrestrial technologies providing consumer entertainment, this will provide a strong value proposition across a range of.

Read Article
November 9, 2021

How Flexible is the GEO Satellite Market?

Software-defined satellites are a growing trend in the satellite industry, especially in GEO. With SES-17’s successful launch two weeks ago, and Eutelsat Quantum as well back in July, the industry is seeing more fully-flexible satellites in orbit.

Read Article
November 4, 2021

The Largest Opportunity in Satcom’s History: Direct Satellite-to-Device

DTH services apart (which are a declining market due to IP-Video trends) and GPS aside, satellite has never been able to reach the masses. In fact, satellite requires very specific equipment, know-how, etc. and, honestly, does not offer the convenience level of terrestrial alternatives. But the inclusion of Non-Terrestrial Networks in the definition of the 5G waveform and initiatives like AST.

Read Article
November 1, 2021

More EO Data Types…But for Who?

In the business of satellite-based remote sensing, the market for optical imagery is relatively well established, with a robust ecosystem of data/service providers and customer channels. While optical imaging leads in terms of market size, commercial Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery is not far behind, having come into its own in recent years. The ethos of commercialization that is characteristic of the new space movement has made significant inroads in these.

Read Article
October 27, 2021

Why LEO’s Target Fixed and Mobility Markets Simultaneously

Authors: Christopher Baugh | Carlos Placido (independent adviser) Satcom constellations beaming tens of Tbps are impacting the space sector and the broader telecom industry. Yet, when running demand-supply simulations on fixed-broadband and mobility datasets using NSR’s Non-GEO Constellations Analysis Toolkit 2.0 (NCAT2), it becomes clear that, while the amount of IP bandwidth produced is enormous,.

Read Article
October 20, 2021

IoT Under Construction

With countries learning to adapt to COVID-19, the construction industry is rebounding after a relative lull in the level of construction, not to mention supply chain issues halting other construction sites. With construction ramping up, heavy equipment manufacturers are no longer just interested in revenues from only hardware and are expanding into connectivity as a service and analytics platforms. While.

Read Article
October 15, 2021

Quantum Communications’ Key Verticals to Reach Full Speed

The rate of technological development seen in the domain of quantum communications is remarkable. The technology is in many cases still taking its first steps out of the comfort of academic circles, but this is quickly changing, both terrestrially and in space on a global scale. Indeed, things are moving quickly and NSR’s Quantum Communications.

Read Article
October 4, 2021

The Quantum Race for Secure Communications

Quantum communications, a niche application of quantum computing, involves using entangled light particles, photons, to securely transfer information. Today, Chinese citizens are the first in line to benefit from space-enabled quantum communication services. In response, Europe and North America have taken steps to ensure their citizens too may benefit from this advanced level of security..

Read Article
September 22, 2021

The “One-Terminal” FPA Solution

The satellite industry continues to show remarkable changes, with new evolutionary technologies being launched in the space and ground segment consistently. The demand for internet connectivity will continue to rise as the COVID-19 pandemic pushes digitalization and forces people to work from home. For the Flat Panel Antenna market, this means existing and new FPA.

Read Article
September 21, 2021

The Road to Free Wi-Fi Onboard Airplanes

The Inflight Connectivity (IFC) business was hit hard by COVID19, on the back of drastic downtime in aviation traffic in 2020. As a result, the segment saw on average a 35% decline in annual retail revenues last year, according to NSR’s Aeronautical Satcom Market Report, 9th Edition. However, as aviation traffic continues to bounce back.

Read Article
September 20, 2021

Smallsat IoT Market Update & Prognosis

A lot has changed in the smallsat IoT market in the last year, with a plethora of IoT smallsat launches, a number of new funding rounds, and a major acquisition as well. This market is heating up, and although there have been some delays from COVID-19, particularly with launches and chip supply issues, substantial progress.

Read Article
September 16, 2021

(How?) Can Maritime SATCOM Defy the “Verticalization Trend”

The recent $1.4B implied Enterprise Value of the Marlink transaction that was announced recently makes analysts like us at NSR pause – are there defensible corners of the satellite communications sectors that are immune from the on-going collapse of the value-chain by satellite operators? Can service providers survive the rapidly changing technology landscape of LEO.

Read Article
September 9, 2021

The Emerging Role of Hyperscalers

Industries are transforming rapidly, and it is increasing the sustainability risk for the inertial players. COVID-19 has forced businesses across nearly all industries to invest and deploy in remotely working models, process automation, system & network optimization. Undoubtedly, hyperscalers such as Google, Microsoft, Facebook and Amazon are at the core of these digital transformations, by.

Read Article
September 8, 2021

The Changing Satellite Supply Chain

The COVID-19 pandemic triggered a slowdown of most operational activities along the satellite manufacturing value chain. In the early pandemic days, manufacturing facilities had to put their activities on hold, and launches were delayed due to the interdependence of actors in the supply chain from both sides and the restraints put on personnel movement. This.

Read Article
August 25, 2021

Satcom Apps Move to the Cloud

Satellite communications is by far the largest segment in terms of data traffic via satellite. Despite major developments in the Earth Observation industry in recent years, data traffic for point-to-point communications via the satellite bent pipe continues to grow rapidly. The cloud is expected to play an increasingly important role across several segments in the.

Read Article
August 24, 2021

Building the Future (LEO?) Space Economy

As the Space and Satellite Industry starts to meet again “in-person” at events like the 36th Annual Space Symposium – just what does the future look like for the space economy? 2020 and 2021 have been transformative years characterized by a truly massive number of satellites launched by ‘new players’ such as SpaceX’s Starlink, a.

Read Article
August 23, 2021

The “Dishy Dilemma” for Flat Panel Antennas

Today in 2021, the demand for Internet connectivity in households globally has drastically increased because of COVID-19 and strict lockdown measures. While economic and social activities become more reliant on digital solutions, consumer behaviors toward broadband connectivity have also changed. More satellite constellations are being launched than ever before, and a rapidly changing environment for.

Read Article
August 19, 2021

Blurred Lines of Land-Mobile

While maritime and aero are key satellite markets due to clear remoteness, land mobile and M2M/IoT markets have always had to face competitive pressures from terrestrial networks. However, a new generation of networks which use similar technologies to terrestrial networks will be coming online in the coming years, promising unified connectivity on the same chipset..

Read Article

Stepping into Bandwidth Demand for Merchant Maritime End-Users

For the better part of the past decade, “Crew Welfare” has been one of the infamous use-cases fuelling the transformation of connectivity in the Merchant Maritime markets. Enabled by the ‘unlimited use’ and consistent monthly bills of VSAT-based services, building out a robust connectivity option for capturing latent crew connectivity requirements was cited as one.

Read Article
August 16, 2021

Aero Value-Chain, Any Space for New Players?

During the Connected Aviation Intelligence Summit virtual panel on 9 June 2021, executives from SpaceX, OneWeb, and Telesat forecast that most IFC capacity will come from Low-Earth Orbit systems over the next decade. SpaceX and Telesat executives expressed higher optimism that LEO will claim 90% or more of IFC services by 2030. This begs the question,.

Read Article
August 11, 2021

To Share or Not to Share… That is the SmallSat Launch Question

In the launch industry, heavy launch vehicles have long dominated the landscape. Initially, this was driven by necessity, as satellites were very large, heavy, and required the most lift possible. However, with the trends towards smaller satellites driven by miniaturization of payloads, delegation of onboard capability across fleets and networks, and new constellations announced almost.

Read Article
August 9, 2021

The New Space-As-A-Service Ecosystem

In a day and age where every part of the enterprise and government services operations is moving to the era of digitalization, the appearance of software as a dominant driver of changes is making more sense every day. And with this dominance comes new business models that are making their way even into the space.

Read Article
August 5, 2021

What’s Next for Narrowband Land Mobile?

Overall, enterprise land mobile has been seeing steady growth; however, for some time there hasn’t been any major changes to the dynamic. Instead, some of the more notable growth opportunities come from the consumer market, and potentially from connected vehicles as well. With other markets experiencing higher growth opportunities due to higher bandwidth data usage,.

Read Article
August 4, 2021

To the Satcom Industry: Satellites Don’t Matter!

To be clear, I’m a Space enthusiast, and that makes writing some of the following lines a bit more difficult. The Satellite Communications industry must acknowledge that satellites are no longer the stars of the industry. In the era of cheap and easy access to Space, satellites can’t be the key differentiator. The attention should shift towards services, networking and eventually applications. How is this slide of value creation taking shape?  Don’t get me.

Read Article
July 28, 2021

EO Downlink: Easing the Bottleneck

The Earth Observation industry is ascendant on multiple fronts, not the least of it being a growing number of satellites planned to launch over the coming decade. Sensor types are various, from very high resolution (VHR) optical and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) to hyperspectral, radio occultation and others. In 2020, Larry Fink, CEO at BlackRock,.

Read Article
July 20, 2021

Satellite Manufacturing: What Drives the Market?

Non-GEO HTS is not going anywhere. Despite concerns over the business case, over a thousand Non-GEO HTS satellites have already been deployed by various players. Operators like OneWeb, SpaceX, Kuiper, and new, private ventures in China are the main drivers of a satellite market expecting over 24,000 assets to be launched by the end of.

Read Article
July 14, 2021

Connected Car – Passenger Vehicles Yay or Nay?

NSR has heard the hype for years of the connected car, with dreams of every vehicle having a satellite dish on its roof. Elon Musk recently stated that Starlink will be connected to aircraft, ships, large tracks, and RVs – specifically excluding connected cars such as Teslas. Other companies by comparison, are planning to go.

Read Article
July 12, 2021

Will LEOs De-Stabilize the Satellite Capacity Ecosystem?

LEOs are a reality. After years of speculation and doubts, several NGSO projects are materializing. Both Starlink and OneWeb continue their aggressive launch schedule with initial service tests. mPower is getting ready for launch with auspicious pre-commitments. Telesat manufacturer selection and progress in financing lowers the risk of the constellation. Kuiper continues moving forward with.

Read Article
July 7, 2021

More Space Data Means More Cloud

A surge of NewSpace startups and traditional companies alike have leveraged cloud services to reduce lead time and grow revenues across the space industry. According to NSR’s Cloud Computing via Satellite, 2nd Edition report, Communications and Earth Observation are identified as the biggest opportunities in this market. Together they account for $18B of the projected.

Read Article
July 6, 2021

Will the Moon Have to Wait?

NASA and partner space faring nations around the globe are ambitiously focusing on returning to the Moon. Although, getting to the Moon has become harder due to expensive budgetary requirements, NASA is aiming to overcome the traditional barriers of procurement by enabling commercial companies to provide services via its public-private partnerships model, the Commercial Lunar.

Read Article
July 5, 2021

The Elon Musk Effect at #MWC21

The Mobile World Congress Barcelona 2020 was the first major conference to be cancelled because of COVID-19, and MWC21 has been the first major conference to be back, albeit at about 1/3rd of its traditional attendance. Satellite continued to grow in presence at MWC 2021 (proportionally), as MNOs take an increasingly open mind approach to.

Read Article

HTS Takes Flight in Aero IFC

The inflight connectivity (IFC) market has taken off over the past decade and is now witnessing the third wave of transition to next-generation networks, primarily driven by an upgrade to capacity from high throughput satellites (HTS) and extreme high throughput satellites (XTS). Just 3-4 years ago, market observers referred to HTS and XTS systems as.

Read Article
June 27, 2021

Symbiotic Relationship of Space Startups with Government

The relationship between space start-ups and government has been an integral cog in the development of multiple space verticals. Government undertakings with emerging startups offer investors potentially attractive returns and encourages them to follow suit with their own investments. NSR’s Emerging Space Investment Analysis, 3rd Edition report shows $36 billion was invested over the last.

Read Article
June 16, 2021

Consumers, COVID, and Cannibalisation of Land Mobile Satcom

2020 was a tumultuous year, and overall had the expected impact for Land Mobile usage, with handhelds, fixed voice and Push-to-Talk (PTT) revenues down year-over-year. One positive out of last year’s experience is a boost in demand for consumer handheld form factors as consumers seek more experiences with social distancing in remote areas. However, these.

Read Article
June 8, 2021

The End of Linear TV Satellite Distribution, As We Know It?

Authors: Christopher Baugh | Carlos Placido (independent adviser) Video distribution via satellite has a platform lifecycle growth problem. As OTT competes for viewers with linear TV, content fragmentation pushes broadcasters to re-assess the economics of satellite distribution in comparison with terrestrial and cloud platforms. The principle of video neighborhoods’ network effects is thus challenged. Is.

Read Article
June 2, 2021

Moon Market Economy Roadmap

Since 2016, 83 missions have been contracted to send spacecraft, infrastructure, and crew to the Moon, valued at $50 billion. With 8 space agencies and 26 commercial companies involved, and given the growing number of announcements and funding, suffice it to say, the race to the Moon is back. While there have been hundreds of.

Read Article
June 1, 2021

Demand Elasticity in Satellite Backhaul

Unprecedented levels of supply coming from NGSOs and next-generation GEO-HTS is getting ready for launch in the next few years. Will the industry be able to activate elasticities to fill the upcoming supply? Backhaul offers an excellent opportunity with high price elasticities and a huge addressable market still to be captured. Despite the significant price.

Read Article
May 27, 2021

Optical Satcom and the Digital Revolution

As enterprise and government actors digitize their systems and processes, they continue to transition to cloud-based services to meet their needs for more storage and data transportation solutions. The characteristics of optical satellite communications include speed and data volume are well placed to meet the needs of those customers with an ever-growing appetite for highly.

Read Article
May 25, 2021

VC’s and Space: A Patience Play

Investments in the emerging space economy are on the rise, reaching levels higher than ever before. A significant fraction of the total investments in NewSpace companies is limited to a few at the top across market segments. But there is also a flurry of companies founded in the Launch, Manufacturing and Geospatial Analytics market segments.

Read Article
May 24, 2021

Price Benchmarking of Satellite Broadband

Authors: Christopher Baugh | Carlos Placido (independent adviser) Satellite broadband is the one application whose mere existence hinges on pushing the limits of frequency reuse and spectral efficiency. With the proliferation of scalable HTS networks globally, broadband pricing is increasingly becoming –for better or worse– a barometer of regional and local satellite bandwidth pricing trends..

Read Article

Inter-Satellite Links: Is It Time for Lasers Yet?

The market for satellite-based free space optical communication continues to evolve, with an active ecosystem of laser communication terminal manufacturers at various stages of development. Over the past few years, this market has hinged on the promise of yet-to-arrive high volume demand from LEO-HTS constellations, specifically those with plans for inter-satellite optical links.  As seen.

Read Article
May 6, 2021

East vs. West: Building the First Lunar Base

Last week, China & Russia signed a memorandum of understanding to create a joint lunar science station. Earlier this week, the SLS core stage arrived at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, in anticipation of an Artemis 1 launch in late 2021, or early 2022. With major powers taking new, strongly funded, and different approaches to the Moon, has a new space race begun?  In.

Read Article
May 4, 2021

How Big is the Satellite Backhaul Opportunity?

Backhaul is one of the key growth engines for the Satcom Industry. A large portion of satellite capacity coming online in the next few years is purposely designed for Backhaul and, despite COVID-19, the segment continued to show major contract wins. But how big is the market, and for how long can this growth trajectory.

Read Article
April 28, 2021

Shifting Sands of Satcom Capacity Pricing

Authors: Christopher Baugh | Carlos Placido (independent adviser) Historians point out that a common effect of pandemics is the acceleration of trends already underway. This concept may well apply to high-profile satcom players filing for Chapter-11 during 2020, all within a relatively short period of time; a scenario previously foreseen but precipitated by the pandemic..

Read Article
April 22, 2021

Has the Space SPAC Train Left the Station?

The U.S. stock market is on its longest bull-run in history, which began in 2009. A decade later Virgin Galactic’s reverse merger with Social Capital Hedosophia raised $800M for the Space Tourism company, signalling the beginning of an extraordinary run in space investment. The significant increase in investment activity for space can partly be explained.

Read Article
April 14, 2021

Constellations: Accidents Waiting to Happen?

Last week, two major constellations operators,  OneWeb and SpaceX, nearly crashed in space, when two of their satellites almost collided.  Another near-miss happened the same day when two other satellites nearly struck each other over the Arctic. And last month, the 2-ton NOAA-17 satellite broke up, sending dangerous debris all along its orbit.  This type.

Read Article
April 12, 2021

Faster Flow for Satellite Big Data Pipes

The global satellite big data industry has come a long way during the latest wave in the emerging space industry.  More than 180 EO companies have been founded over the last 20 years, with a majority of them being downstream software and platform providers. Close to $700 million has been invested in this analytics segment.

Read Article
March 31, 2021

Parabolic Flights: A Case Study for Space Travel & Tourism

The ongoing pandemic has presented a plethora of opportunities as well as challenges to some of the emerging business verticals like Space Tourism and Travel. Recently, the DearMoon project, initiated by Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa recorded millions of participants applying to pursue their dream. On the other hand, Spaceport Cornwall rejected Virgin Galactic’s plan for.

Read Article
March 30, 2021

Emerging Opportunities in an Emerging Sector

The space industry is in a period of rapid transformation, with the largest growth rates occurring in the Satellite and Space Applications segment. The recently released, NSR Global Space Economy report forecasts significant growth within this segment, representing the highest annual growth market within the decade.  Albeit much smaller on an absolute revenue basis, when.

Read Article
March 23, 2021

Trash Talk about Debris in Orbit

Two weeks ago, the derelict NOAA-17 satellite broke up. At the same time, NASA jettisoned a 3-ton cargo pallet of junk from the International Space Station, part of the program’s typical waste process, which will remain in orbit for several years while NOAA’s satellite will be there for much longer. The problem with space debris.

Read Article
March 22, 2021

The Ground Segment Di(LEO)mma

LEOs are transforming the satellite industry, and the ground segment is no different. While the opportunity for equipment vendors is massive, it is not absent of risks. Non-GEOs will certainly unlock new areas of growth where equipment vendors can capture a portion of the value.  However, participating in the NGSO ecosystem requires heavy R&D efforts.

Read Article
March 18, 2021

Flying High in Gov & Mil Aero Satcom

There is no doubt that Government & Military customers are a significant consumer of space-based assets. For both the Infrastructure (manufacturing and launch) and commercial connectivity, Gov/Mil markets are some of the largest and most concentrated around. While complex in terms of engagement, or ‘exact agency/organization/administration’, these customers are one of the key pillars of.

Read Article
March 16, 2021

More Satcom Consolidation on the Horizon?

The global satellite communication industry is transitioning to meet new market trends and match projected threats from perceived disruptors. It is typical to expect mergers and acquisitions (M&A) within any maturing industry, especially technology-driven sectors, where inventors regularly threaten incumbents. In the case of satcom, the industry is entering a new consolidation cycle, where vertical.

Read Article
March 11, 2021

Finally Time for Optical Satcom?

In late January ten Starlink satellites equipped with inter-satellite laser links (ISL) were launched, and the founder of SpaceX, Elon Musk tweeted that in addition to these satellites, all future Starlink satellites would also have ISLs. The launch represents a five-fold increase of total laser terminals launched into orbit to date. In many ways this.

Read Article
March 8, 2021

Will Community Wi-Fi Bridge the Digital Divide?

Internet access is an integral part of the human necessity, owing to its immense impact on social and economic developments in a region or community. However, approx. 50% of the world’s population still do not have Internet access, creating a greater digital divide across regions. This inequality is significant between developing and developed regions, where.

Read Article
March 3, 2021

Orbital Space Tourism: Where Are We?

A year and a half ago, Virgin Galactic went public. Since then, the company has generated no “significant revenue”, nothing in the past two quarters, and has pushed the start of their commercial suborbital tourism service to 2022. Over on the orbital front, companies like Sierra Nevada, Boeing, and Blue Origin, are facing similar delays,.

Read Article
March 1, 2021

Does the Circle Close for Starlink?

As recognized on multiple occasions by Elon Musk, the Ground Segment, lowering end user terminal costs is probably “the most difficult technical challenge” Starlink is facing. In fact, this is the key to unlocking the Consumer Broadband market, not just for Starlink but for all the LEO constellations. The Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) won.

Read Article
February 23, 2021

Shifting Satellite Operator Financials

NSR’s Satellite Industry’s Financial Analysis, 10th Edition (SIFA10) report provides an in-depth assessment of the global satcom industry, analyzing critical financial, strategic, and competitive outlook of satellite operators and service providers across multiple metrics. The satcom industry continues to witness mixed financial results, with non-video revenues growing across multiple verticals, while the video business maintains.

Read Article
February 17, 2021

In-Orbit Servicing: Stepping up to the Challenge?

Last month,  Spaceflight Inc. launched 16 payloads on board its Orbital Transfer Vehicle (OTV), Sherpa-FX-1 on a SpaceX rocket to deliver them to a precise orbits, a first in LEO SSO orbit. And soon, a 2nd MEV from Northrop Grumman will latch on the Intelsat 10-02, solidifying the In-Orbit Servicing Market for Life Extension missions.

Read Article
February 16, 2021

Satellite Data Commoditization: Are We There Yet?

“Everything happens somewhere” has long served as an epithet in the geospatial industry, from the brand reposition of a 275-year-old mapping agency to the regular campaigns of international geospatial events. The downstream satellite big data industry has often prided itself on the ubiquity and importance of location data, a USP for large scale geo-intelligence, in.

Read Article
February 15, 2021

5G Satellite-to-Device Connectivity

Direct satellite connectivity to Mobile, at affordable prices, has been one of the moonshot objectives of the industry for many years. Leveraging the advances in 5G, multiple projects are pursuing this vision, attracting huge levels of interest in its way (AST & Science going public through a SPAC valuing the company at $1.8B). But what.

Read Article
February 8, 2021

Enterprise VSAT Strategy: Exploration or Exploitation?

The interplay between Exploration and Exploitation is critical for the long-run performance of a solution, company, or sector. Enterprise VSAT market revenues have plateaued with long exploitation of the conventional satellite connectivity offerings and hence, the industry had been in exploration for next-gen technologies, products or solutions to push the segment’s topline on the growth.

Read Article
February 4, 2021

Space Tourism: Finally, Ready for Liftoff?

As challenging as 2020 was, one part of our industry  progressed and grabbed the media limelight, even into the early part of 2021: space tourism. Several tests, funding rounds and SpaceX’s commercial launch of a NASA crew kept the dream of space tourism alive. Through hardships and long development time, demand for space tourism remains.

Read Article
February 1, 2021

The Gov/Mil SATCOM Jigsaw Puzzle

Following on the footsteps of Skynet-6A reaching Preliminary Design Review (PDR), a critical step towards its eventual launch in 2025, the Gov & Mil SATCOM sector is entering into the next-phase of sovereign military SATCOM systems. Built in the age of cyber-awareness, the proliferation of lower-cost RF jamming technology, and the ongoing requirements to move.

Read Article
January 28, 2021

Did the Satcom Industry Hit a Hard Reset?

It is no longer news that the global satcom industry is stuck in a period of stunted growth, revenue declines and uneven investor appetite. When it appeared 2020 might be a sigh of relief following industry-resetting M&As of the 2016-19 era, COVID-19 emerged, further exacerbating an already distressed industry.  However, the “hard reset” in 2020.

Read Article
January 24, 2021

Groundwork for COVID-19 Recovery

The Satellite Ground Segment has been one of the hardest-hit steps in the value chain brought about by the pandemic. With many deployments and new deals halted due to lockdowns, equipment could not be shipped, and revenues were not generated. But COVID-19 also accelerated the transformation of the industry, laying the groundwork for solid future.

Read Article
January 13, 2021

EO: The Netflix Model

Satellites, given their constant surveillance and coverage capabilities, are a natural fit for Earth Observation. A single satellite, with the right resolution and altitude, could take a snapshot of the country, and the right expertise and tools would allow you to assess the extent or the snowfall, especially when compared with historical imagery.

Read Article
January 8, 2021

Satellite Big Data: An Evolving Ecosystem

The Satellite Big Data market is still in its infancy, with the landscape of players ever evolving. The COVID-19 pandemic threw geospatial applications into the spotlight this past year, when most of the world’s workforce went remote, and multiple industries looked towards digitizing their operations.

Read Article
January 7, 2021

Ku-band: The Other Side of IoT

MSS satellite services, and smallsats are generally the main focus for M2M and IoT nowadays, with narrowband applications being well suited to these technology types. However, NSR also covers the Ku-band and VSAT M2M/IoT markets, which currently take up approximately 21% of overall revenues for satcom M2M/IoT.

Read Article
January 4, 2021

Non-GEO Satcom- From Transition to Affirmation

The Non-GEO satcom market has been highly speculative over the past decade, especially with the upcoming constellations – Starlink, Kuiper, Telesat, OneWeb and others. But in 2020, against COVID-19 odds, the segment has transitioned to a significant level of affirmation with multiple players achieving key milestones with their developments and contract awards. Although there have.

Read Article
December 8, 2020

Succeeding in the Satcom Transition to 5G

The wide Telecommunications industry is on the verge of a major transformation with the arrival of 5G. Satcom is no different and 5G represents an extraordinary window of opportunity for becoming a mainstream solution. How can Satcom maximize this opportunity? With COVID-19 we might have lost sight of a big inflexion point in 2020: the.

Read Article
December 7, 2020

Cloud Computing in Space: Heavyweights Weigh In

Since then, cloud players have emerged as a key segment to watch out for in the satellite business, first through direct peering partnerships such as Azure ExpressRoute and IBM Direct Link, and more recently, through high profile dedicated business units as in the case of AWS Aerospace and Satellite Solutions and Azure Space.

Read Article
December 3, 2020

Non-GEO Constellations: Answering the Call?

Non-GEOs continue to make noise, and for the right reasons. With SpaceX launching hundreds of satellites and revealing more info on their user antennas (with Musk admitting that the biggest challenge is cost of user terminals) to OneWeb restarting their production and awaiting a 36-satellite December launch, to Telesat forming a new public company post.

Read Article
December 1, 2020

The Next Four Years of Gov & Mil SATCOM Markets?

Many things in 2020 have “defied norms” as it relates to the Space and SATCOM Industry – mass shutdown of cruise and aeronautical markets, significant increases in consumer and cellular backhaul demand, supply-chain disruption, and on-site installation or commissioning access restrictions. In addition to these COVID-19 related market factors, the United States will also enter.

Read Article
November 23, 2020

Fertile Ground in Agriculture IoT

M2M and IoT over satellite have mainly been implemented in cargo and transport applications, as well as in energy markets. However, one application (agriculture) is expected to buck the existing trend and achieve outsized returns…how can operators capture this growth, and excel in this increasingly competitive market? 

Read Article
November 16, 2020

5G: Touching Every Corner of Satcom

In this sense, 5G will be transformational in many aspects of the Satcom ecosystem: from stimulating demand in many segments, seamlessly integrating Satcom in the mainstream Telco ecosystem or becoming a tool for optimizing Satellite Network design and operations.

Read Article
November 15, 2020

Non-Imagery Keeping Pace in EO

In the business of Earth Observation, positioning is just as key. While the industry is well-established, with imagery setting the pace and breaking away as the front-runner, a non-imagery market is emerging.

Read Article
November 3, 2020

Smallsat IoT: Finally Time to Shine?

Once dismissed as hype – the planning of these constellations has come a long way. Is it finally time for smallsat IoT to shine, and how should it move forward in an era of COVID-19?

Read Article
October 27, 2020

LEO Launch: The Next Frontier

A few days ago, SpaceX launched payloads into orbit for the 100th time. An impressive milestone, the latest launch deployed 60 Starlink satellites into the company’s communication network. From communications to Earth Observation, constellations certainly are a core strategy in the commercialization of LEO. On an almost daily basis, announcements are made regarding investment, deployment,.

Read Article
October 20, 2020

EO Markets Prove Resilient

This has been a very hard year for a lot of industries, include the satellite industry. From grounded flights and shored-up cruises, bankruptcies and layoffs, COVID-19 has strongly impacted the entire satellite industry. However, while most of the market is experiencing a downturn, consolidation, and restructuring thanks to the pandemic, Earth Observation has demonstrated strong resiliency. In fact, in some cases, the market is growing.

Read Article
October 14, 2020

LEO Speed: When Milliseconds are Worth $Millions

“Remember that time is money” wrote Benjamin Franklin in a 1748 book.  The concept of opportunity cost believed to trace back to ancient Greek philosophers but popularized by one of the founding fathers of the United States, may nowhere be more critical to business than in the realms of high-frequency trading (HFT).

Read Article
September 22, 2020

SpaceX-RAYing Starlink Developments

Authors: Christopher Baugh | Carlos Placido (independent adviser) The Starlink constellation is currently made up of over 650 communication satellites orbiting Earth at an altitude of 550 kilometers. By satellite count, such partial deployment already makes SpaceX the world’s largest satellite operator of FSS frequency bands suitable for high-throughput connectivity. As more Starlink and OneWeb.

Read Article
September 1, 2020

Navigating the Satcom Connected Car

NSR previously identified the pivot of Land Mobile from narrowband revenues to broadband revenues. With massive bandwidth requirements (and potentially terabytes of data) due to highly sophisticated software systems, Connected Cars are one component of this new revenue growth, and with a huge addressable market, it’s no wonder satellite operators, ground equipment manufacturers and service.

Read Article
August 25, 2020

5G and the Future of Capacity Leasing

When considering 5G, one might inadvertently focus on user-oriented characteristics such as latency or throughput.  However, the reality is that one area where 5G will be more disruptive is on the backend of networks

Read Article
August 24, 2020

Can Non-GEO HTS Beat Fiber Economics?

Authors: Christopher Baugh | Carlos Placido (independent adviser) The inter-play between telecom and satellite operators connecting remote points on Earth is a well-established, niche business. Telecom and satellite ecosystems have cooperated for decades as satellites adapted roles from serving international trunks, to jumpstarting Internet backbone connections in developing regions, to supporting domestic backhauling for wireless.

Read Article
August 19, 2020

Infrastructure in the Stratosphere

Several programs from the last two decades alone promised the use of stratospheric platforms for comms and observation, most of which fell through in the end. However, recent investments and subsequent mission successes from commercial players such as Alphabet and Airbus have injected a fresh wave of hope.

Read Article
August 17, 2020

What Drives Satellite Flexibility: Necessity or Opportunity?

Flexible satellites have been around for some time, but the rate and scale of flexibility has increased exponentially over the last few years. Declining GEO capacity prices, rise in competition and the need for reduced time to orbit and are just a few factors that led to greater need for software-defined satellites.

Read Article
August 4, 2020

A Land Mobile Satcom Duel to Behold

NSR found the Land Mobile via satellite will reach an inflection point where the change in the revenue mix will undergo quite a profound shift from narrowband technologies to broadband platforms and use cases. So, what does this mean for satellite operators and services providers?

Read Article
July 30, 2020

Tip of the Iceberg for Maritime SATCOM?

As the mobility satcom market experiences an unprecedented disruption, these already stressed businesses made hard choices around their future – internal fractions in the iceberg of Maritime SATCOM Connectivity.

Read Article
July 28, 2020

High Altitude Platforms: Loony No More?

High Altitude Platforms have remained an emerging market even in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. What is driving this interest, and why might the current wave of HAPs-related activity be any different from those of previous decades?

Read Article
July 20, 2020

Hindsight 2020: Launch Will Survive

It is fair to say 2020 has been widely chaotic, and that is no different for the space launch industry. The industry is facing a pandemic that affects the global aerospace workforce, a spiral of launch delays and supply chain issues, and a string of launch failures from established and new launch providers alike

Read Article
July 15, 2020

Space for the Cloud: Data from Orbit

Cloud services ranging from IaaS and edge computing to virtualization and SaaS applications are not new to the IT industry; they have been well-known for years and are traditional concepts in most sectors. Not so in the satellite sector though, where a surge in the adoption of cloud-based technologies is underway.

Read Article
July 9, 2020

Which Direction for IFC Free Service?

According to NSR’s Aeronautical Satcom Markets, 8th Edition report, 43% of the total number of IFC offering airlines cumulating to 31% of all aircraft now use an Airline-directed business model.

Read Article
July 1, 2020

Satcom Reality Check

The satcom industry is going through turbulent times. A wave of high-level bankruptcies, layoffs, cost-cutting measures and investment deferrals have rattled the industry. COVID obviously places significant pressure in an already challenged ecosystem, hitting key areas of Satcom growth like Mobility. But putting aside the panic around COVID for a moment, it is clear the business fundamentals for Satcom remain very solid. The actors that play their cards well will be able to capture double-digit growth once we reach the “new normal”.

Read Article
June 24, 2020

The Next Step in FPA Evolution

As FPA manufacturers find themselves stuck between the ultra-competitive aero market and the opportunistic, but challenging to meet, consumer broadband market, the Enterprise broadband market is fast becoming the next step in the evolution of FPA technology.

Read Article
June 15, 2020

Cloud Computing: Ratcheting the Satellite Industry Forward

Cloud computing represents an important technological shift that has been underway across industries since the turn of the century, impacting the bottom lines and business models of various players in the ICT sectors. Over the past decade alone, adoption of “the cloud” has surged forward with major legacy software vendors orchestrating efforts towards the emergence of on-demand self-service, rapidly elastic solutions on the so-called cloud.

Read Article
May 19, 2020

Aero IFC- Near-Term Turbulence but Long-Term Smooth Air?

After a few years of incremental growth in the In-flight Connectivity (IFC) market, COVID-19 has derailed the segment’s momentum for 2020 and beyond. According to the NSR’s COVID-19 survey results, mobility segments including aviation and maritime are the worst hit satcom segments amid the ongoing pandemic.

Read Article
April 14, 2020

The Evolution of Satcom Price Discounting

Satcom markets are experimenting with a wide range of new business models, with price discounting a key factor in most. With 2020 representing a key transition phase, NSR analyzed historical patterns of price discounting to ascertain what lies ahead.

Read Article
April 8, 2020

Yield Management in Satellite Backhaul

Satellite capacity price reductions have been critical to unlocking growth in markets like Backhaul. New price points made ultra-rural network deployments ROI-positive, unleashing solid elasticities and growth. But, is satcom leaking value to other steps of the value chain (MNOs, integrators) due to price competition? How should satellite operators and integrators optimize their pricing strategies.

Read Article
March 31, 2020

SSA: Satellite “Social” Distancing

Near-misses are nothing new, but with over 8,000 smallsats to be launched in the next decade, the chances of collision will continue to rise. Results would be disruptive, to say the least, and not the way the satellite industry tends to endorse. Extraneous satellite maneuvers, malfunction, orbital debris, loss of orbital slot, change in launch trajectory & schedule; these would be the minor consequences.

Read Article
March 26, 2020

Virtualizing the Satellite Ground Segment

While generally not driving as much hype as other technology trends in the satellite ecosystem, Ground Segment virtualization is arguably one of the most critical transformations the industry will experience in the coming years, as noted in NSR’s Commercial Satellite Ground Segment, 4th Edition report. Key to enabling scalability and flexibility of the networks, infrastructure vendors, integrators and operators are racing to adopt a new virtual framework. What are the key aspects of this transition?

Read Article
March 19, 2020

Optical Satcom: Under the Spotlight

With more data being created and circulated than ever before, Optical Wireless Communication (OWC) technology is emerging to serve the demand for higher data rates and lower latency, acting as an alternative or complementary to RF.

Read Article
March 17, 2020

Smallcells and Satellites: It’s a Match!

With recent declines in satellite capacity pricing, Satellite Backhaul became a real alternative for MNO rural deployments. However, CAPEX involved in the cell tower, primarily designed for urban areas with a dense distribution of subscribers, limited the market opportunity to relatively large population agglomerations.

Read Article
March 5, 2020

In-Orbit Servicing: Technology and Market Readiness Undocked

The space industry is full of acronyms, but TRL or “Technology Readiness Level” is one that we hear often for many new and emerging markets. As a measure of the availability and status of the technology required for an operation, it gives an indication of how close to ‘lift-off’ is the said technology.

Read Article
March 2, 2020

Scaling VSAT Platforms through M&A

M&A activity in the VSAT platform segment has been very dynamic in the last several months.  After iDirect/Newtec fired the starting gun, Comtech conducted a series of acquisitions including UHP and Gilat.

Read Article
February 21, 2020

Space Tourism: Humanity Leaving the Cradle?

As technology development accelerates at an ever-increasing speed, reaching new milestones that will arguably lead to putting commercial tourists in space this year, governments across the world are considering strategic long-term plans to establish a lasting human presence off-Earth

Read Article
January 30, 2020

Satcom Business Models in a 3.0 Era

NSR analyzed various fleet replenishment strategies in the year-end NSR’s article on Satcom 3.0 era, discussing relevance to operator per size and risk-taking ability starting in 2020. The growth patterns look quite different for operators falling between revenues of $100-$300M (low risk), $300M-$1B (medium risk) and finally greater than >$700M (high risk), and thus we began to inspect elements of business models that might be relevant to each category.

Read Article
January 27, 2020

Fixed VSAT: When will Price Elasticity be Activated?

NSR expects promising opportunities in the fixed VSAT segment in its VSAT & Broadband Satellite, 18th Edition (VBSM18) report and stated the satellite industry is merely scratching the surface of opportunity with <1% service penetration for the consumer broadband vertical.

Read Article
January 16, 2020

Goldilocks and SpaceX Smallsat Rideshare

The start of a new decade is a perfect time to take stock of the dynamic state of the launch industry. The previous decade saw much in the way of exciting changes and technological developments, accelerated by an environment of high competition.

Read Article
January 14, 2020

New Era for MILSATCOM – Or …?

As we enter a new decade, is Government & Military Satellite Communications about to enter a new age of capabilities? With WGS-11 slated to be delivered in the mid 2020’s, alongside new allied capabilities online for similar deployments, is the industry entering a new ‘milsatcom capacity revolution’?

Read Article
January 9, 2020

HAPs – Eye in the Sky

Technological and regulatory progress has greatly expanded the remote sensing/Earth Observation (EO) market. However, significant tradeoffs continue to exist in current earth imaging solutions: EO satellites and constellations can provide wide area coverage but are susceptible to cloud cover and are usually at lower resolutions (with HR being relatively infrequent).

Read Article
January 8, 2020

The Future of Satellite-Based Earth Observation

As we start a new decade, now is the perfect time to consider the future of the satellite industry, starting with the Earth Observation (EO) business. Traditionally, the EO business mostly consisted of a few satellite operators catering optical imagery to government and military customers.

Read Article
January 6, 2020

Satcom Finance Expectations to Watch in 2020

2019 just ended, and the most anticipated year (2020) in the Satcom 3.0 transition phase has arrived. Happy New Year! To begin the year, it is essential to determine expectations from top metrics this year, which may have maximum impact on the satcom industry.

Read Article
December 2, 2019

Betting on Satcom Fleets in a 3.0 Era

Today – we are truly entering a new era – with a shift from video to non-video, lease to service and subscription mode, packing more than a Gbps at less than a million dollars and making bets that extend from Thousands to Millions in scale.

Read Article
November 4, 2019

The Grand C-band Debate: Too Early to Predict a Winner?

Two years since Intelsat first proposed it, C-band spectrum (3.7-4.2 GHz) repurposing has been a consistent newsmaker. Marred with differences of opinion on spectrum proceeds vs. the urgency of 5G deployment in the U.S., the proposal has been a political talking point:

Read Article
October 30, 2019

EO SAR: Trick or Treat?

It’s that time of year again. Autumn leaves, and children in costume, candy and ghosts around every corner. In our business, many days feel like Halloween, in a way. Companies emerge from stealth mode, try on different business cases, and venture forth seeking market validation. Market trends come and go, but the most popular, the.

Read Article
September 26, 2019

Determining Success for Smallsat Launchers

With so many small launch startups racing towards success on a global scale, the stakes have never been higher to cut through the noise and evaluate all initiatives for probability of success before committing to a launch partner. Well-informed decisions will be critical to all industry players involved (investors, smallsat operators, brokers, and partners) as they will have far-reaching consequences. So, what factors need to be considered and analyzed to help tip the scales when making these decisions?

Read Article
September 24, 2019

Mining Satcom: Jump-Starting a Stalled Market

Mining should be an ideal energy segment for the satellite industry to generate progressing revenues, given the remote nature of operations, the mission-criticality of requirements and the growing digitization activities in the sector as a whole.

Read Article
September 19, 2019

Small GEO Satellites – Viable Option or Not?

Small GEOs – the latest solution in the long list of capacity options that operators are looking to implement. With rising competition in most countries, and decreasing break-even pricing via ever more efficient satellites and reduced launch costs, many operators see large GEO sats as quite risky for regional appetite.

Read Article
September 16, 2019

Smallsats a Big Change for MSS IoT

With small satellite operators continuing to receive new rounds of funding, and small satellite launches continuing, what impact will this have on existing satellite M2M/IoT market and operators?

Read Article
September 5, 2019

A 2020 Turnaround for Oil & Gas SATCOM Markets?

We won’t lie – 2018 was a hard year for satellite players with an interest in the Energy Markets. Commodity pricing for energy products was weak or unstable, global economic activity shrank, and energy customers had their own financial challenges. So – in the face of ongoing macro-economic challenges, why does NSR continue to be so optimistic around a 2020 turnaround?

Read Article
August 20, 2019

What if LEO Constellations Fail?

Constellations have forced the entire industry onto the same superhighway so any step sideways or back could have a huge impact on the way forward for the whole business.

Read Article
August 15, 2019

The “New Normal” in Satellite Manufacturing & Launch

Satellite manufacturing and launch markets are evolving at rates never seen before. With a bevy of actors entering the satellite market at different levels of the value chain, the new dynamic is changing the way this industry measures growth – with the number of satellite orders and price/ kg losing relevance as market indicators. In.

Read Article
August 12, 2019

Satellites in the Cloud

The satellite industry poses interesting use cases and opportunity for cloud adoption, and mainstream Cloud Service Providers (CSPs) are beginning to take note.

Read Article
July 2, 2019

Price Optimization for Satellite Backhaul

Backhaul will undoubtedly be one of the key verticals for satcom growth in the coming years. Lower capacity pricing is certainly unlocking demand elasticities; however, not all markets are homogeneous in terms of adopting 2G, 3G and 4G services.

Read Article
June 27, 2019

Taking Risks to Stimulate Satcom Growth

Global satcom capacity revenues continue to evolve at low single-digit rates scoring 2% growth last year. Obviously, data is becoming the star for revenue growth and operators with higher exposure to video and legacy FSS capacity are more prone to turbulence. But, in these transformative times in which raw capacity is commoditizing, operators must rethink.

Read Article
June 23, 2019

LEO Leap of Faith

To deny the risks, give in to the hype and excitement of LEOs, and believe that “if you build it, they will come”, is not charting a clear, strategic path to success, but making a leap of faith.

Read Article
June 20, 2019

Cruising to Higher Bandwidth

Today, the passenger maritime segment is one of the best-connected satellite-enabled end-users around. With record-breaking throughputs in the news over the last 12 months, the passenger maritime sector continues to provision vessels with higher and higher data rates.

Read Article
June 9, 2019

IFC: Bad 2018, Good 2019?

When NSR noted that IFC markets did not do so well in 2018, it was not comparing the ‘hype’ with its forecast, but rather its own forecast with respect to contracts signed, antenna production, installation rates and aircraft to be outfitted.  All these factors did not pan out as expected and despite a rather gloomy.

Read Article
May 28, 2019

Taking Risks to Stimulate Backhaul Demand

Backhaul is poised to be a key driver for satellite industry growth. The combination of advanced ground segment technology and competitive capacity pricing makes satellite a compelling solution for MNOs to expand coverage.

Read Article
May 23, 2019

Satellite Data Downlinking: The Case for Lasers

The last few years have seen increasing interest in space-based optical communications, driven by the convergence of multiple trends: rising small satellite data volumes, increasing security concerns and Radio Frequency (RF) spectrum congestion, to name a few.

Read Article
May 21, 2019

A 1st-Order Solution: More Broadband Maritime Vessels

The Maritime Satellite Communications market is at a crossroad; more capacity is available in all frequencies and orbits thanks to Iridium’s recently launched Certus plans, VSAT terminals are getting lighter and cheaper, and end-users continue to find value in some flavor of higher throughput connectivity.

Read Article

Monetizing IFC: The 3rd Party Promise

At the recent Satellite 2019 and the AIX 2019 conferences, there were many discussions centered on enhancing the passenger experience and, in the process, monetizing what is still today relatively low returns on IFC investments by airlines.

Read Article
May 16, 2019

GEO Life Extension: A Fit for Government?

Currently, there is much debate surrounding the viability of In-Orbit Servicing applications in the space industry. Despite some recent setbacks and perception of uncertainty surrounding upcoming IOS Services, GEO satellite life extension is garnering most interest out of all IOS offerings, and the demand is expected to increase over time. With government and military sector.

Read Article
May 15, 2019

A (LEO) Race to the Bottom?

With the satcom industry moving to network applications and integrated service business models, the price-demand equation has changed considerably over the last 5 years.

Read Article
May 8, 2019

When Will Optical Satcom See the Light?

As a technology with the potential to impact both satellite and ground network operators, optical satcom is emerging as a contender and/or a complement to existing radio frequency (RF) communications infrastructure.

Read Article
May 2, 2019

IFC Markets: Money Left on the Table?

The largest commercial airlines offer inflight connectivity on some portion of their aircraft.  In fact, most of them have some form of connectivity in service or under contract across their fleet, if not on the majority of their aircraft.

Read Article
April 23, 2019

Salvaging Future Intelsat 29e’s

The “Total loss” of a satellite like Intelsat 29e, just 3 years into its 15-year life, has 2 significant implications: the sunk cost of the satellite, in addition to over 12 years of potential revenues and 6,552 kg of uncooperative debris roaming uncontrolled in geostationary orbit.

Read Article
April 18, 2019

The Impact of Capacity Pricing on M&A and Investment Decisions

The satcom industry today relies on five major elements – Pricing (competition), Supply (indicating Asset worth), Demand (Growth), Break-even pricing (manufacturing innovation) and Ground System (efficiencies). While the economics of demand growth and ground system efficiencies have been proven to be more linear in the last several years, the same cannot be said for Supply.

Read Article
April 3, 2019

The Unintended Consequences of Smallsats

While the overall growth of the smallsat market is beneficial for the space economy as it is helping lower the barriers to entry and create new revenue streams in the (relatively) near term, the impact of this growth on the space ecosystem in the long term is less often discussed.

Read Article
March 20, 2019

4 Big Challenges for Emerging Space

With barriers to space market entry lowering considerably, and a supportive ecosystem growing, the emerging space market continues to attract interest with a flurry of activities across multiple applications. Falling technology costs and government support pushing for commercialization further aid this ecosystem, positioning it as both competition and a complement to traditional space incumbents. With.

Read Article
March 14, 2019

Satcom Future Hinges on Electronically-Steered FPAs

When the term “flat panel antenna” (FPA) is mentioned, most envision a completely flat, non-moving piece of communications technology. These systems, specifically electronically-steered antennas (ESAs), capable of faster tracking and pointing than parabolic ones, are seen as an impending necessity for satcom, especially given the soon-to-be full skies of LEO constellations. Interest and development in.

Read Article
February 26, 2019

FPAs: From a Niche to a Necessity

For years, the emerging nature of FPA technology has long maintained price and performance as the main market obstacles. Compared with parabolic systems, flat panel antennas were not seen as viable, except in environments requiring a low-profile solution.

Read Article
February 6, 2019

Are Satellite Handhelds Still a Growth Market?

Handheld telephones are a traditional, legacy of mobile satellite service, with these devices long used for remote satcom communications. However, in recent years, growth of handhelds has flatlined, driven by increased terrestrial connectivity, new alternatives and more versatile devices.  With the market undergoing increasing change, the L-band land mobile market of the past isn’t the.

Read Article
January 29, 2019

Adding Value When Capacity Commoditizes

In the traditional satcom business case dominated by video, the satellite and the orbital position were the core differentiators (multicast advantage, platform effects on DTH and Video Distribution). However, in a world that is increasingly dominated by data, raw satellite capacity is commoditizing and the new entities driving growth are networks. This has tremendous implications.

Read Article
January 23, 2019

Can Satellite Broadband Support the Streaming Wave?

Video is that largest consumer of bandwidth today and will increase exponentially over the long term –streaming video that is, not linear TV. As the industry moves from video in terms of cord-cutting to streaming data, the satellite play is still unclear when it comes to supporting services such as Netflix or Hulu. Today, there.

Read Article
January 16, 2019

UAS Imaging: Roadblocks and Opportunities

The use of small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) in the commercial world is still nascent and growing with drone technologies developing rapidly, be it with payload, energy or autonomous capabilities. Amongst the many applications being explored with UAS, ranging from delivery services to infrastructure development, imaging stands out as the frontrunner with a high interest.

Read Article
January 15, 2019

Terminal Troubles

Historically, Government & Military satcom markets have suffered from terminal troubles – too costly for AEHF, delayed for MUOS, a mismatch between terminal and frequency/network capabilities, etc. The list is as extensive as the terminal inventory of the U.S. Government, which is stated to be in the tens of thousands. Quite simply, the terminal trouble.

Read Article
January 13, 2019

Connected Buses & Trains: In the Express Lane?

There has been significant industry focus on the connected car via satellite, and whether satellite can have a significant role to play with private and government vehicles. However, what is oftentimes missing from the debate, is the prospect for connected trains and buses to be served via satellite. While the broadband connected car will present.

Read Article
January 9, 2019

Satcom in 2019: Leasing vs. Services & the Year Ahead

2018 emerged as an understatement compared to the hype generated by satellite operators. Revenue didn’t rebound according to expectations, pricing and backlog both declined across operators, and video finally showed no signs of further growth, as multiple operators posted revenue declines in video even with marginally increasing demand. Looking downstream, suffice it to say that.

Read Article
January 3, 2019

Earth Observation: Not Just Imagery

What’s next for satellite-based Earth Observation? Driven by technology and competition, the business has grown quickly in recent years. From imagery to insights, from single satellites to constellations, players along the value chain have pushed hard to offer unique services, and the market has diversified and expanded. In an industry dominated by optical and radar.

Read Article
December 18, 2018

EO SAR Imagery Prices Limit Opportunity

In theory, radar imagery for Earth Observation is far superior to optical. With imagery capable of capturing scenes at night and penetrating clouds, SAR overcomes many challenges inherent to imaging the Earth with passive optical sensors. It would seem that investors are banking on these capabilities for increased coverage and insights from SAR imagery given.

Read Article
December 11, 2018

Gov & Mil Markets: Is It All About the Frequency?

MILSATCOM or COMSATCOM has been one of the most contentious debates in the Gov & Mil Markets over the past five years.  On the surface, the debate is all about the economics of ownership – in the truest definition of economics – including all the opportunity costs associated with MILSATCOM networks.  Recent acquisition of 2.

Read Article
December 5, 2018

UAS: SATCOM in the High Skies

The Government & Military (Gov/Mil) market for satellite communications remains optimistic, with nations across the globe doubling down on defense spending to drive their own civilian and military government capabilities. Satcom will continue its rise as a central element here, as more governments move towards network centric asset deployments with data-intensive processes. At close to.

Read Article
December 3, 2018

Sorry LEOs, but FPAs Have No Incentive to Go Low-Cost

LEO constellations such as OneWeb or SpaceX continue to see Internet to the masses as a primary target market. However, for this market to materialize, the whole ecosystem must align, and antennas (among other elements) are still a big unresolved issue for consumer-grade services. In which direction are market forces and incentives pushing the development.

Read Article

NSR’s Satcom Financial Index 2018- Dissecting the Trends

Recent (Q2 or Q3) financial results have been a mixed bag for the industry. Video revenues have consistently declined on a YoY basis for most operators including Intelsat, Eutelsat, SES and EchoStar Satellite Services, while most operators have posted gains in network connectivity – most prominently in Government and mobile connectivity verticals, including ViaSat. To.

Read Article
November 19, 2018

A Price War Coming for Satcom IoT?

Satcom IoT is going from strength to strength, and not showing any signs of stopping, with NSR expecting growth to continue over the coming decade across a wide range of applications. However, on the horizon are many competing IoT network deployments that promise to significantly lower the cost of hardware and airtime costs associated with.

Read Article
November 18, 2018

EO Smallsat Market: Where to Go from Here?

These days, smallsats generate a lot of attention, from players raising millions of dollars, losing millions of dollars, or providing thousands of images to spy on Iranian oil smugglers.  Among the attention and potential, it is fair to say that the overall picture of the emerging EO smallsat market is sending mixed signals.  Smallsat operators,.

Read Article
November 14, 2018

Will Software-Defined Satellites Take Off?

In recent years, satellite operators have busied themselves finding new ways to deliver cost-competitive connectivity in response to evolving consumer demand and price expectations. On the satellite design side, this encompasses new architectures, multiple forms of heightened risk taking, and adoption of low or no heritage technologies. SES is pushing this process even further with.

Read Article
November 7, 2018

Turning the Satellite Business Model Upside-Down

The traditional satcom industry can be argued to be entering its third transition phase, after the FSS video boom until 2010 and the HTS influenced pricing decline more recently. With languishing growth in 2018, alongside declining EBITDA margins and backlog, the operator industry remains uncertain on video, while debating on the merits of going fully.

Read Article
November 6, 2018

Why the Optimism for Gov & Mil SATCOM?

With over $71B in cumulative retail revenues forecasted over the next ten years in our latest view on the market opportunity for Government and Military Satellite Communications, NSR is often asked:  Why the Optimism?  What has changed?  Where is the opportunity (for me)? To start answering those questions, we need to first examine the macro-level.

Read Article
October 31, 2018

Satcom IoT in a 5G World

For decades there has been a plethora of ways to connect M2M and IoT devices – satellite, GSM 2G, LTE, NB-IoT and LPWA. Satellite-based M2M has gone from strength to strength throughout the development of all these new forms of IoT connectivity. With a 5G world around the corner, will satellite-based M2M/IoT finally meet its.

Read Article
October 18, 2018

C-band Spectrum Reallocation: Too Lucrative to Ignore?

C-band reallocation debates between satellite operators and telecom providers aren’t new.  Mid C-band spectrum is seemingly ideal for low frequency applications and resistant to rain fade, with recent 5G technology promoters terming the 3.7-4.2 GHz spectrum as a sweet spot. This part of C-band traditionally has fallen under the purview of the larger 3.4-4.2 GHz.

Read Article
October 3, 2018

The ROI Challenge of IoT Smallsats

Smallsats for IoT are making noise in the press, with just this past week an announcement by a Luxembourg-based consortium for yet another smallsat IoT constellation. Myriota also raised another $15 million earlier this year, and many more similar announcements have been made. While “everything will be Internet connected and terrestrial only covers 10% of.

Read Article
October 1, 2018

The Asian Scale Paradox

Asia is undoubtedly one of the fastest growing regions for satellite communications. Raw market potential is massive combining poor terrestrial coverage, difficult geographies and buoying economies. Many players, both local and international, are looking to capture opportunities in the region as markets continue to be under-penetrated. Yet, there are significant roadblocks and hurdles that have.

Read Article
September 27, 2018

Insight-as-a-Service for Satellite Networks

The terrestrial telecom industry is fast shifting towards 5G networks, with Software Defined Networks (SDN) and Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) forming key parts of major strategic efforts. This is seen in multiple market movements where organizations such as Verizon, AT&T and Ericsson have begun to shift towards adopting SDN/NFV approaches to manage increasingly complex networks..

Read Article
September 19, 2018

Can OneWeb Cross the Valley of Death?

OneWeb, with its FCC filing approval in 2017, re-introduced the concept of offering global, affordable, high speed Internet with a bigger – and in some respects – better LEO satellite constellation than its predecessors. In terms of size and (advertised) capability, OneWeb is leading the LEO Constellations 2.0 era. In many ways, the future trends.

Read Article
September 11, 2018

Does Price Elasticity Exist for Satcom Markets?

Pricing has been the most painful headache for satellite operators for the last couple of years. Rapid erosion in pricing, coupled with lackluster top line demand, has led to widespread revenue declines. With the industry readying for the next tsunami of capacity supply coming from LEO constellations and VHTS, pricing is unlikely to rebound anytime.

Read Article
September 5, 2018

Satellite Big Data 3L’s: Location, Location, Location

An epithet for the real estate industry, this might as well describe the satellite big data (SBD) market. With the drive for digitization spanning multiple verticals, the need for satellite-based analytics solutions will only increase in the coming years. That said, such solutions find greatest potential in applications where the spatial component of data is.

Read Article
September 4, 2018

Merchant Matters… A Lot

While a lot of attention has been given to the bandwidth battles in the cruise industry, it is easy to forget that merchant maritime is the bread and butter of the maritime satcom market.  With all facets of the market looking to improve operations, adding more digitalization and automation into their operations, the need for.

Read Article
August 21, 2018

Milking the “Cow” or Shooting for the “Stars”

In these times of declining revenues and uncertainty, satellite operators are very cautions when choosing their future strategy and committing to large CAPEX investments (i.e. reduced number of GEO Satcom orders). With the current pivot towards new revenue drivers and the emergence of new architectures, technologies and business models, operators are in front of one.

Read Article
August 20, 2018

Satellite Big Data: A Growth Story

The evolution of technology underlies a few key trends that have the satellite industry poised for change. Advances in computing power in the Earth Observation (EO) segment have led analytics providers to enter and vie to capture new vertical markets, ranging from forestry to finance. Added to this, there is a proliferation of digital technologies.

Read Article
August 16, 2018

Cruising for Higher Throughputs

As the end of summer nears, the cruise industry ‘big season’ is in full swing.  With over 100 new ocean-going cruise ships expected to enter the market over the next ten years, and the ‘always-on’ life-style of travelers these days – the bandwidth demand (and revenue potential) for cruise connectivity is growing significantly. From 300.

Read Article
August 14, 2018

Business Jets: Broadband Connectivity Unleashed

The business jet community’s annual ‘grand mass’ in Europe held in late May this year rumbled with positivism about the status of the industry going forward.  Following many years of ups and downs, observers and stakeholders held the view that the industry was well on its way to a full recovery.  These good signs are.

Read Article
August 2, 2018

Satellite Constellations: Too Much of a Good Thing?

LEO constellations, theoretically, benefit from economies of scale which, in simple terms, is the cost saving associated with the increased level of production. The advantages come in the form of discounts for bulk orders and higher production volume as a result of specialized resources – human and otherwise, to name a few. While the benefits.

Read Article
July 30, 2018

EO Investment Picture: Worth More Than a Thousand Words

The Earth Observation (EO) market has been in constant evolution and recently, it has transitioned from costly, large EO satellites to smaller, more nimble ones flying as part of constellations. Using many small satellites is enabling real-time earth monitoring and observation, and with this, increasingly large amounts of data are being produced every day. Additionally,.

Read Article
July 25, 2018

Satellite EOL: Not One Size Fits All

As the technological prowess of satellite component and prime manufacturers has developed over the past half century, satellites have increased not only in capabilities but in longevity. A satellite launched in the 1990s was designed to operate for an average 12 years, a life expectancy that by the 2000s increased to 15 years. Many continue.

Read Article
July 23, 2018

Profiling Maritime Customers to Stay Afloat

Maritime markets have long been labelled the ‘sleeping giant’ of mobility satcom. Not as driven as in-flight connectivity, nor as full of potential as the connected car, maritime in years past seemed quite content to stay on its slow and steady growth course. However, falling capacity prices, new form factors and possibilities from analytics as.

Read Article
July 19, 2018

Airlines to Take IFC Controls

Despite the common notion that Wi-Fi is free, there remain ‘havens’ where it is still a fee-based service.  In-flight connectivity (IFC) is one such market, and recent news shows it will remain a paying service for many passengers as more airlines takes control over it. Directing connectivity and bandwidth services, with more freedom on setting.

Read Article
July 17, 2018

More (Satcom) Bits for More Barrels

As digitalization continues to move across the O&G sector, new sources and production capacity continues to come online.  “Big Data” and real-time data are fundamentally transforming the how of Oil & Gas exploration & production – pushing more bi-directional transfer of information from well to HQ.  With all of this data information, VSAT Broadband connectivity.

Read Article
July 10, 2018

Enabling a GEO-NGEO Hybrid System

The Military segment has, historically, primarily been served by GEO satellites for execution of critical applications, including intelligence gathering, navigation and communication. GEO systems, by nature, offer the advantage of significant coverage via a single satellite, especially with the advent of GEO-HTS satellites. On the other hand, latency and significant CAPEX have always been limitations.

Read Article

Emerging Space: The $5 Billion Question

NSR’s Emerging Space Market Opportunity (ESMO) report explored global investment in players driving the development of new applications and approaches to the space industry. Most companies studied started small, delivering innovative products or ideas addressing an existing need or developing a new market niche. Except for a successful minority, most remain at the research and.

Read Article
June 25, 2018

The New World Space Powers: China & India

China and India have engaged in space activities since the mid-1900s, developing domestic satellite manufacturing and launch capabilities across a range of applications. Both have focused on national demand, with limited international commercial pursuits. Yet this dynamic is quickly changing. The two nations have heightened their scope of activities, leveraging space as a strategic tool.

Read Article
June 21, 2018

IFC Going the Wrong Way?

Wrong: in an unsuccessful or unfortunate way or out of working order or condition These two definitions offered by Merriam-Webster’s dictionary could aptly describe what many believe is the quality and state of inflight connectivity in general today.  But is this the right way to think of a business on a slow but definite upward.

Read Article
June 19, 2018

Energy Satcom Markets: Digitalization Digs In

The mining industry, which has so far remained the smallest addressable market for the energy satcom providers, is gradually morphing into a growth opportunity for satellite connectivity. On the heels of the last commodities downswing, globally diversified miners are focused on increasing productivity and maximizing the value of their existing assets, while newer mining juniors.

Read Article
June 18, 2018

AT&T – Time Warner Merger Raises Eyebrows

Authors: Christopher Baugh | Carlos Placido (independent adviser) The approved merger of AT&T and Time Warner is an interesting and multi-faceted case to analyze because it is not just shaped by converging trends modulating telecoms, media and Internet businesses but also by an evolving regulatory framework, telecom-Internet players’ power balance and even U.S. politics. The.

Read Article
June 7, 2018

How Launch Rates Shape Markets

Following the launch of the Gaofen 6 satellite last weekend, China matched – and three days later surpassed – its 2017 launch rate a mere 5 months into the year. If China achieves its planned cadence to exceed 40 launches in 2018, it would more than double last year’s total and quadruple the rate of.

Read Article
May 31, 2018

Don’t Give Up on Streaming

New trends in video consumption are challenging traditional satellite video platforms. Emergence of OTT and video streaming is starting to have an impact on subscriber counts and, consequently, on the value satellite operators can generate and capture from their assets. However, satellite continues to be the best solution for reaching large audiences, especially when terrestrial.

Read Article
May 21, 2018

Non-GEO Constellations: Surviving the Disruption

Iridium and Globalstar arguably disrupted the telecommunication industry with the launch of their respective LEO satellite constellations. As the legacy players of this arena, they experienced first-hand the challenges that come with, and historically, predominantly outweigh the benefits expected from the implementation of large satellite communications constellations. In the last decade, lessons learned from these.

Read Article
May 10, 2018

The “Other” Energy Satcom Markets

With attention in the Energy Industry typically focused on the Oil & Gas sector, it is sometimes easy to forget how satcom connectivity is shaping up in other sectors, such as Electrical Utilities.  Utilizing 6 out of every 10 in-service units within the Energy satcom sector, the Electrical Utility segment continues to show signs of.

Read Article
May 8, 2018

Satellite and the Arrival of Telecom Pricing ?

The advent of bulk HTS satellite capacity has changed the satcom game. Irreversibly. What started as an alternative to FSS, an innovation with frequency re-use spot beams, has become mainstream and dictated price changes for at least the past 2 years. 60% wholesale price drop across HTS verticals, most prominently for backhaul and consumer broadband,.

Read Article
May 3, 2018

Regulatory Barriers Limiting Cellular Backhaul

Satellite Backhaul has historically relied heavily on coverage obligations to attract demand. Consequently, regulators were the primary driver for demand in this vertical. However, if satcom is to capture the massive opportunities in this vertical while bridging the digital divide, it should be able to serve commercially-driven sites. In this new paradigm, legacy regulations and.

Read Article
April 30, 2018

Maritime Satcom: The Makings of an FPA Case Study

Flat panel antennas have great potential to expand the satcom addressable market but remain one of the least developed aspects of the industry. Despite high demand for low-profile solutions for certain applications, and several hundred million dollars of R&D spent to date without much results, FPAs are still struggling to carve their niche. Some verticals,.

Read Article
April 19, 2018

No Pain, No Gain: Activating Demand Elasticity

The state of play is clear: satellite capacity pricing continues to fall at an accelerated pace, and satellite operators are unable to generate sufficient additional demand, leading to revenue declines. Upcoming larger GEO-HTS systems, NGSO constellations and simply put, technology evolution, will continue driving prices down. In this context, (when) will demand elasticity reverse this.

Read Article
April 15, 2018

State of the Satellite Industry – The NSR FSS Index

Much has been commented about the current state of the industry: capacity oversupply, declining capacity prices, a shift to service businesses to strengthen top-line revenue, partnerships with end-customers, and consolidation necessity to future-proof. After a careful study of the past few years, it is certain that most trends are true – reflecting operator strategies as.

Read Article
April 10, 2018

HAPs and Mishaps

Some of the best characteristics form airborne and satellite systems can be implemented into HAPs to provide a range of apps, but mishaps remain a challenge that operators and manufacturers need to overcome. Google Loon, Worldview Enterprises, and Raven Aerostar are the three most prominent names in the High-Altitude Balloons market, and they have demonstrated.

Read Article
April 5, 2018

Pumping the Brakes on the Connected Car

The connected car is one of the most talked about opportunities for satellite-based flat panel antennas, yet it remains elusive and still many years away from being realized. With millions of vehicles entering the market every year, the successful deployment of the connected car via satellite could be very lucrative for FPA manufacturers. However, NSR.

Read Article
April 3, 2018

A Tale of Two Cities: Beijing vs. Washington’s Space Policy

Space is both a frontier to conquer and an arena where superpowers collide. The space economy has commercial implications that boost a country’s global standing as well as military interests that provide key strategic advantages. China has entered or has ushered in a new space race, pitting itself against the United States. How are the.

Read Article
March 28, 2018

Grasping the In-orbit Servicing Opportunity

As the space industry looks towards a future built on diverse and resilient architectures, rapidly evolving demand, fast technology development, and multifaceted economic activity in-orbit and beyond, servicing spacecraft is a key capability to bring along for the ride. Applications envisioned have the potential to both ease historic pain points for satellite operators and open.

Read Article
March 27, 2018

The Satellite Capacity Price Conundrum

The satellite industry has witnessed a meltdown over the past few years with capacity prices falling over 30-60% across most verticals. This decline doesn’t just stem from increased supply and competition, but also from critical intertwined factors: increased bargaining power of service providers (SPs) as operators dilute their market positions for aggressive selling and a.

Read Article
March 22, 2018

With Smallsats, Can 1+1 = 3?

Attendance at last week’s SATELLITE 2018 in Washington, D.C. demonstrated the expansion of the traditionally GEO communications focused satellite industry to a more diverse collection of players and applications. Discussions of broadband connectivity, the potential of Big Data, and cost reduction involved established and emerging players alike, with smallsats entering the dialogue more than ever.

Read Article
March 14, 2018

Scaling Up FPAs

The satellite communications industry faces a considerable challenge ahead: deploying the ground segment to tap into the huge bandwidth coming from future systems. So much so that many of the discussions at the Satellite 2018 conference underway in Washington, D.C. center on the ground segment with announcements from ViaSat, GetSAT, Kymeta, and other manufacturers. While.

Read Article
March 7, 2018

China’s LEO Constellation Ambitions

In late-February 2018, the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) announced plans to build a constellation of 300 small satellites in LEO for global communications and other services. The Hongyan (translated as “wild goose”) constellation, which is targeted to be operational by 2021, was originally designed for 60 satellites. The current plan expands to.

Read Article
March 6, 2018

CAPEX Delayed is CAPEX Saved…

With Space Logistics, LLC (Orbital ATK) landing its 2nd customer and Effective Space Solutions its 1st, interest in In-Orbit Servicing (IoS) is making a comeback, conceivably to stay this time. In theory, IoS presents diverse opportunities, from extending satellite life and transporting it to the correct orbit in the near term, to repairs and potentially.

Read Article
March 1, 2018

Innovation or Disruption Ahead for Gov & Mil Markets?

In a few weeks, the satellite industry will gather in Washington DC for the annual Satellite show.  Set in the backyard of one of the largest consumers of commercial satellite capacity in the world, the show will focus on the “What’s New and What’s Next” – a constantly changing conversation in the space industry.  However,.

Read Article
February 15, 2018

The Push & Pull of Satellite Servicing

Satellite servicing technologies have long been in development, only now coalescing into integrated systems ready to hit the market.  Just this year, life extension services have been contracted for three satellites, adding to two other deals already finalized. This process has been a combination of technology push from manufacturers and start-ups alongside indirect market pull.

Read Article
February 8, 2018

Will Consumer Broadband Take-Off in Emerging Markets?

Consumer Broadband has been one of the biggest success stories for the satellite industry. Millions of subscribers have signed-up in North America, which paradoxically faces one of the strongest competition from ground alternatives. With multiple actors now looking to replicate the model internationally, including areas with lower disposable incomes, will the growth story continue? With.

Read Article
February 6, 2018

Are Smallsats Delivering?

Ever since Skybox Imaging and then Planet Labs hit the news headlines, smallsats have been lauded as the future of the space industry, portrayed in the mainstream media as enabling novel applications, making space accessible, and delivering a new paradigm. Perception within the industry has been more mixed, but commercial and government players alike broadly.

Read Article
February 1, 2018

GovSat-1 – A New Capacity Model to Follow?

As GovSat-1 transitions into its operational orbital position, the Government & Military market is seeing renewed investments into next-generation government-owned MILSATCOM systems and customized commercial offerings for end-users as the market find itself in the middle of a period of renewed growth. On the Government-only capacity market, GovSat-1 is nearing the end of a chain.

Read Article
January 26, 2018

EO Constellations: Virtual or Reality?

Satellite constellations is one of the most exciting trends in the Earth Observation (EO) market today. Insight-hungry end-users are demanding more data, more often, and look to current and upcoming fleets of satellites to provide it. Investment and launch availability continue to grow, with constellations under development for satellites both big and small. However, another.

Read Article
January 17, 2018

Meaningful Smallsat M&As

The smallsat manufacturing and components market has developed somewhat haphazardly – a combination of post-university projects, commercial start-ups, and established companies growing into the smallsat business – producing a multitude of players in an increasingly competitive market. M&A is the natural consequence for this young market as it matures and companies seek to consolidate market.

Read Article
January 15, 2018

What’s Special About V-band ?

Apart from being lightly licensed and allocated, very little(!) In fact.  Being in a higher frequency range compared to Ku-band or Ka-band, V-band is more susceptible to rain fade, presenting technical and market challenges compared to current solutions.  More importantly, apart from experimental payloads and systems on the ground to support such trials, ecosystem development.

Read Article
January 10, 2018

Gov & Mil Markets: An Evolving Capacity Acquisition Paradigm

As the satellite industry and the U.S. Government start to kick things off for a New Year, planners continue the process of creating the next-generation of Gov & Mil network designs.  With a renewed focus on the importance of space to executing the national security missions of countries across the globe – and ‘assured access’.

Read Article
January 8, 2018

Maintaining Relevance for Satellite TV

While many actors in the satcom scene have turned their focus to data markets, the reality is that video continues to generate over 50% of overall satellite capacity revenues. OTT and other alternatives are slowly impacting DTH offers such that satellite needs to evolve to stay relevant. The set-top-box (STB) is at the forefront of.

Read Article
January 3, 2018

The Hidden Risks of Verticalization

In these transformational times for the satellite industry, the value chain is contracting, creating new tensions in the ecosystem. Factors such as the emergence of HTS, the severe pressure on raw capacity pricing or the growth in new verticals like mobility are only accelerating this trend. Multiple Service Providers are already complaining about Satellite Operators.

Read Article
December 13, 2017

Earth Observation: Analytics-as-a-Service

Satellite-based Earth Observation (EO) is changing from an imagery-driven to insight-driven business. Until now, most satellite operators have been content with supplying imagery, while emerging downstream companies have begun unlocking the value behind the pixel, through Big Data analytics. However, satellite operators are beginning to shift focus. Last month, Planet completed “Mission 1”, to image.

Read Article
December 7, 2017

L-band Driving the Connected Car

The Connected Car is a hot topic, with vehicles rapidly changing from internal combustion machines on wheels to computers on wheels. Connectivity requirements are increasing for the current generation of cars, and consumers expect greater levels of sophistication in the ‘digital car’ than ever before. With much of this connectivity currently served by cellular networks,.

Read Article
November 30, 2017

MNOs & Satellite: Best “Frenemies”

Consumer Broadband has emerged as a “killer app” for the satellite industry with millions of subscribers to be added around the globe in the coming years. Much criticism has been posed over the sustainability of the model and how mobile operators might turn to be a major threat given its competing broadband products. However, the.

Read Article
November 21, 2017

Shaking the Space Industry from the Ground (Segment)

The satellite industry is innovating at an extraordinary pace with satellites hosting orders of magnitude more capacity each generation and at much lower bandwidth prices. This is certainly opening new opportunities but, at the end of the day, it is not bandwidth that matters but what can be done with that connectivity. VSAT platforms, and.

Read Article
November 14, 2017

Turning up the Volume in EO Imagery

Satellite imagery has traditionally been sold by the scene. Customers would look at certain criteria, and satellite operators would match their request with available archived or tasked images. Sales cycles were long, and the focus was on the quality and the resolution of the data. However, increasing supply, and pressure from downstream services are prompting.

Read Article
October 31, 2017

Diverging Requirements for M2M/IoT Satcom

The M2M/IoT via satellite market has traditionally been one of low data rates, providing M2M end users with tremendous value from small data packets for the purposes of location tracking, temperature monitoring and myriad other applications. Traditionally most M2M usage has consumed very miniscule amounts of data, compared to nearly all other kinds of applications,.

Read Article
October 12, 2017

Scratching Our Heads over IoT-Dedicated Smallsats

The satellite-based M2M market is a comparatively small percentage of the overall market for M2M services.  However, with tens of billions of M2M devices expected to be brought into existence over the coming decade, the overall number of satellite-based M2M devices has potential to be significant. As NSR examines in its M2M and IoT via.

Read Article
October 10, 2017

Asia & the Age of High Throughput PrideSats

Redirected to subject matter Research Director – original author no longer with NSR The Asian satellite telecomm market has for some time been relatively fragmented. Several countries with comparatively small populations, or comparatively small economies, or both, have launched their own satellites, with these programs having varying levels of commercial motivation. However, due to spectrum.

Read Article
October 6, 2017

Threats at Sea: From Pirates to Hackers

The industry has turned its focus on cybersecurity challenges facing the maritime satellite communications sector in recent months.  It will also be a central topic for an upcoming NSR presentation at DigitalShip’s Maritime Cyber Resilience Forum in Hamburg. The increasing digitalization and connectivity available and expected to be in the industry over the next ten.

Read Article
October 3, 2017

Where is the Emerging Space Opportunity?

Buzzwords such as New Space, Space 2.0, Emerging Space, applied to new, nimble, innovative, and atypical activities, encompass companies grouped together due to their approach. Fueled by the Silicon Valley-mindset and PR, the distinctions between these players and their investment can be a challenge to identify. Yet it is within these distinctions that lay the.

Read Article
September 25, 2017

Planet’s Dove: Agile or Fragile?

The rise of Space 2.0 is embodied by the large-scale use of nanosatellite constellations, packaged in an agile aerospace model to challenge the traditional practice of developing large satellites. At the heart of this model lays the principle of learning and developing satellites, “On-The-Job”.  With Planet recently launching 48 Doves on the Soyuz rocket, the.

Read Article
September 22, 2017

A European Defence System in Space

Redirected to subject matter Research Director – original author no longer with NSR The political landscape surrounding the European Union and ever-closer militarization amongst its Member States is a complex and divisive topic. However, public opinion has shifted more favorably towards the idea of sharing some of the burden, especially for those countries that may.

Read Article
September 21, 2017

Emerging Space: Is Perception Reality?

Viewed through the 2017 press reel, the emerging space market is vibrant, novel, and changing the face of the space industry. Indeed, hot on the heels of SoftBank’s $1.2B investment in OneWeb in December 2016, Planet’s acquisition of Terra Bella, Thuraya and Iridium’s partnerships with smallsat constellation operators, SES’s contract for an O3b expansion, and.

Read Article
September 19, 2017

Pricing the Satellite Markets Part II

Satellite business models have traditionally relied on incumbent technology and DTH demand. The advent of satellite broadband demand, rush for acquiring market share in aero and backhaul verticals and instances of rapid price deterioration of satellite capacity – indicate a shift in these business models. Today’s growth model signifies a fluidity between the lease and.

Read Article
September 18, 2017

An Entire World on the Ground

The satellite industry is at the cusp of a major transformation and, despite attracting less hype than other elements of the industry, the Ground Segment must play a primary role in opening new markets. The opportunity is also extraordinary, according to NSR’S Commercial Satellite Ground Segment 2nd Edition report, with annual equipment revenues surpassing $15.3.

Read Article
September 13, 2017

Maritime Satcom: Grow or Eat the Pie?

In the midst of  ‘Apple-mania’, two important announcements in the satcom business were made that are key to the future development of the Maritime satcom market.  SES announced its ‘next generation’ MEO-centric network architecture called mPOWER and Kymeta’s sea trials in the Super Yacht sector for its KyWay terminal were concluded.  Both are significant because.

Read Article
September 12, 2017

The In-Flight Connectivity Give Away

In the race to gain more customers for its onboard Wi-Fi service, airlines are following a path that could be surprisingly efficient to generating more revenues: they are giving it away.  That is, partially. Indeed, the hope is that some free airtime will lead passengers to get hooked and pay for continued or better service..

Read Article
September 7, 2017

Fixing Up the FSS Market

Redirected to subject matter Research Director – original author no longer with NSR When looking at future growth opportunities for satellite operators, most revenue growth will come from HTS, with this corresponding to the significant amount of HTS capacity entering the market over the coming years. However, as NSR shows in its Global Satellite Capacity.

Read Article
August 22, 2017

Pricing the Satellite Markets

Redirected to subject matter Research Director – original author no longer with NSR   Satcom markets have traditionally been defined through DTH and remote connectivity use cases, along with an oligopolistic value chain and an upstream B2B lease market where-in the EBITDA margins of satellite operators can be the envy of many markets. The past.

Read Article
August 9, 2017

Cruising Down the Value-Chain

Just how many dollars are down the maritime VSAT Value Chain?  The talk amongst nearly every facet of the maritime VSAT market are satellite operators moving closer and closer to selling directly to the end-user – and there are some very visible moves to that effect from players outside the traditionally called-out Inmarsat. Looking at.

Read Article
August 3, 2017

Bulking Up the Business Case for GEO-HTS

Redirected to subject matter Research Director – original author no longer with NSR The phrase high throughput satellite can at times understate the extent to which HTS technology is indeed a great leap forward for satcom. Traditional FSS wide-beam satellites have tended to see a capacity of around 20-50x 36 MHz transponder equivalents (TPEs), which.

Read Article

Straw “Poll” Shows: Polar Supply Remains a Niche

Redirected to subject matter Research Director – original author no longer with NSR   The polar regions have for good reason historically attracted a very small amount of investment from satellite operators and service providers. As NSR examines in its Polar Satellite Markets, 2nd Edition (PSM2), the majority of capacity over the Polar regions has.

Read Article
July 6, 2017

Drilling for Arctic Opportunities

Some of the world’s largest untapped ore, oil, and gas deposits lie underneath the Arctic, with this for years having been touted as a potential opportunity for international and national oil companies, and mining companies alike. Despite myriad challenges to access these resources, this nonetheless represents a potentially large long-term demand source for communications infrastructure..

Read Article
June 22, 2017

The How and What of Big Data via Satellite

As anyone attending a “mobility” satellite-communications centric conference can attest (such as the recent Global Connected Aircraft Conference in DC), IoT is THE big buzz-word. It permeates conversations, presentations, and marketing materials.  And, for good reason! There are tremendous opportunities within the transportation sector for satellite players to offer services and connectivity to enable these.

Read Article
June 15, 2017

Non-GEO Game Plans and Financial Play

The satcom market is rife with innovative ideas and constellations targeting backhaul, mobility, consumer broadband and government verticals. In response to this proliferation of business models, traditional satellite operators are getting involved in various capacities to tap into the demand landscape, which can be accessed through LEO or MEO fleets. These GEO-MEO-LEO tie-ups occur while.

Read Article
April 27, 2017

Demystifying Satellite Big Data

Data has been called the oil of the digital economy, and the power of Big Data analytics has rapidly caught up among various sectors of economic activity, including the satellite industry. Satellites are undoubtedly a source of Big Data, orbiting the Earth and generating petabytes of sensor data every day. However, the complexity of accessing.

Read Article
April 25, 2017

Video Compression – Killing the Golden Goose?

The linear TV market, comprising DTH and Video Distribution, remains the greatest revenue driver of the satellite industry.  This will not change in the foreseeable future, although high growth rates of the past are more or less over. Seemingly perpetual growth is making way for longer term stability globally in terms of capacity leased. The.

Read Article
April 18, 2017

Asian Satellite Market Update

This week saw the successful launch of the fourth Inmarsat Global Xpress satellite. This launch was noteworthy because the company, by virtue of successfully launching the first three, has already achieved global HTS coverage. The coverage of the fourth—planned to address areas of high demand—has been a topic of much speculation over the past year.

Read Article
April 4, 2017

The Cost of Growth

Redirected to subject matter Research Director – original author no longer with NSR   Satellite operators have for some time enjoyed what the rest of the telecom industry might call “out of this world” EBITDA margins, and strong profit margins to boot. Operating in a niche market—for context, the combined revenues of the 10 largest.

Read Article
March 23, 2017

Satellite Video Markets in State of Flux

Video broadcast for both DTH and Video Distribution has historically been the mainstay of FSS demand, with long term contracts and stable capacity demand growth ever continuing. However, with significant changes in consumer entertainment markets over the last number of years, including OTT and expanding terrestrial Internet speeds, what will be the impact to the.

Read Article
November 16, 2016

The Keys to SmallSat Launchers

Redirected to subject matter Research Director – original author no longer with NSR   Emerging commercial small satellite (smallsat) launch vehicles are full of promise, but reliability is key in the government sector. – Government customers prefer reliable government or traditionally government-oriented contractor launch service providers despite potential cost savings using unproven emerging commercial launchers..

Read Article
October 13, 2016

Smallsat Launchers: Missing Business Fundamentals

Redirected to subject matter Research Director – original author no longer with NSR   “Space is hard,” is a common refrain from the aerospace industry after negative news, as if to differentiate aerospace business from any other business. But this false separation ignores the fundamentals that encourage success in any industry: a solid business plan,.

Read Article