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The global satellite communications services market is set to take off within the current decade, with revenue forecast to rocket to US$141 billion by 2030.
This is according to technology analysis firm ABI Research, which claimed this growth will be due to the deployment of satellite constellations in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) for low-latency and high throughput network applications and extending terrestrial network (TN) coverage.
“Satellite communications services have seen a new wave of enthusiasm and convergence with terrestrial networks looking to extend past their zones of coverage and bridge the digital divide,” said Andrew Cavalier, satellite communications industry analyst at ABI Research.
The firm said that market developments have proven services such as the internet of things (IoT), backhaul, commercial broadband and Mobile Satellite Services (MSS) can meet carrier-grade performance requirements and improve the capacity of terrestrial cloud services providers (CSP).
It also claimed that some of the most influential businesses in the satellite communications services industry include the London-headquartered OneWeb, as well as the US-based companies SpaceX, Hughes Network Systems, and Globalstar.
Meanwhile, ABI said that there has been an increase in deployments in LEO for key satellite services across broadband, backhaul, IoT and MSS mobile applications.
“The market is evolving quickly, and many services are finding enhanced deployment through strategic alliances and increased bandwidth supply in LEO,” said Jake Saunders, VP of Asia Pacific (APAC) and research director for ABI Research’s satellite communications service.
“While these services are still in their early stages, there is evidence that they will find momentum as smartphone technology begins to peak, sales taper off and new revenue streams grow in demand.
“To this end, the market is revealing new development paths that will influence the market and shape partnerships and opportunities for enterprises throughout the telecommunications value chain,” he added.
However, MSS, at least for everyday smartphone usage, still has a way to go before expectations can be met, according to tech journalist Mike Elgan.
