by NSR

Japan is often looked at as the early adopter of all things technology-related, be it the widespread use of laptops, mobile phones or gaming and value-added services. One would expect that the large LED screens found at busy intersections in Tokyo would naturally spill over to LCD and plasma screens at every possible media opportunity – be it a retail store aisle, cinema theatre or fast-food restaurant. However, a closer look at this otherwise tech-savvy country reveals that players have been slow in rolling out screens – not impeded by technology – but more by a reluctance to be first-to-market with a relatively unproven emerging advertising media.

For the first time, satellite reaches more households than cable in Europe, with 77 million satellite and 71 million cable households, according to the annual survey conducted by satellite operator SES. Terrestrial infrastructures reach 86.5 million households; however, not even half of them (48 percent) are digital.

Today, Africa is one of the fastest growing markets for telecommunications and satellite services. The African satellite market is estimated to have grown in the last few years as much as twice more than the global average of 6-7 percent and looks to accelerate that growth in this new decade.  

Just a few years ago, the African continent, home to over a Billion people, was seen as backwater for telecommunications services. Teledensity, a key indicator showing the number of telephones per 100 population were the lowest in the world at less than one percent on average.

A telco PR executive once remarked to me that satellite was like a solution always looking for a problem.  Given that he was looking to represent my satellite consultancy firm, I thought this was an odd way to earn my business!  Dents to my ego aside, what this guy was reflecting is simply the wider telecommunications industry and a great many potential customers’ perception of satellite – VSAT communications in particular.

Markets for satellite communications equipment and services have expanded to fill the gaps in terrestrial broadcasting and telecommunications networks. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the Middle East, which is the focus of this article.

The experts are predicting a boom in the take-up and acceptance of mobile TV, and the Asia- Pacific region is going to lead the way. According to market research firm, RNCOS, the Asia-Pacific region is expected to account for around 67 percent of the global mobile TV subscribers by the end of 2013. That is a remarkable figure and evidence that, once again, the Asian market is driving and popularizing new innovation.

As High-Definition (HD) video has hit its stride worldwide, the TV and film industry are looking ahead to the next new thing. 3D TV and Ultra-HD (UHD) are on the horizon, according to market research firm, In-Stat (http://www.in-stat.com). 

Set-top boxes are set to reach Asian consumers at an ever-increasing rate, according to new STB market data published by ABI Research. Overall STB shipments in the region, including those for cable, DBS, IPTV, and DTT television services, will approach 111 million in 2014, the culmination of a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in excess of 12% over the 2009-2014 period.

In announcing in its recent budget request that it would buy 50 more UAVs of the extended range category, the Pentagon sent a strong signal to the satellite industry that more communications-on-the-move (COTM) for UAVs would be needed in the coming years.  

The satellite manufacturing sector will experience steady growth in the coming decade, although a fallout from the extended and slow economic recovery will see the number of satellites in the near future drop significantly by almost 10 percent, according to a report entitled "Global Satellite Manufacturing: The Impact of Evolving Trends" by Frost and Sullivan.