VSAT technology today offers a solid platform for medium to high bandwidth applications in the enterprise domain.  However many potential users harbor concerns the medium might be too costly and unreliable.  How these concerns are addressed varies greatly based on the application and location.  The satellite industry is dropping its old boiler plate about ease of use and speed to deploy and moving towards being something that can handle applications which require more bandwidth with a truly independent and private network.

Location, Location, Location

The last decade has been a roller coaster ride in the Latin American FSS market with numerous peaks and valleys in both supply and demand. The decade started out with a mass of satellite launches that drove up supply, but transponder demand lagged leading to a buyer’s market with very low pricing. Then starting in about 2008, demand for capacity, most especially Ku-band transponders, grew very rapidly driven by DTH, video distribution and VSAT networking services for a plethora of rural connectivity, e-governance and USO projects.

Just 1.2 million pay-TV consumers canceled their subscriptions in favor of over-the-top video alternatives in 2010, according to a new report from Informa Telecoms Media, reflecting just 0.18 percent of the global pay-TV market.

The number of cord-cutters globally is forecast to rise from last year's 1.2 million to 16.1 million by 2015, the report says.

Cable will retain dominance in the global multi-channel TV market over the next five years but the threat from the new generation of digital and internet protocol (IP) services will take its toll, predicts Ovum.

Globally cable TV will reach 573 million households by 2015, but will grow by an average of only three per cent per year for that period. The strongest growth will come from internet protocol TV (IPTV) with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 24 per cent over the next five years to reach 109 million households.

There has been solid growth in the Earth Observation (EO) market in the past few years due to a strengthening of demand for civil government and military EO satellites and associated data. However, this reliance on government and military organizations distorts true market economics, as only a few large users such as the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGA) provide the majority of revenues for U.S.-based operators according to NSR.

With the Middle East television audience set to rise by almost 20% over the next three years*, 19 new satellites due for launch by 2013 and 90% satellite TV penetration**, there has never been a more important time to be aware of the latest broadcast technology and business practices. To address those trends and assist in realising the potential in the Middle East, CABSAT MENA, running from 8 – 10 February 2011 at Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre, has transformed its conference for 2011, making it more detailed and more international in its scope.

CASBAA’s Thailand in View forum, organised in association with the Satellite Television Association of Thailand, concluded on January 20, 2011 with an endorsement of the power of pay-TV by H.E. Abhisit Vejjajiva, Prime Minister of Thailand. The Prime Minister opened the conference examining the opportunities and challenges affecting the broadcasting sector by championing regulatory change to support the growth of the cable and satellite broadcast industry as a constructive and ethical medium in Thailand.

In January U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced plans to cut $78 billion in defense spending over five years, including a reduction of up to 47,000 troops. These cuts are in addition to last year’s $100 billion cost-savings drive in efforts to eliminate waste, cut poorly performing weapons programs and redirect funds to other priorities. These announcements certainly appear ominous for industries such as commercial satcoms, which has seen increasing demand since 2001.

Ovum has released its predictions for the key issues and events that will shape the telecommunications market in 2011. Broken down by analysts’ areas of coverage, the predictions provide a fascinating overview of the coming year for the telecoms industry.

Satellite and the Middle East/North Africa Horizontal and South East Asia Vertical Markets

Readers of this column who will be attending the CABSAT MENA & Satellite MENA 2011 exhibition at Dubai International Convention & Exhibition Center (DICEC) over 8th to 10th February will be interested to know that the Editor-in-Chief of this very publication will feature in a prominent role during one of the conferences embedded within the event.