Despite overcapacity and strong competition from terrestrial networks, the Fixed Satellite Services market in North America will continue to grow throughout the rest of the decade. New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, Commercial Geostationary Satellite Transponder Markets for North America: Growth Opportunities in a Mature Market, reveals that this market is likely to generate revenues worth $2.56 billion by 2009.
“The migration of broadcasting from analog to digital signals has reduced demand for new capacity because digital signals can be transmitted more efficiently, hence there is a reduction in the amount of satellite capacity required to transmit a given amount of content,” says Frost & Sullivan Vice President Greg Caressi.
Consolidation among end users — for instance, mergers in the direct-to-home (DTH) satellite television sector — have further reduced the demand for transponders.
This has triggered intense price competition, forcing satellite operators to directly address the issue by upgrading their networks to cater to numerous applications including data exchange, video and data broadcasts, and telephony.
“Despite concerns about cost and technology efficaciousness, the trend toward bundled applications is picking up momentum as satellite service providers strive to address the complete requirements of their customers,” says Caressi.
Satellite operators have also become extremely cautious in adding further capacity to different frequencies that already have high fill rates while adopting a ‘wait-and watch’ approach in launching Ka-band enabled transponders.
Point-to-multipoint applications, particularly video broadcast, still remain the main revenue source for satellite operators. In addition, burgeoning Internet applications, proliferation of corporate networking, as well as increasing demand from the government and the military sectors are providing new market opportunities.
Participants have set up new divisions that offer specific products and services targeting these verticals. They are also working toward developing hybrid systems to leverage the strengths of both satellite and terrestrial technologies.
“Satellite operators are venturing into new business areas and acquiring competitors to drive growth in this mature market,” says Caressi. “This has the potential to reshape the market, though uncertainties prevail over the outcome of these strategies in the near term.”
Commercial Geostationary Satellite Transponder Markets for North America: Growth Opportunities in a Mature Market is part of the Satellite Communications subscription. This research gauges both supply and demand for transponder capacity (C, Ku, and Ka frequency bands) that are leased by third parties for use in several applications such as video broadcast, telephony, Internet trunking, and networking. Executive summaries and interviews are available to the press.
