News Analysis

Ka-Band: Driving Profound Business Model Changes

by Jan Grøndrup-Vivanco

Paris, September 4, 2012--Ka-band is more than just an expansion band; it will have profound implications on how satellite capacity is sold from both the satellite operators’ and service providers’ perspective.  One might even worry if Ka-Band is short for cannibalism?  Even though Ka-Band has been around for a number of years in the satellite communications industry, it is only recently that it has made inroads into the commercial mainstream as C- and Ku-Band.

TV Viewing Increasingly Accompanied by Use of Social Media

Stockholm, Sweden, August 28, 2012--The results of Ericsson ConsumerLab's annual study - presented in the TV & Video Consumer Trend Report 2012 - reveal that social TV is becoming a mass-market phenomenon. Sixty-two percent of consumers use social media while watching TV on a weekly basis, an increase of 18 percentage points in one year. By gender, 66 percent of women engage in this behavior, compared to 58 percent of men. Twenty-five percent of consumers use social media to discuss what they are watching while they are watching it.

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Satellite Market Posts Solid Growth Boosted by Video Services and Emerging Regions

New Euroconsult reports shows 7% capacity leasing revenue growth in 2011

Paris, August 23, 2012- Euroconsult’s latest research report, Satellite Communications & Broadcasting Markets Survey, Forecasts to 2021, revealed that 2011 was a good year for FSS operators, with 4% growth in regular transponder capacity, 33% growth in High Throughput Satellite (HTS) capacity, and a $724 million increase for total capacity leasing revenues. Earnings were mostly influenced by increasing capacity demand for video services and rising competition in emerging markets.

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Untapped Middle East and North Africa Region of Promise for IPTV and OTTtv Delivery

London, August 22, 2012–With IPTV subscriber numbers predicted to undergo a huge ten-fold increase, reaching 1.6 million by 2014, the Middle East and North Africa is undoubtedly a region rich with promise for those within the TV delivery ecosystem. The untapped territory provides the backdrop for this year’s TV Connect Middle East and North Africa, which is set to focus on IPTV, OTTtv, and multiplatform services, and provides the perfect platform to explore the growth opportunity within TV delivery.

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Satellite Operators Continue to Grow Capacity Leasing and Develop New Markets

Latest NSR Report Forecasts US$6.9 Billion in New Revenues by 2021

Cambridge, Mass., August 7, 2012 - NSR's Global Assessment of Satellite Supply & Demand, 9th Edition report, released today, found that commercial satellite operators grew capacity leasing revenues by US$635 million between 2010 and 2011 and are aggressively targeting new markets such as mobility and other high value services in order to maintain sustained revenue expansion for the coming years.

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Satellite DTH Boom Continues

London, UK, July 26, 2012--The number of pay Direct to Home (DTH)  homes for 80 countries covered in a new report by Digital TV Research will be 220 million by end-2017, up from 154 million at end-2011 and 91 million at end-2007. India will lead the sector with 50.9 million pay DTH homes in 2017, followed by the US with 36.5 million. Russia (14.7 million) and Brazil (14.6 million) will take third and fourth places respectively.

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Worldwide Mobile Data Traffic Will Exceed 107 Exabytes in 2017, But That Doesn’t Imply a Data Tsunami

London, UK., July 25, 2012--The global volume of mobile data traffic will exceed 107 exabytes in 2017, shows a new forecast from ABI Research. This total traffic volume will be eight times more than what is expected for 2012. But how significant a growth rate would this represent, exactly?

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Mobile Integration Key to 57 Million Smart Set-Top Box Market

Scottsdale, Ariz., July 20, 2012--Smart set-top boxes often garner less attention than other connected CE devices like TVs and game consoles – Apple has referred to its Apple TV as a “hobby” although it leads the market with around 4 million units shipped through 2011. Roku has had recent success (e.g. passing 2.5M units in 2011), but the future looks at the very least challenging for these dedicated streaming devices to break out of a niche status. TVs, game consoles, Blu-ray players, and even mobile devices are quickly conspiring to engender a very competitive market for the digital living room. Even so, set-top box shipments are expected to reach as high as 57 million by 2017.

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Game Changers: HTS and O3b to Disrupt Wireless Backhaul via Satellite Market

New NSR Report Forecasts Significant Satellite-Based Backhaul Growth over Next Decade


Cambridge, Mass. July 17, 2012 - NSR's newly released Wireless Backhaul via Satellite, 6th Edition finds a dramatic long term shift from legacy SCPC and TDMA systems to High Throughput Satellites (HTS) and O3b. The market shift brings threats, as well as opportunities, for market players involved in space segment capacity and end-to-end services along with companies in the equipment segment. The global satellite backhaul market is expected to reach $2.3 billion in 2021, growing almost three-fold from today’s $800 million annual revenue base.

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Euroconsult Sees a Turning Point for FSS Operators

Market characterized by innovative capital investments, emergence of new players, and diverging performances

Paris, France, July 12, 2012 –Euroconsult announced the findings of its most recent study of fixed satellite services. The report entitled "Company Profiles, Analysis of FSS Operators," now in its 5th edition, indicates that regional operators in particular continued to see strong business growth from various applications including DTH TV broadcasting, cellular backhaul and enterprise networks. Many of these regional operators are continuing their ambitious expansion plans with growing satellite fleets and a number of satellite launches still ahead in the coming years.

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