Google, Amazon, Netflix, Microsoft prepare ground for global ambitions

The Internet content delivery market will undergo huge changes over the next decade as major telcos and Internet giants, including Google, Amazon, Netflix and Microsoft, wrangle over the continuing over-the-top (OTT) Internet traffic content boom, according to a new Informa Telecoms & Media report Internet Innovation.

Mobile satellite voice and data services provider Globalstar has reported that its fourth quarter revenues rose 10 percent from the year before to US$19.12 million while service revenue increased to US$15.3 million from US$13.6 million the year earlier.

However, the company still posted net loss of US$19 million for the three months ended December 31, 2012 compared to a net loss of US$33.7 million for the fourth quarter of 2011.

 According to Euroconsult's newly released research report,Government Space Markets, World Prospects to 2022, government spending on space reached a peak in 2012 of $72.9 billion, a non-negligible increase compared to 2011 which followed two consecutive years of minimal growth. This upswing is attributed to increased activity of countries such as Russia, China, India and new world or regional leaders who compensated for budget uncertainties affecting North America and Europe. Euroconsult expects global government expenditures on space to decrease due to fiscal policies exerting continuous pressure on public finances; improvement is not expected before 2015.

Canada’s manufacturer of mobile auto-deploying satellite antenna systems, C-COM Satellite Systems Inc., announced on Thursday that the company continued to post eight consecutive profitable year although net profit for 2012 dropped by 29%.

The World Teleport Association today released Satellite Operator Benchmarks 2013, the third annual WTA global study. The study tracks, rates, and compares the operational and commercial performance of satellite operators, as experienced by teleport operators. The objective of the annual study, now in its third year, is to strengthen the global industry by encouraging self-improvement among all operating companies.

According to NSR’s Energy Markets via Satellite, 3rd Edition report released today, Energy Markets are in the midst of a bandwidth revolution that will positively affect satellite companies over the next decade. More applications at  more remote locations continue to drive demand for satellite services, and Oil & Gas, Mining, and Utility end-users will demand over 25 Gbps of satellite capacity by 2022. 

The GVF-EMP Conference Partnership have today announced further details of the GVF Oil & Gas Communications Brazil Conference, which will take place in Rio de Janeiro over 16th and 17th April 2013 at the Windsor Plaza Hotel, Copacabana.

Inmarsat plc has reported a drop in its full year 2012 profit before income tax to US $293.6 million from US$366.9 million last year after revenues dried up from the ill-fated LightSquared plan to create a new mobile network in the US.

Profit to equity holders also decreased to US$217.1 million or $0.48 per share fromUS $249.3 million or US$0.54 per share last year. Adjusted profit per share was $0.60 compared to $0.53 prior year.

For most satellite service providers and teleports, satellite capacity is the single largest Operating Expense (OPEX) cost item and is therefore key to their profitability. This is traditionally also one of the most difficult cost elements to manage, especially for service providers who provide data services for VSAT and trunking.

The launch of the first commercial communications satellite (Intelsat1, nicknamed “Early Bird”) on 06 April 1965, the commercial satellite industry has seen declining technology risks but still remains fraught with many business risks. It is a capital-intensive industry with high barriers to entry. An aspiring satellite operator faces the difficult decision of investing hundreds of millions of dollars up to three years before the satellite takes its flight and stabilizes in its orbital slot.