World government space program expenditures reached a historic high of more than $62 billion dollars in 2008, with planned satellite launches in the next ten years to increase 38% over the previous decade according to a report released in December 2008  by Euroconsult.

More than three years ago, NSR first stated in its Broadband Satellite Markets studies that government efforts to require universal access to broadband services would be a boon to the European market for broadband satellite Internet access services. Such initiatives never come about as quickly as service providers would like, but it now appears that Europe is truly setting itself upon this path.

A number of new universal access programs have come to light since NSR's Broadband Satellite Markets 7th Edition study was released in June 2008, including:

Once considered the fertile crescent of Internet innovation, the United States now finds itself increasingly trailing the world in broadband, according to a report just released by Strategy Analytics. The report, “Sputnik Moment: The Call for a National Broadband Policy,?” suggests that only a coordinated and coherent national broadband plan will allow the US to regain its leadership role.

ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun Touré said  that worldwide mobile cellular subscribers are likely to reach the 4 billion mark before the end of this year.  Dr Touré was speaking at the high-level events on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in New York, where he also participated in UN Private Sector Forums addressing the global food crisis and the role of technological innovation in meeting the MDGs.

With many industries around the world in the doldrums due to the current economic crisis, NSR's latest multi-client market research report released December 3rd, 2008 entitled the Global Assessment of Satellite Demand, 5th Edition, projects that the commercial satellite transponder leasing market should emerge relatively unscathed.

When discussing the Ku-band commercial airline broadband access market, the image that comes to mind is that of a famous animation movie where a donkey travels to a faraway land constantly asking the ogre driving the carriage: "Are we there yet?" Today, the answer would be, "Just about there," to which the donkey’s reply would be, "Ahhh! Finally."

This is also the feeling of the market, after almost three years of travelling since the first Ku-band broadband Internet service in the sky, Connexion-by-Boeing (CbB), was shut-down.

A new generation of satellites, and spectrum assigned to mobile satellite services, will play a prominent role in the next major development in television and radio broadcasting.

·         Satellites will enable relatively rapid roll-outs across major regions of the world and spectrum assigned to mobile satellite services holds the key to unlocking this potentially massive market.

·         A combination of satellite and terrestrial transmission will deliver the next generation of television, radio and associated multimedia services to mobile and in-vehicle receivers.

Worldwide IPTV Service Revenue Will Reach $19 Billion in 2012

Worldwide subscriptions to internet Protocol television (IPTV) services are on pace to reach 19.6 million subscribers in 2008, a 64.1 per cent increase from 12 million subscribers in 2007, according to Gartner, Inc. Worldwide IPTV revenue is projected to total $4.5 billion in 2008, a 93.5 per cent increase from 2007 revenue of $2.3 billion.

Mobile Satellite Services Sector Enters Heavy Launch Phase amidst Financial and Economic Uncertainty

NSR released findings from its latest report, Mobile TV and Mobile Video, 2nd Edition - A Complete 360-degree Analysis,  on September 9, 2008. The report examines market and technology trends influencing mobile TV stakeholders' participation and provides regional forecasts for broadcast and unicast distribution.