Panasonic Corporation and ITC Global announced today that they have entered into a definitive agreement for Panasonic to acquire ITC Global, a leading provider of satellite communication services for the energy, mining, and maritime markets.

Founded in 2001 with regional headquarters in Houston, Texas; Sion, Switzerland; and Perth, Australia, ITC Global serves customers at more than 1,200 remote sites across 70 countries and all the world’s oceans.  

NSR’s Wireless Backhaul via Satellite 10th Edition report, released today, forecasts the global installed base of satellite backhaul sites will surpass 67,000 by 2025 and will generate US$2.1 billion in revenues. Mobile Backhaul will generate the majority of growth led by Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.

New consumer research from Leichtman Research Group, Inc. (LRG) found that 81% of households in the United States have at least one high definition television (HDTV) set, and about 52% of all households have multiple HDTVs. Five years ago, 46% of US households had at least one HDTV, and 17% of households had more than one HDTV.

About 75% of TV sets used in HD households are HDTVs. Including non-HDTV households, 65% of all television sets used in US households are HDTVs -- up from 24% in 2009, and 3% in 2004.

The US will emerge as the leading market for 4K or Ultra HD TVs in terms of household penetration by 2020 followed by the leading Western European markets, Australia, South Korea and China. According to Strategy Analytics’ Connected Home Devices (CHD) report “Ultra High Definition TV Displays: Global Market Forecast”, demand for UHD TVs is soaring worldwide as entry level price points drop well below US$ 1000, model availability expands and consumers seek out the next best technology as they upgrade their ageing flat panel TVs. 

Other key findings from the report include:  

Worldwide spending on broadband aggregation equipment rose 9 percent in 2014, to US$ 8.2 billion, driven by robust sales of Gigabit Passive Optical Network (GPON) equipment, particularly in China.

Infonetics’ early edition PON, FTTH, and DSL Aggregation Equipment report contains vendor market share and preliminary analysis for the broadband aggregation equipment market for the fourth quarter of 2014 (4Q14) and the full-year 2014.

According to Euroconsult's newly released research titled Prospects for the Small Satellite Market, a total of 510 small satellites, or sma

The Society of Satellite Professionals International (SSPI) today released Are We Winning the War for Talent? The 2015 International Satellite Industry Workforce Study.  It is the satellite industry's first multi-company, multinational study of workforce practices, employee compensation and engagement, and the make-up of the industry’s workforce.  The report, the first in a series, aims to share best practices in attracting and managing talented people, and to spark a management dialogue on collective actions to improve the industry’s performance.   
 

NSR’s Satellite Manufacturing and Launch Services, 5th Edition, report, released today, projects that over 1,800 satellites weighing more than 50 kilograms will be ordered and launched over the next decade, generating US$ 300 billion across global markets. Satellites launched by entirely new commercial and national operators will complement replacement and expansion missions from traditional players, sustaining the market above $26 billion per year.

According to a new market research report entitled "Commercial Drones Market by Type (Fixed Wing, Rotary Blade, Quad Rotor), Technology (Energy & Propulsion System, Automation, Collision Avoidance), Application (Government, Agriculture, Manufacturing, Retail) & Geography - Global Forecast to 2020", published by MarketsandMarkets, the total commercial drones market was valued at US$ 15.22 Million in 2014 and is expected to reach US$ 1.27 Billion by 2020, at an estimated CAGR of 109.31% between 2014 and 2020.

Futuresource Consulting has announced its latest 4K report, which will review the progress in the broadcast, video, and display industries. With the 4K industry gathering pace, a sustained flow of 4k content will be critical to the long term success of 4k.

While disc playback of 4k content will not be a possibility until late 2015, OTT (Over the Top) video services are driving early roll-out of 4k video services with several now available in the market. Several further propositions are set for launch in 2015/6 from both standalone providers and traditional Pay-TV platforms.