ITU Telecom World 2012 brought together industry representatives and government leaders at the highest level to engage in five days of critical dialogue on networking, knowledge-sharing and the challenges defining the information and communication technology (ICT) sector as well as the opportunities arising from it.

According to Euroconsult’s latest research report Satellite-Based Earth Observation: Market Prospects to 2021, the market for commercial Earth observation (EO) data slowed significantly in 2011 with growth of 6% to $1.4 billion following five years of strong growth of over 20% from 2006 to 2010. The primary factor for this decrease in percentage was the stabilization in U.S. defense data procurement following the awards of the Enhanced View contracts by the NGA to DigitalGlobe and GeoEye.

NSR’s second installment of the Satellite Operator Financial Analysis study, released today, finds that the FSS sector remains robust in financial terms, with continued revenue growth in the outlook, while imminent IPOs and further industry consolidation (GE Satellite, KT Satellite) continue to shape the industry. In addition, the relatively recent and widespread trend of increased cost control is expected to improve margins further.

With under one week to go until ITU Telecom World 2012 kicks off five days of critical debate in Dubai from 14 to 18 October, leading names from across the global ICT ecosystem are set to share knowledge and build consensus on the current profound transformation of the ICT sector, and its implications for the industry, for other vertical sectors and for the world in which we live.

NSR’s Global Satellite-Based Earth Observation (EO), 4th Edition report points to an industry in transition that is considerably improving its value-proposition. As a direct consequence, the satellite EO industry is progressively moving from growth fed by orders from governmental & military organizations to one based on a more balanced mix of end-users, laying the groundwork for a decade of growth in both data and value-added-services (VAS) segments.

With the number of people viewing online video via connected devices predicted to leap to 380 million globally by 2015*, OTTtv is at the forefront of connected entertainment and is undoubtedly an industry with huge potential. This provides the setting for this year’s OTTtv World Summit, where industry heavyweights Gerry O’Sullivan, SVP of Global TV and Entertainment at Deutsche Telekom, and Terry Denson, VP of Content and Acquisition at Verizon, will explore and debate whether telcos should build, buy or partner, in order to respond to this rapidly growing industry.

According to the latest research from Informa Telecoms & Media released at the CDN Summit, revenue generated from the sale of content delivery network (CDN) services will grow threefold in the five years to 2017 to reach US$4.63 billion. This is on the back of a fivefold rise in global CDN traffic.

Compared to the ebullience of the last few years the mood was relatively subdued in Paris this September at Euroconsult’s Satellite Business Week conference.

MTV is carried by more European operators than any other channel, according to a new report from Digital TV Research. However, the TV Channel Distribution in Europe report points out that several other channels are close behind.

 Top channels carriage by number of operators

A new report from Informa Telecoms & Media warns telecom operators that the days of the old-style triple or quad-play bundles are numbered. Going forward, operators will have to offer a whole range of new content and applications within their bundled products – including OTT content from companies like Netflix and Spotify and even VoIP from providers like Skype – to keep their subscribers happy.