WTA Releases “Inside the Top Operators” Research Report


New York City, June 16, 2015–The World Teleport Association (WTA) today announced the release of a new research report: Inside the Top Operators 2015. The report analyzes data from the Top Operator Rankings of 2014, released by WTA in December

The 2014 Top Operators in­cluded compa­nies with com­bined annual revenues of US$12 billion from teleport and satellite opera­tions the previous year.  Of this reve­nue, $9.8bn came from respond­ents that have sub­mitted data to WTA con­sis­tently for the past five years.  These com­panies posted 10% (CAGR) year-over-year growth in revenues from 2009 to 2013.  Growth leveled off to 4% CAGR in the past three years.

During the past year, the Top Operators found that prices generally held steady for their core services, while the resale of satellite and fiber capacity experienced modest upticks in pricing.  The volume of business they did in media, maritime and other enterprise markets grew, while government volume dropped.  The fall-off in government revenues led data-centric Top Operators to pursue new revenues in the media business.

“The Top Operators play an outsize role in determining quality, cost-effectiveness and innovation of B2B services delivered over satellite and terrestrial networks,” said WTA Executive Director Robert Bell.  “This report provides our annual snapshot of changes in their businesses and responses to market dynamics.”

Since 2004, WTA has annually published the Top Teleport Operator.  Their purpose is to focus attention on the important, but often unsung, role that satellite service providers play in the satellite communications market. The rank­ings come from an annual survey of operators as well as review of financial data from publicly-traded firms.  From this information, WTA publishes rankings of:

  • The Global Top 20, companies by revenue including independents and satellite/fiber operators

  • The Independent Top 20, companies by revenue excluding satellite and fiber operators

  • The Fast 20, based on year-over-year revenue growth, including independents and satel­lite/fiber operator.

Inside the Top Operators 2015 can be accessed from the WTA Store. WTA Members can download the report for free. Non-members can purchase the report for US$445.00.