Military satellite market just a few years ago was one of the fastest growing segments of the satellite communications industry.  However, a global economic downturn and de-escalation of conflicts in the Middle East and South West Asia coupled with changing warfighter requirements have had a profound effect on the future of military satellite communications.

According to NSR’s just released Global Assessment of Satellite Supply and Demand, 7th Edition study, the worst global economic crisis since The Great Depression did little to slow down the worldwide commercial satellite capacity leasing market. NSR's study estimates the industry picked up over $400 million in new leasing revenues in 2009, reaching US$9.7 billion as of the end of the year.

In the mid-1990s, at the SATELLITE show in Washington DC, one teleport executive turned to another and said, “This Internet thing.  Think there’s anything in it?

The SATCON Conference and Expo,  one of several exhibitions and conferences held concurrently under the umbrella Content and Communications World (CCW) event focused on business solutions for content creation, production and post production, media management, distribution and delivery, infrastructure management, and a wide range of communications solutions including satellite, fiber, hybrid networks, IPTV and other delivery formats. 

The global satellite industry is usually viewed as an extremely competitive and sometimes cutthroat business.  Market share; revenue growth; market capitalization; and EBITDA compete for the attention of owners, management, and the investor community.  However, there is a revolution going on supporting the idea that you can “do well by doing good;” that these measures of business success can be positively impacted by a thoughtful commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). 

There were three recurring themes running through the Comsys VSAT Conference in London: helping close the digital divide, Mobility – Maritime in particular and integrated service provision. 

The Fixed Satellite Services (FSS) operators have all weathered the financial crisis and even managed to continue to grow their businesses in 2009 and are continuing to grow in the first half of 2010. However, the big question is: “What is their next act?"

In 2010, the UN-HABITAT’s report, State of the World Cities 2010/2011: Bridging the Urban Divide found that the global population has reached its tipping point, a condition where populations are more urban than rural. Today, 50.6% live in urban areas, and the trend is irreversible. Increased urban populations may be taking away a vital market for satellite backhaul.

Eutelsat Communications announced the key highlights of its two-yearly survey of television reception by satellite and cable homes.

First conducted  in 1994 and covering Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, the key objective of the survey is to measure the trends of three main indicators in the broadcasting market:

Last year in Paris the mood was very upbeat with collective sighs of relief that compared to the rest of the world the satellite industry had escaped the recession comparatively unscathed. This year, while still very positive, the mood was more balanced with a recognition that at least for the manufacturers the peak order rates for commercial geostationary satellites (GEOs) of the last few years are not going to be repeated as the major operators have now largely completed their replacement cycles.