Latest figures from ABI Research indicates that there are currently more than 500 3G network commitments, and over 300 WiMAX and LTE announcements worldwide. This equates to more than two billion of the world’s population being covered by high-speed data networks. The demand for speedy data networks continues to rise across the globe.  

According to NSR’s Global Satellite-Based Earth Observation, 2nd Edition study, the Earth Observation (EO) market growth, size and shape is more than ever affected by government contracts, in particular from military users. They are the largest consumers of high-resolution satellite imagery, as demonstrated by the recent EnhancedView contracts from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) that will generate a majority of the EO data market revenues over the next ten years.

(MPEG-4 AVC (H.264) set-top box shipments surpassed MPEG-2-only set-top box shipments for the first time in 2010, with about 53% MPEG-4 shipments worldwide. Despite the support for advanced encoding, however, pay-TV operators worldwide have been slow to support interactive features on set-top boxes, according to ABI Research.

Fiber to the Home (FttH) and DOCSIS are driving Europe's High-Capacity Broadband according to Research and Markets' report entitled   "European Fixed Broadband and Internet Market."  The report covers developments in Europe's broadband and Internet markets, providing analyses and data on DSL, cable and fibre technologies and on related regulatory measures.

Revenues of Chinas telecom industry in 2009 totaled CNY 870.73 billion, increasing by 4.1% year-on-year, according to the the latest Research and Markets report "China's Telecom Industry 2010-12.". Among that, the main telecom business revenue totaled CNY 842.43 billion, increasing by 3.9% YOY.

Paid-for television content – whether through cable, satellite or the Internet – is preferred over free-to-air services – even in markets where free programming is more readily available, according to global research from Motorola Mobility.

According to the latest figures from ABI Research, global pay-TV service revenue totaled $55.5 billion during the third quarter of 2010, approximately a 9% increase from the same period in 2009.   Currently more than half of global telco TV service revenues come from Western Europe where telco TV penetration is already quite high, and net subscriber additions in the region are expected to slow due to that penetration. The result: telco TV’s market share in terms of subscriber numbers and service revenue is expected to decline in Western Europe in the coming years.

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.

Despite the difficulties faced to date, the timing is ripe for mobile video services to take off in certain Asia-Pacific markets due to the enhanced capability of the networks, increasing popularity and affordability of smartphones, and improvements in the mobile video business, according to a new report from Pyramid Research.

In the third quarter of 2010, net subscriber additions in the global pay-TV market increased 2% over 2Q-2010 according to ABI Research’s recent pay-TV market data.   “The global number of pay-TV subscribers reached 692 million in the third quarter of 2010,” says ABI Research practice director Jason Blackwell. “Pay-TV subscriber growth is holding steady in a number of world regions.”