NSR’s Commercial Satellite Ground Segment, 4th Edition (CSGS4) report, released today, forecasts global annual revenues for the Commercial Satellite Ground Segment to grow to $14.4 billion annually by 2028, with US$ 145 billion in cumulative revenue over the next decade. Despite turbulence in the video market, Satellite TV continues to generate the largest volumes, pushing STBs (Set-top Box) and antennas to capture the biggest share of revenues.
However, growth will primarily come from data-centric use cases where HTS drives demand for both infrastructure segments (Baseband Equipment, Earth Stations) and applications (Consumer Broadband, Backhaul, Aero, Maritime, etc.). Both 5G and Network Virtualization are key contributors to this next wave of satellite ground segment growth.
“The satellite industry must not underestimate the transformative power of 5G,” states Lluc Palerm, NSR Senior Analyst and report author. “Beyond the hype related to new 5G use cases, which still need time to develop, 5G represents a whole new way to conceive networks and service delivery. The biggest short-term impact of 5G will be on the backend, in the adoption of concepts like flexible resource allocation, SDN (Software Defined Network), or NFV (Network Function Virtualization). 5G opens a window of opportunity to make Satcom seamlessly integrable with terrestrial technologies,” according to Palerm.
Historically relegated to a secondary role, the Satellite Ground Segment is now a strategic network element for both Operators and Service Providers. From very sophisticated network management, efficient MHz utilization, complex traffic manipulation, reduced costs to open bottom-of-the-pyramid markets or cutting-edge flat panel antennas, the satellite ground segment now offers a crucial competitive advantage.
