It is official – 2015 is here and no sooner has the year begun, we are already gearing up for the first satellite launch of year courtesy of Inmarsat. With a further 40 + launches currently scheduled, I thought it would be great to share a (hopefully) positive observation for the year ahead
Stats Don’t Lie
A recent report from our friends at NSR highlighted that overall VSAT and broadband subscribers will reach nearly 9.5 million by 2023 with revenues expected to reach nearly $8.8billion. Demand is clearly there and the best thing about it? I can’t see it slowing – Latin America and Europe are predicted to experience the fastest growth with business within USA still leading the way with 25% year-on-year growth
Winter Gloom Bloom?
At a time when everyone is miserable and cold (especially here in London) following the holidays, it seems that we should in actual fact be very positive and upbeat for the year ahead.
There is a lot of low hanging fruit out there ready to be picked in 2015 and I’m pleased to see VSAT is riding the telecoms wave.
So where’s the ‘But’?
The ‘But’ is simple. Satellite is not significant to telcos. This is nothing new but if VSAT is to grow into new markets, VSAT rates need to increase and provide a more attractive business proposition for the market.
HTS (Read my previous blog about HTS here and a great article here by Dennis Sutherland.) is THE hot topic in the same mould as LTE has been (and still is) in Telecoms.
But after nearly 10 years of discussing LTE, it is only in 2014 that the UK finally welcomed our first commercial LTE network. Instead the role of 2G, 3G and even HSPA remain vital to the network.
So what?
So whilst the Telco market is like Usain Bolt in comparison to Satellite, the discussion about HTS will continue for some time and we should continue to increase traditional wide-beam FSS Satellites for managing the current growth in enterprise VSAT business.
The fear of running before walking is pertinent and a lot of issues need to be addressed before we can start answering questions on when HTS will cannibalize the market. Perhaps a better question for now could be ‘How can operators provide a heterogeneous service with high throughput and low cost to their customers?’
Sounds ideal doesn’t it, but we must get down to the crux of the issue; Satellite is not currently significant for Telco’s. Do we know what they want? What do we need to do?
VSAT LATAM
Whatever your thoughts, 2015’s VSAT LATAM is being co-located with Broadband World Forum meaning, if you want to speak directly with the Telco’s and change their stance on Satellite; now’s your chance.
