Here comes the new satellite age

The new age of satellite has been creeping up on us for a while. Even so, it’s a surprise to realize how significant it is going to be for telecom. Over the next decade direct satellite services will likely bring broadband to hundreds of millions of rural users, become a key enabler of 6G and forge a new multi-billion dollar business in direct to handset (DTH).

It won’t be disruptive – but it will transform the economics of remote broadband, while the onset of seamless global mobile coverage promises to be a lucrative niche that is already attracting big corporate names.

On the broadband access side, analyst firm Euroconsult argues that the 2.6 billion people who lack broadband are a $74 billion untapped opportunity.

Currently the addressable satellite broadband market is 591 million people, with 71 million of them connecting to satellite service last year. Euroconsult tips that to rise to 150 million in 2031.

“The rollout of satellite constellations and next-generation high-throughput satellites (HTS) planned in the coming years will be crucial in helping reduce the digital divide, enabling satellite services to offer increasingly affordable entry-level satellite services,” Euroconsult said. Besides direct to consumer, the other important broadband segment is mobile or WiFi backhaul, Euroconsult notes.

Just this week Telstra announced a long-term backhaul deal with OneWeb for its regional mobile network.

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