News Analysis

Electronic Warfare Linked Up With Space Communications

Space communications assets will be pivotal in supporting the net-centric capabilities required for tighter integration of EW and CIW, cyber/information warfare

Boston, May 5, 2011--Air, sea, and land electronic warfare (ASLEW) is waged within the electromagnetic (EM) spectrum to both attack and defend against enemy personnel and equipment. The Strategy Analytics Advanced Defense Systems (ADS) service report, “Space Communications Systems and Electronic Warfare,” predicts that space communications systems will play a strategic role as an electronic warfare force multiplier, as electronic warfare becomes increasingly integrated and net-centric.

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Pay TV Cord Cutting is Red Flag, Not Death Knell-Strategy Analytics

US Cable Loses 2 Million Subscribers in 2010, but Telco TV and DTH Satellite actually gained subscribers

Boston, Mass., April 28,2011-US Cable operators saw over two million video customers evaporate from their rolls in 2010, whereas Telco TV and Satellite actually gained customers over the same period—more than compensating for Cable's losses and netting a modest 273,000 new Pay TV subscribers overall. A new report by Strategy Analytics suggests that the US Cable industry may not be taking the news seriously enough.

Inmarsat and SkyWave Up the Ante on LDR Services

by NSR

Cambridge, Mass. April 26, 2011--Inmarsat recently announced that it is working with partner SkyWave Mobile Communications to develop a new low data rate (LDR) tracking, monitoring and messaging service that is planned for launch in Q3 2011. The new device dubbed the IsatData Pro promises to deliver up to 37x data capability of current global M2M services. The announcement stated that compared to typical global M2M offerings that provide data connectivity rates of about 270-340 bytes, the new service aims to deliver near real-time messages of up to 10,000 bytes to the device, and up to 6,400 bytes from the device.

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One-Third of US Households Might "Cut Cords"

Scottsdale, Ariz., April 18, 2011--Market researchers at In-Stat say that nearly a third of U.S. households now paying for TV may opt out, or at least down, in the future. Pay TV subscriptions have leveled off, they said, growing just 0.15 percent over 2010. The figure indicates “no current trend toward video cord cutting/shaving,” i.e., the elimination or reduction in services.

The New ‘Normal’:Video Goes Mobile

by Elisabeth Tweedie

Los Angeles, Calif., April 4, 2011--There were 5.3 Billion mobile phones in use at the end of 2010.  Mobile phones if we can really still call them “phones” have a myriad of uses beyond making a mere phone call.  They’re used for email, web browsing, gaming, reading books, listening to and downloading music and watching and downloading video.  Total global mobile data traffic is growing rapidly; in 2010 it was 2.6 times greater than in 2009.  Video is becoming the major component of that data. 

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The Oil and Gas Trifecta: Voice, Data, and Video via Satellite

by NSR

Cambridge, Mass., March 21, 2011-The U.S. Government’s Energy Information Agency recently published that third quarter 2010 capital expenditures on production activities at the top 13 O&G companies are at a five-year high of $29.1B, exceeding the previous high in Q3 2008 of $28.2B. Driven in part by increases in drilling activities after the Gulf of Mexico Moratorium, capital expenditures are up 48% from third-quarter averages from 2005 – 2009, indicating a general upward trend in overall exploration and production (E&P) activities. Hand-in-hand with increases in capital expenditures, O&G companies are looking to connectivity providers to enable a highly connected, real-time, collaborative remote site to boost productivity, reduce downtime, and increase safety.

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The Future of Connected TV

Dublin, Ireland, March 18, 2011--Over the next few years, Connected TV will become a mainstream consumer technology. Its widespread adoption will not only be disruptive to the entertainment industry; it will also heavily impact the global advertising and marketing industries, according to a new report entitled"The Future of Connected TV" by Research and Markets.

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Satellite Operators Going After Mobile Backhaul Market

by Elisabeth Tweedie

Los Angeles, March 1, 2011-- The demand for mobile backhaul is growing at an unprecedented rate. Smart phones on ave-rage consume five times as much bandwidth as a regular cell phone and the number of smart phones is projected to increase by 300% to  two billion units in 2015.  This has prompted the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) to call for an increase in both fiber and spectrum in order to avoid network bottlenecks.  In July 2010 NSR projected that the satellite portion of this market should be worth just under  US$ 600 million by 2015. 

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NTIA Releases National Broadband Map and Survey Results

Washington, D.C., February 17, 2011--The Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) today unveiled the National Broadband Map -- the first public, searchable nationwide map of broadband Internet availability -- and the results of a new nationwide survey on broadband adoption.  The data will support efforts to expand broadband access and adoption in communities at risk of being left behind in the 21st century economy and help businesses and consumers seeking information on their high-speed Internet options.

“A state-of-the-art communications infrastructure is essential to America’s competitiveness in the global digital economy,” said Acting Commerce Deputy Secretary Rebecca Blank.

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$78 Billion in Additional Pentagon Cuts: Diminishing Demand for Commercial SATCOM?

by NSR

Cambridge, Mass., February 14, 2011-In January U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced plans to cut $78 billion in defense spending over five years, including a reduction of up to 47,000 troops. These cuts are in addition to last year’s $100 billion cost-savings drive in efforts to eliminate waste, cut poorly performing weapons programs and redirect funds to other priorities. These announcements certainly appear ominous for industries such as commercial satcoms, which has seen increasing demand since 2001.

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