News Analysis

by NSR

Cambridge, Mass., February 7, 2011--The last decade has been a roller coaster ride in the Latin American FSS market with numerous peaks and valleys in both supply and demand. The decade started out with a mass of satellite launches that drove up supply, but transponder demand lagged leading to a buyer’s market with very low pricing. Then starting in about 2008, demand for capacity, most especially Ku-band transponders, grew very rapidly driven by DTH, video distribution and VSAT networking services for a plethora of rural connectivity, e-governance and USO projects. Little new supply was available at the time, and capacity pricing therefore went up and the tightness in the market in 2009 was evident. NSR estimates that regional average fill rates of commercialized supply were nearly at 80% in 2009 and much higher on the most popular satellites.

by Michelle Elbert

Los Angeles, Calif., February 8, 2011--VSAT technology today offers a solid platform for medium to high bandwidth applications in the enterprise domain.  However many potential users harbor concerns the medium might be too costly and unreliable.  How these concerns are addressed varies greatly based on the application and location.  The satellite industry is dropping its old boiler plate about ease of use and speed to deploy and moving towards being something that can handle applications which require more bandwidth with a truly independent and private network.

London, UK, February 3, 2011--Just 1.2 million pay-TV consumers canceled their subscriptions in favor of over-the-top video alternatives in 2010, according to a new report from Informa Telecoms Media, reflecting just 0.18 percent of the global pay-TV market.

London, UK, Feb. 1, 2011--Cable will retain dominance in the global multi-channel TV market over the next five years but the threat from the new generation of digital and internet protocol (IP) services will take its toll, predicts Ovum.

by NSR

Cambridge, Mass., Jan. 24. 2011--There has been solid growth in the Earth Observation (EO) market in the past few years due to a strengthening of demand for civil government and military EO satellites and associated data. However, this reliance on government and military organizations distorts true market economics, as only a few large users such as the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGA) provide the majority of revenues for U.S.-based operators.  

Paris, January 12, 2011--The television industry is back on a growth path, with a global market of EUR 289.2 billion, which marks a 7.1% increase compared to 2009., according to the latest  World Television Market Report by IDATE.  This report analyses the overriding trends and changes taking place in the markets around the globe. It explores the driving forces behind the market’s growth and transformation, including an examination of the chief market trends, plus volume and value forecasts up to 2014 by geographical area and by country.

by NSR

Cambrige, Mass. January 5, 2011--It seems like a natural progression to bring the Internet to every possible consumer electronics device available today, and the television set is no exception. Not to be left behind, many a DTH provider has provisioned Ethernet ports in the next generation of STBs, although the software and strategy to provide enhanced services may still be a few years away. As expected, North America and Western Europe are leading this market as viewers in these regions become more particular about what content they want as well as where and when they want it. Strategies in both of these markets are somewhat different though with DTH operators in North America building their own proprietary online platforms, while their European counterparts opt for the HbbTV standard.

by B.H. Schneiderman

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, December 1, 2010-- The Brazilian satellite market is booming.   With  the FIFA Soccer World Cup and the Summer Olympics slated to be held in Brazil in 2014 and 2016 respectively,  coupled with a growing economy, demand for satellite capacity is at an all-time high.

Monterey, Calif., November 18, 2010--According to SNL Kagan's analysis of cable, DBS and telco video offerings, the U.S. multichannel segment fell by 119,000 customers in the third quarter of 2010, compared to a 346,000 gain reported in third-quarter 2009.

New York City, NY, November 16, 2010-The World Teleport Association (WTA) announced its rankings of the Top Teleport Operators of 2010, providing a unique look into the diverse teleport sector of the global communications industry. Rankings are reported in three categories: the Independent Top Twenty, the Global Top Twenty, and the Fast Twenty.