Communication Satellite Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

The commercial satellite market is anticipated to register a CAGR of more than 7% during the forecast period.

Key Highlights

• The increasing demand for satellite-based services, like inflight connectivity and maritime broadband services, along with the growth of the telecommunication sector, is anticipated to generate demand for new communication satellite launches during the forecast period.
• Integration of advanced technologies, like reconfigurable onboard processors (onboard digital processing payloads) and onboard switching techniques, may further enhance satellite communication with implementation of new techniques and protocols.
• The market is fragmented with the presence of many regional manufacturers, including telecommunication companies and institutions, which manufacture their own small satellites and constellations.

Key Market Trends

Commercial Segment Registered the Highest Share in 2019

Commercial satellite operators are investing heavily in construction and deployment of GEO high throughput satellites. To increase the consumer broadband benefits, the GEO satellite capacities are planned to be increased to 1,000 Gbps in 2020 from 260 Gbps in 2019. This can be achieved by frequency re-use and spot beam technology. Furthermore, several companies have plans to launch new high throughput satellites in LEO and MEO to provide additional high-speed broadband services at low latency levels. In addition to this, the increase in demand for maritime and inflight connectivity for voice and data services is propelling the growth of the commercial segment during the forecast period. The introduction of 5G technology with communication satellites may increase the coverage of the network, reduce the installation cost of optic fibers, and subsequent reduction in maintenance cost.

Asia-Pacific Region is Expected to Generate the Highest Demand During the Forecast Period

Countries, like China, India, and Japan, are accounting for the majority of the demand for military and commercial communication sectors. This is due to the support of government strategies to make their respective maritime, aeronautical, and military sectors more secure. China launched Shijian-20, the heaviest communications satellite in December 2019. It is a GEO satellite manufactured by the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) under the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) to test various new technologies, namely the use of controllable deformation of shape memory polymers and satellite-ground communication tests using Q/V bands (33-75 GHz in extremely high frequency (EHF)). The tests are anticipated to become the key for the development of high throughput satellites of China, which have capacities of 1 Tbps in the future. Similarly, India launched GSAT-30 in January 2020, to provide Ku-band communication services in India and C-band services in many Asian countries, Gulf countries, and Australia. With the increasing demand for communication services in the region, the Asia-Pacific region is anticipated to bolster the investments into communication satellites during the forecast period.

Competitive Landscape

The commercial satellite market is fragmented with the presence of many regional manufacturers. Some of the regional manufacturers are telecommunication companies and institutions, which manufacture their own small satellites and constellations. The prominent players in the commercial satellite market are Lockheed Martin Corporation, Space Systems/Loral, LLC, Airbus SE, the Boeing Company, and Thales Group. Airbus SE is into the manufacturing of communication satellites through its subsidiaries, namely Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd and Astrium serving military and commercial sectors, with a major presence in regions of Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle-East and Africa. The increase in the demand for small satellites due to their inherent low cost of manufacturing has bolstered the scope of potential investments from satellite manufacturing companies in the upcoming period. Partnerships of the communication satellite manufacturers with the satellite communication service providers with expansion plans to increase their customer base around the world are anticipated to further propel the growth opportunities for the manufacturers.

Additional Benefits:

• The market estimate (ME) sheet in Excel format
• 3 months of analyst support