SatCom Uses

Global SatCom Downstream Market

The global satellite communications (SatCom) market, including services and equipment, is expected to show significant increases in revenues and demand in the next decade. The global market size for SatCom equipment (e.g. antennas, transmitters/transponders, receivers, modems/routers, user terminals, monitoring systems, and network infrastructure) was valued at USD 21.37 billion in 2022 and it is expected to reach USD 52.87 billion by 2032, with the market growing at a CAGR of 9.5% from 2022 to 2032 (Ref). SatCom service revenues are also expected to grow, reaching EUR 126 billion by 2025 (Ref).

This expansion follows a phase of substantial investments in satellite infrastructure, with the development of new non-geostationary orbit constellations (particularly in the low Earth orbit) and of optical satellite communications.

Satellite communications are already crucial to ensure wireless communications in rural and remote areas, to ensure voice communication services regardless of terrestrial network coverage, and to provide broadband internet access to residential users, businesses, educational institutions, and government organisations worldwide.

In the coming decade, the increasing demand for SatCom equipment and services is expected to be particularly propelled by the growth of the telecommunication industry, and the increasing demand for SatComs in disaster management and emergency response and for research and R&D activities. Key drivers of the expected market expansion will be universal broadband access, mobility (including air, maritime and land), and applications related to defence and security.

SatCom Market Sectors and Applications

Some key Satcom market sectors and applications include:

Telecommunications	Media and Entertainment	Road and Automotive
e.g. connectivity solutions, voice communication services, including long-distance calling, mobile telephony and rural telephony, real-time data exchange, internet services, etc.	e.g. broadcasting of television, radio, and multimedia content, etc.	e.g. on-the-move communication, emergency services, remote infrastructure management, etc.
Maritime	Aviation and Drones	Disasters, Emergency Management and Humanitarian Aid
e.g. ship on-the-move communications, health, emergency and rescue services, phased-array antenna systems, support to maritime surveillance and illegal trafficking surveillance operations, etc.	e.g. aircraft on-the-move communication, phased-array antenna systems in airborne platforms, etc.	e.g. connectivity for emergency respondents, relief organisations and affected communities, support to establish central command centres, emergency telephony services, real-time information exchanges, including sensor data, weather updates, and satellite imagery, etc.
Urban development and Critical infrastructure	Agriculture, Aquaculture and Rural development	Education and Healthcare
e.g. connectivity with remote critical infrastructure, monitoring of drinking water quality, transport and distribution networks, critical communication services, secure institutional communications, etc.	e.g. remote management of aquaculture farms, connectivity in rural and remote areas, provision of reliable remote sensing, weather forecasting, and crop management data to farmers, etc.	e.g. support to distance-learning programs and online education, telemedicine consultations, remote health and emergency services, etc.
Energy and Raw Materials	Environmental protection	Defence
e.g. connectivity to remote energy plants, offshore platforms for oil and gas operations, drilling rigs, and remote exploration sites, etc.	e.g. connectivity for scientific research activities, such as space missions, deep-sea exploration, polar expeditions, and research in remote areas, etc.	e.g. support to border surveillance operations, seamless communication and wide-area real-time situational awareness during critical missions and emergency response situations, etc

European SatCom

The European Union is working on the deployment of GOVSATCOM, a component already part of the EU Space Regulation (2021), while preparing the ground for the ambitious IRIS², the new EU Secure Connectivity Programme. Those systems will complement the EU Space Programme and its components for Navigation (Galileo and EGNOS), Earth Observation (Copernicus) and Space Situational Awareness (Ref).

GOVSATCOM

The European Union Governmental Satellite Communications (GOVSATCOM) programme aims at providing secure and cost-efficient communications capabilities to security and safety critical missions and operations managed by the European Union and its Member States, including national security actors and EU Agencies and institutions.

GOVSATCOM may generate up to 5,000 jobs in the EU and the impact of the programme will be felt by industries far beyond what it is normally considered as the space sector (Ref).

IRIS²

The IRIS² Satellite Constellation (Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite) is the new EU Secure Satellite Constellation offering enhanced communication capacities to governmental users and businesses, while ensuring high-speed internet broadband to cope with connectivity dead zones.

IRIS² will support a diverse range of governmental applications, primarily in the domains of surveillance (e.g., border surveillance), crisis management (e.g., humanitarian aid), and the connection and protection of key infrastructure (e.g., secure communications for EU embassies). In addition, it will also facilitate mass-market applications, including mobile and fixed broadband satellite access, satellite trunking for B2B services, satellite access for transportation, reinforced networks via satellite, and satellite broadband and cloud-based services.