Starlink & Other Non-GEOs: Shifting Paradigm for Fixed VSATs?

Non-GEO players are accelerating their go-to-market strategies to penetrate different segments of the Satellite Communication markets, especially in the high volume, highly lucrative fixed VSAT segment. Starlink has already acquired 145,000+ broadband access subscribers globally under the beta plan and now has announced the service roll out plan for enterprise customers. OneWeb is also progressing to deploy its services across applications by partnering with downstream players. Other major players such as Telesat, Kuiper and O3b mPower are moving ahead with their satellite realization and launch plans. How will these developments impact incumbents like Viasat, Hughes, SES and others? What will be the impact on the industry landscape in terms of market capture and other performance indicators? In our latest market study, NSR’s VSAT & Broadband Satellite Markets, 20th Edition report we investigate key industry questions by looking at the bias or balance between upcoming Non-GEO programs versus incumbent GEO players. 

Mixed Trends Navigating the Total Opportunity

• The Retail/Hospitality segment witnessed the maximum drop in demand during 2020 and into 2021. However, in late 2021, demand has ramped up for upgrades and new installations in Asia. Moreover, investments into transition to cloud applications is driving demand and revenue growth. 


• Banking has been relatively stable and growing consistently in the emerging regions and incremental rise in capacity demand at Greenfield sites. 


• Social Inclusion is ramping up at a rapid pace with government-mandated programs across regions leading to investment trends on the rise with the COVID-19 impact. 


• Government/Military is saturated in terms of in-service unit growth. However, capacity demand acceleration with the infusion of Non-GEO capacity is expected to lead to higher bandwidth provisioning overall by the end of the forecast period. 


• Energy is witnessing churn due to competition from terrestrial networks or due to site closures induced by COVID-19. The segment is expected to witness greater utilization of value-added applications such as Edge computing, SD WAN, Cloud etc., targeting to improve operational efficiencies – in turn resisting revenue drop in the long term.


• Consumer Broadband, undoubtedly, is the largest and fastest growing segment in the Fixed VSAT market. HTS capacity supply, capacity pricing and equipment pricing are expected to be key to sustainable success.

The Non-GEO Play

• Close to 1,900 operational satellites by February 2022.


• Acquired 145,000 beta Consumer Broadband users across 25 countries for Starlink satellite services. The terminal is priced at $499 and service at $99 per month. Recently shipped 100,000 terminals and plans to achieve 500,000 subscribers in the next 12 months.


• Rolled out premium satellite services for Enterprise Customers at $2,500 equipment price and monthly services at $500. Unlike Consumer Broadband terminal, the premium terminal will be able to connect from any location. It also enables enterprises to order any number of terminals and manage locations under a single account. Advertised bandwidth is 150 Mbps to 500 Mbps and latency of 20 ms – 40 ms.


• Partnered with Microsoft Azure for cloud platform.


• Beginning to penetrate smaller markets like the Philippines via partnership route.

• 390+ operational satellites. Planned fleet size: 648


• The company is progressing in its service deployment plan through downstream partnerships and acquisitions:

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  • Partners with Rock Networks to serve Canadian Armed Forces and other Government of Canada installations, in Canada’s Arctic Region utilizing Rock Networks hardware and services.
  
  
  • Acquired TrustComm to further propel into U.S. Government opportunities, looking particularly at northern latitudes.
  
  
  • Signed Broadband MoU with Northwestel for connectivity in Northern Canada. The plan is to deliver connectivity services to remote mines, businesses, and governments.
  
  
  • Partnered with Galazy Broadband as distribution partner to Improve Connectivity across Canada and Arctic Region. The partnership will focus on expanding bandwidth for a variety of industries such as Mining, Oil and Gas, Utilities, Construction, and Community Aggregation.
  
  
  • Signed distribution partner agreement with Alaska Communications to expand the company’s connectivity solutions across Alaska.
  
  
  • Signed MoU with AT&T to create a framework enabling the operator to sell broadband services to businesses outside the area of its fiber network.
  
  
  • Partnered with BT for rural broadband plan in UK.
  
  
  • Partnered with the Kazakhstan government to digitize the country’s economy by providing high-speed internet connectivity.
  
  
  • Collaborated with Hughes to deliver satellite broadband connections across India.
  
  
  
  

Bottom Line