[Satellite TODAY 09-06-10] Maritime satellite communications terminals aboard commercial and private ships will more than double over the next decade, according to a Euroconsult research report released Sept. 3.
    The number of terminals used for global maritime satellite communications grew about 11 percent in 2009, while wholesale capacity revenues from the sector increased more than 15 percent,” according to “Maritime Telecom Solutions by Satellite: Global Market Analysis & Forecasts.” The total size of the market reached about 295,000 active terminals in 2009 that generated more than $1.3 billion in revenues at the tier-1 service provider level.
    VSAT services are seeing the fastest growth, and the market has been growing 24 percent annually since 2005. Euroconsult projects that by 2020, the VSAT market will account for the majority of satellite-based maritime communications revenues generating close to $1 billion in revenues for service providers in 2020.  The report also suggests that the proliferation of new Ka-band based services, which allow much faster upload and download speed than either traditional VSAT or MSS, could expand the maritime market further.
    “Increasing onboard bandwidth requirements are driving the maritime market in a direction that is beneficial to satellite communications. Real-time monitoring, remote diagnostics, maintenance, route planning and electronic port declaration are just a few of the applications generating huge capacity demand at sea,” said Euroconsult CEO Pacôme Revillon.
    Euroconsult’s findings support arguments made by maritime industry CEOs that claim the sector is an increasingly lucrative business for operators to target. SpeedCast, SingTel and Inmarsat have pointed to significant growth from revenues being derived from maritime business. Earlier this week, GE SatCom announced it was launching Satlynx Maritime, a new satellite based communications service for shipping operators which aims to provides a triple-play platform. 

Related Stories-

GE SatCom Launches Maritime Solution   Satellite Today   September 2, 2010
[Satellite TODAY 09-02-10] GE SatCom is launching a satellite-based communications service for shipping operators, the company announced Sept. 1. The Satlynx Maritime solution aims to provide a platform for delivering a triple-play service…

FCC Jurisdiction for Maritime Communications   Via Satellite   September 1, 2010
If a maritime vessel is in no-man s land, does that equate to being in no-rules land? With regards to satellite maritime communications, it may appear so, but it s not quite the case. The improvement and commercialization of sub-meter stabilized…

SingTel Flooded With New Maritime Business As Sector Sees Growth in Asia    Satellite News   August 19, 2010
[Satellite News 08-19-10] SingTel s maritime services sector now generates about half of the company s total revenues, and the operator now is looking to increase consumer uptake, SingTel Vice President of Satellite Titus Yong told Satellite News…