[Via Satellite 02-03-2015] The latest edition of NSR’s Energy Markets via Satellite report has found that, although near-term challenges exist for some segments of the energy market, the long term opportunities remain strong. At more than $3.8 billion in retail revenues split between the oil and gas, mining and utility markets by 2024, new capacity, terminal form factors and the ever-increasing focus on improving productivity of remote operations will drive demand for satellite communications across the energy sector, according to the report.
“As we see more capacity in new orbits, frequencies and geographic coverage, energy market end-users are taking note,” stated Brad Grady, senior analyst with NSR and author of the report. He feels end-users and service providers continue to make steps toward ensuring operations on the ground today are ready to accommodate this new wave of connectivity options — from Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) High-Throughput Satellite (HTS) capacity in C, Ku and Ka frequencies to Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) and Low Earth Orbit (LEO) HTS.

Leveraging traditional ground equipment in GEO and new antenna technologies for MEO and LEO, HTS-based services will provide more than half of all retail revenue growth across the energy industry. This growth is driven by the necessity to improve remote operations while managing satellite connectivity costs.