Increased connectivity demands from mobile workers, maritime, cargo transportation and remote applications are driving strong growth for the international mobile satellite industry, which is expected to continue enjoying healthy market gains as more advanced technology rolls out with more accessible pricing models, according to a new report published Aug. 20 by analysis firm Frost & Sullivan.
   The report, titled “Global Mobile Satellite Market: M2M, Hybrid Devices, and Smartphones Drive Industry Growth,” covered financial aspects of satellite equipment and services segments that offer voice and/or data connectivity without the need for a large pointed antenna through 2016. These markets included: satellite phones that use low, medium, or geosynchronous satellites; phones connecting off broadband global area network (BGAN) terminals; and mobile data services using M2M, BGAN, satellite modem, or satellite smartphone messaging.
   While the report did not cover the wireless and wireline M2M markets, Frost & Sullivan did quantify its research by subscribers, hardware sales, and service revenue and segmented by phones, M2M terminals, and modems.
   “The global coverage of our research was segmented into five major regions – North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and Rest of World. The discussion on the mobile satellite data and M2M market contained in the study is primarily focused on low-bandwidth, low-cost solutions,” Frost & Sullivan wrote in the report. “Coverage for these markets is expected to continue to improve, and data services will increase in bandwidth and the scale in which they can be used. M2M will see the most rapid growth in this industry, while handsets and modems will still experience strong growth.”
   The report showed that the total projected subscriber base for the mobile satellite market is set for a considerable increase by 2016, with North America and Asia-Pacific expected to grow more rapidly than other regions.
   “The high growth [in North America and Asia-Pacific] is attributed to the regions’ adoption of M2M and other data-consuming devices,” the report said. “Although Latin America, Europe and the rest of world are decreasing in their comparative percentages, they are growing in both unit shipments and revenue, although at a slower rate than North America and Asia-Pacific.”
   The report also noted a considerable crossover of subscribers between the four main business segments of the mobile satellite industry. Frost & Sullivan analysts highlighted the mobile industry’s U.S. government and military customers as an example, claiming that these sectors included the most frequent users of satellite phones and services. “Compared to the other quadrants of the mobile industry, equipment costs are less than costs associated with each of its other segments except for low-mobility and high-bandwidth applications,” the report said. “Mobile service pricing, however, is higher than every segment.”
   Frost & Sullivan forecasted that the mobile satellite M2M market would experience rapid, four-year growth and substantially increase data services being used globally.
   “M2M is comparatively low cost, has many versatile applications, and consumes little bandwidth, helping to increase its appeal in the mobile satellite market,” the report said. “Handsets and modems will continue to grow in adoption as well, as the market is far from reaching its saturation point.”
   The report seems to echo certain elements of a mobile maritime satellite industry study published by Euroconsult earlier this year. The report, “Maritime Telecom Solutions by Satellite, Global Market Analysis & Forecasts,” predicted that the number of satellite communications terminals deployed in the global maritime market would nearly double in the next decade with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7 percent.
   Euroconsult Senior Consultant Wei Li said that the number of terminals used for global maritime satellite communications grew about 6 percent in 2011, while revenues at the satellite operator level increased by more than 7 percent. Li said the total size of the maritime market reached about 317,000 active terminals in 2011 that generated more than $1.4 billion in revenues at the service provider level. “Established MSS services and especially the emerging VSAT business contributed to the overall growth of the maritime satellite communications market,” Li wrote the in report. “Onboard bandwidth requirements keep growing, driving the maritime market in a direction quite beneficial to satellite communications. Fully integrated IP applications providing Internet access, audio and video streaming, and the integration of ships into corporate networks generate significant capacity demand at sea.”