Satellite profiles updated for 2023

“It is not easy to keep up with the meteoric rise of the space industry,” FCC chair Jessica Rosenworcel said recently.

In an attempt to do so, the US regulator has now set up a Space Bureau and an Office of International Affairs. That’s just one sign among many of the increasing importance of the satellite industry.

The direct-to-device (D2D) market for satellite-to-smartphone connectivity is also attracting a lot of attention. The analysts at Northern Sky Research call it “the largest opportunity in Satcom’s history” and claim it could generate up to $66.8 billion in ten-year cumulative revenues.

It could give new entrants to the mobile market a quick fix to reaching national coverage, supplementing their own fledgling networks and reducing dependency on roaming agreements with rivals.

Satellite is also expected to play an essential part in the development of 6G, despite not being particularly prominent in 4G or 5G. “Low earth orbit (LEONGSO, or non-geostationary satellite orbit...) satellite networks will… increase in importance and utilisation with 6G,” one researcher has told us. The UK’s new “wireless infrastructure strategy” says 6G should allow different network segments, including satellite, “to be interconnected seamlessly and securely”.

Given the growing role of the satellite sector in the world of spectrum policy, for the last six years, we have published profiles for nine of the most prominent and influential satellite operators. The profiles provide background information, recent developments and information about the operators’ future plans with regard to spectrum policy.

All these profiles have now been updated for 2023. They are available for Spectrum Research Service subscribers here.