Latin American Satellite Service Market

Geostationary Satellite Market Rides the Coattails of Broadband and Pay TV

The fortunes of the satellite service market in Latin America are tied to those of other rapidly growing markets such as broadband, mobile telephony, and TV digitalization. Having realized this, market participants are striving to increase satellite capacity, especially because the growth of wireless and fixed networks in less-populated areas necessitate a significant expansion of satellite capacity. Fiber networks are limited to the most developed regions, leaving important space for satellite-based solutions to grow, says the analyst of this research. Moreover, the higher requirement for mobile content is, in turn, driving demand for data applications transmitted by satellite. Users, irrespective of their location, can use fixed and mobile solutions to gain access to Internet broadband satellite. The fixed version provides broadband access throughout Latin America, at speed comparable to those available in the big cities. Users can access their e-mails, transfer files, communicate through voice over Internet protocol (VoIP), or schedule meetings through video conference IP. This type of solution offers the benefits of communication from anywhere in the region (regardless of whether it is inhabited or not), a specially optimized coverage for South America, and a wide range of available services. Despite these advances, the satellite service market is yet to stave off competition from terrestrial infrastructure and has to find a solution to the unattractive cost structure and payment methods, despite just having overcome historic low prices. The market is also challenged by the underwater cable network in Chile and other land installations. However, market participants can take heart from the governments' efforts to spur connectivity programs in order to minimize the digital distance among some regions. Developments of TV digitalization and high definition TV (HDTV) broadcasting are also expected to drive the demand for transponders, notes the analyst. Further, the introduction of Ka-Band can augment the array of applications provided over satellite.

Market Sectors

Expert Frost & Sullivan analysts thoroughly examine the following market sectors in this research:

• Video applications
• Internet trunking
• Occasional TV use
• Corporate networks