Satnews Daily
February 13th, 2018

NSR's Forecast Recognizes China's Ambitious Push into the Global Satcom Market


Very interesting information coming from NSR with this report forecasting China's satcom markets. With forecasts for China-manufactured supply split by different frequency bands across all regions, and with detailed qualitative analysis about the assumptions for this capacity and its potential to disrupt, NSR’s CSM gives the reader a comprehensive understanding of China’s impact on the space industry, and the factors driving this transition.

NSR’s industry-first China Satcom Markets (CSM) report finds a Chinese satellite industry primed to take a larger share of the global satcom market through attractive one-stop-shop offerings, aggressive growth plans and enhanced exports.  For GEO-HTS satellites alone, NSR forecasts Chinese state-owned companies to manufacture and launch over 800 Gbps of capacity by 2026, with much of this coming over Southeast Asia, East Asia, and South Asia. 

Since the end of the cold war, the satellite and space industry has been a duopoly between the United States and EU, with other players such as Russia, Japan, and now India playing a secondary role. At some point soon, however, it appears likely China will assume a position as a top tier space nation globally, with significant ramifications for the satellite telecoms industry. 


Jose Del Rosario

“China’s most recent five-year plan (2016-2020) notes a goal to improve launch and manufacturing capabilities, specifically for new satellite platforms. This translates into more satellites being exported by China to developing countries, with at least 3 ordered in 2018 thus far,” notes Jose Del Rosario, NSR Research Director. 

China is primarily targeting turnkey projects, oftentimes including key financing mechanisms, as well as launching and manufacturing arrangements. Over the coming years, NSR expects this to add up to approx. 10-15 percent more capacity over regions across Eurasia, and in some instances Latin America. The capacity added will be significant but will not be catastrophic for the market. 

NSR’s China Satcom Markets (CSM) report combines a deep understanding of China’s space and satellite export capabilities with an understanding of China’s geopolitical goals, and outlines how the Chinese satellite industry is primed to take a larger share of the global satcom market through aggressive exporting. 

Summation: NSR’s China Satcom Markets is an industry-first analysis of the impact China will have on the global satellite capacity picture, and the landscape of the Chinese domestic market. With forecasts for China-manufactured supply split by different frequency bands across all regions, and with detailed qualitative analysis about the assumptions for this capacity and its potential to disrupt, NSR’s CSM gives the reader a comprehensive understanding of China’s impact on the space industry, and the factors driving this transition. The study also includes forecasts of the China domestic market for supply, demand by application, and revenues by application, as well as discussion on recent deals and trends.