The report provides an in-depth overview of demand trends for seven regions of the globe, focusing on mobile backhaul requirements of the globe’s key markets. The report concludes that, from an estimated $259.6 million in revenues for 2008, revenues for both equipment sales and transponder leases are expected to reach $544.5 million by 2018, yielding total revenues of close to $4.4 billion over an 11-year period. Mobile services globally are beginning to tap rural and underserved areas, but cost considerations to justify ROI have inhibited deployments, specifically for data-heavy applications. However, High Throughput Satellites (HTS) are slated to change the cost structure for space segment OPEX considerations that should lead to higher implementations in the globe’s key markets. The opportunities will be driven not only by the fulfillment of Universal Service Obligations (USO) but by real market dynamics in underserved areas given the attractive price and cost elements of HTS. Indeed, in key markets, notably Asia where mobile growth has been uninterrupted by the global economic crisis, rural areas have become key markets for many service providers for sustaining historical growth levels. “In the past, addressing rural demand has been left to government initiatives via USO legislation. With HTS, CAPEX and OPEX considerations are beginning to make sense in terms of justifying ROI within select territories,” stated Christopher Baugh, President of NSR and author of the report.
Backhaul costs are central in the decision to provision wireless services in rural areas as it is a key component of the overall wireless ecosystem. Prohibitive space segment costs have become non-starters in targeting Greenfield markets, but HTS will help alleviate the problem. “Quite simply, HTS is a game changer for it not only lowers bandwidth costs, but it also enables the provisioning of premium data services that are essential in today’s wireless web,” said Baugh. Basic voice and SMS are still accepted in many parts of the globe today; however, within the near-to-medium term, high-bandwidth application requirements that are standard features in current and next-generation handsets will require a large and inexpensive backhaul solution or pipe.
