When we think of satellite communications our minds might first wander to images of constellations orbiting earth or of rockets with high-tech payloads being launched.
However, the largest share of satcom revenue - and a significant portion of the sector’s innovation - comes from the ground and the services the ground segment provides. A 2023 report shows that, of the $384 billion (USD) worth of revenue generated in satellite that year, a whopping 38% of it was from network and consumer equipment. A further 29% - or $113 billion (USD) - is generated by services such as remote sensing.
At Proactive PR, we work with satellite companies across the world that are driving innovation from the ground up. Across these clients, the themes of innovation, collaboration and experience are consistently central to the successes that we communicate to the industry.
Leading a shifting landscape
A seismic change happening in the satellite sector concerns teleport operators, which are facing increased competition from the multitude of LEO launches - the type of small satellites making headlines with Starlink, OneWeb and others. Operators also face a shift toward virtualisation and the need to be compatible with its various technologies.
One of the companies driving innovative solutions to help operators in the transition towards a more heavily virtualised sector and greater need to differentiate their offerings is neXat. An expert provider of solutions and services to the satellite communications sector, neXat has launched a satcom management platform to empower teleport operators to simplify and enhance their offerings, streamline daily processes, boost productivity and cost-efficiency, as well as overcome current and future industry challenges in a changing teleport ecosystem.
neXat is a key contributor to a significant European Space Agency (ESA) ARTES project to improve accessibility to secure satellite communications, required by governments and institutions more urgently now than ever. neXat is working with Rhea and ST Engineering iDirect to develop a platform, the BeSecured PSS, to help end-users in different regions access pooled satellite communications capacity from multiple satellite operators via a single, user-friendly front-end based on neXat’s platform.
Delivering experience and scale
Another example of innovation can be seen from Speedcast. Speedcast maintains the largest technology-agnostic network in the world, incorporating satellite, LTE, Microwave, and L-band to ensure the highest levels of uptime, availability, and performance. Over the last few years, Speedcast has gradually integrated the industry-leading SIGMA management and edge computing platform into its already extensive connectivity solutions portfolio. As a direct result, connectivity path management and network control have been made simpler, faster, and more economical than ever before.
The Speedcast SIGMA suite of products bridges the future of networking through SD-WAN, over-the-air upgrades, and edge applications. Streamlining the complexities of diverse connectivity paths, it makes the concept of 100% uptime a reality for customers with critical operations or remote business requirements. Speedcast has recently deployed its latest SIGMA management and edge computing platform onboard 59 P&O Maritime support vessels operating across three continents and 12 counties. This multi-year contract will create a software-automated network of GEO and LEO VSAT, 5G, and L-band solutions, delivering the highest service experience and reliability.
Harnessing satellite technology for industry progression
Alongside increasing competition and virtualisation, satellite communications and data are becoming more entwined. This move is significantly impacting various industries.
In response to this trend, Proactive PR’s client Synspective, the Japanese Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite specialist, manufacturer and data provider, recently announced the successful launch of its Strix-3 launch with Rocket Lab. The company has plans to put more satellites into orbit over the next couple of years. The earth observation data is used by governments, organisations and NGOs to help operations from natural disaster response to mining sites and offshore wind farms.
Stand out in the satcom sector
With so much innovation happening in the satellite sector, standing out from the competition is a must. Find out more about Proactive PR’s track record in the satellite sector and how we can deliver measurable success by arranging a meeting with our Marketing Director Jade Hush.