As the satellite industry comes back together 18 months since the last SATELLITE show, analysts share what they will be watching at SATELLITE 2021.
Luigi Scatteia of PwC will focus on capacity and pricing, COVID recovery plans, and the impact of mega-constellations. “This will be the make or break decade for the space industry — a lot of business models and ventures that have been on the drawing board in the last decade will be tested for commercial prospects and profitability.”
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Pacôme Révillon of Euroconsult outlined four talking points: NGSO constellations and the start of services; the rise in New Space financing; the impact of Amazon, Google, and Microsoft on the space community; and sovereignty and government programs. He noted the industry is at “a unique moment where innovation has crystallized into new solutions,” likening it to destructive innovation: “a challenging transition period has to be managed before a new growth phase.”
Frost & Sullivan’s Arun Kumar Sampathkumar said LEO can no longer be considered the future — it is the present. “LEO is more complementary with GEO, capabilities that can be enhanced alongside LEO.”
On demand for capacity, Scatteia noted: “The supply comes in exponentially [while] demand growth for satcom capacity is largely expected to grow at a linear rate. This imbalance is practically eroding the price points of capacity, and this is a major cause of concern.” Nevertheless, he sees the satellite market on a growth trajectory: “Space is more and more mainstream, and it is attracting a lot of interest and capital.” VS
