The total number of leased C- and Ku-band transponders should exceed 4,950 in 2010, up from 4,125 at the end of 2004, according to Northern Sky Research.

While demand for commercial C- and Ku-band capacity is growing at an average annual rate of 3.1 percent, demand for C-band capacity is flat to declining in half of the regional markets. The real engine for growth in most markets will be the lease of commercial Ku-band capacity for video distribution, direct-to-home and emerging satellite broadband services, according to Northern Sky’s study “Global Assessment of Satellite Demand: A Demand-Driven, Region-Specific Analysis of the Commercial Geostationary Satellite Transponder Market for 2004-2010,” which was released Aug. 2.

“On a global basis, for every new transponder of C-band capacity leased, ten Ku-band transponders will be placed under contract,” Patrick French, senior analysts at Northern Sky and author of the report, said in a statement.

The study found that 61 percent of all leased commercial capacity was for video services and Northern Sky estimates that 64 percent of all leased capacity will be for video uses by 2010. The number of standard-definition channels carried on satellites increased 16.5 percent, from 9,138 in 2003 to 10,650 in 2004, but high-definition channels are growing, and “the number of fulltime HD channels carried on commercial satellites will nearly quadruple by the end of 2006,” French said.