Satellite Internet Market

Satellite Internet Market Outlook (2024 to 2034)

The global satellite internet market is evaluated at a size of US$ 8.4 billion in 2024. Worldwide revenue from satellite internet services is forecasted to increase at a CAGR of 13.5% and reach US$ 29.7 billion by the end of 2034.

The internet has moved from an amenity to a must-have over the past 2 decades, further bolstered by the introduction of smartphones. Rising penetration of smartphones is boosting the demand for mobile satellite services.

• As per Our World in Data report, in 2020, internet accessibility was available to 60% of the population of the world, and in the coming years, this accessibility is expected to increase at a high pace.
• According to the Statista report 2023, there are around 5.4 billion internet users across the world.

Digital innovations are managing to bridge the gap between consumers and fast internet connectivity. Satellite broadband is one of the technologies that is aiding in achieving high-growth development.

Satellite internet technology is a way of getting internet, in which broadband is transmitted wirelessly from space with the help of satellites, just like existing satellite TV. Due to cost limitations, this technology is currently used in places that are financially viable as opposed to adverse geographic areas with low populations and places where large distances exists between high-capacity networks and last-mile networks. In some cases, satellite internet serves as an alternative for accessing the internet where geopolitical complexity results in costly fiber optic cable installation.

• North America is projected to hold 24.3% of the global satellite internet market share by 2034.
• The East Asian satellite internet market size is calculated at US$ 1.9 billion for 2024.

Report Attributes	Details
Satellite Internet Market Size (2024E)	US$ 8.4 Billion
Forecasted Market Value (2034F)	US$ 29.7 Billion
Global Market Growth Rate (2024 to 2034)	13.5% CAGR
South Korea Market Value (2034F)	US$ 1.6 Billion
Telecommunication Satellite Internet Demand Growth (2024 to 2034)	15.5% CAGR
Key Companies Profiled	SpaceX; E-Space; Rivada Space Networks; OnWeb; Telesat; LeoSat; Space Norway; Starlink; SES (O3b); Hughes Communications; Viasat

Which Market Dynamics are Influencing Demand for Satellite Internet?

“Satellite Internet to Exhibit High Usage in Smart Cities”

Satellite internet provides service through several small satellites present in various orbits, such as geostationary orbit (GEO), medium Earth orbit (MEO), and low Earth orbit (LEO). The group of satellites that they use are known as constellations.

According to the Statista report, around 26,700 satellites were orbiting the Earth at the beginning of 2023. Over the coming years, the launches of satellites are expected to surge driven by the growing need for satellite communication.

The top 10 countries that are frontrunners in the satellite industry are the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, Canada, India, China, Japan, Germany, and Luxembourg. The ongoing smart city infrastructure development projects across the globe are set to boost the demand for satellite internet services in the coming decade.

“Rise in Satellites to Avail Internet at Low Cost”

Pricing is considered a crucial part of providing internet services. Pricing differs as per international internet transit, which can be US$ 1 to 3 per megabit per second (Mbps) per month for prominent cross-country routes and submarine-based services, whereas the price for dedicated satellite internet could be US$ 200 to 400 Mbps per month. Thus, at the current level, satellite internet is cost-effective only for regions that are remote and have a dispersed population, and places where the deployment of fiber optics is challenging. However, upcoming satellite projects are expected to provide services at a lower cost.

“Ku-band to Offer Continent-wide Satellite Internet Coverage”

Satellite internet services mainly utilize Ku and Ka bandwidth service. Frequency in each band is the important difference that provides different speeds. Where the Ku-band uses frequency in the range of 12 to 18 GHz, the Ka-band uses frequency in the range of 26.6 GHz to 40 GHz. With higher frequency comes higher bandwidth, which results into higher data transfer and performance.

Looking at their coverage, the capability of Ku-band is that it can cover an entire continent by using a single beam. On the other hand, the Ka-band can provide country-wide coverage with the help of multiple beams. With the use of adequate infrastructure such as a large number of satellites, a provider can provide services to an adequate number of people.

“Integration of 5G and IoT Sensors to Enhance Satellite Internet Connectivity”

The introduction of 5G is emerging as a key satellite internet market trend. For long, satellite broadband technology has remained standalone, independent of mobile networking. As new generation satellites are building up, they have 5G capabilities. Along with the Internet of Things (IoT), they are likely to revolutionize the world of wireless device connectivity in the coming decade. The future of seamless wireless experience, which is expected to be aided by 5G signals from space, is likely to start a new space race for providers and new opportunities for customers.

The 5G interconnected world comes with smart cities, connected vessels, autonomous cars, and much more. They are likely to utilize ultra-high-speed internet that will be provided by small towers placed in densely populated areas that require higher bandwidth for optimal performance and speed.

LEO satellite broadband is poised to extend cellular 5G networks in all three dimensions such as land, air, and sea. This will take IoT sensor utilization to the zenith and remote worksites, technological farming, and internet-reaching mines, which is expected to be possible through the advent of satellite internet.

Satellite-integrated and 5G infrastructures are anticipated to improve user experience with high-quality services and network resilience. In addition, media content is the most prominent, and as device proliferation is further expected to increase, high-speed and low-latency streaming is expected to witness more demand.

Satellite communication has proven to provide a secure network area, which is mission-critical and requires high speed. As constellations are large and have less end-to-end delay, they can provide the required backhaul for these services. A satellite system can work as a single centralized backhaul for all processes such as edge processing, traffic unloading, and data sharing.

• In 2022, telecommunication service providers from the United Kingdom collaborated with the European Space Agency for a four-year trail program to test the end-to-end connectivity of 5G technology with satellite communication (Project Darwin). They experimented on connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs) and found that they are expected to generate 4TB of data per hour. The experiment was aimed towards developing an ecosystem that will truly harness 5G capability.

What Can Hamper Consumption of Satellite Internet Services?

“Lack of Proper Infrastructure Lowering Internet Usage in Some Regions”

Urban areas worldwide are witnessing high use of internet. However, in land-locked developing countries and small islands people are facing unavailability of internet.

Most of the internet is through terrestrial infrastructure. Rural areas are hard to reach, and taking broadband to rural areas is expected to be more expensive because of the tough geography, which, in turn, increases installation costs. Similarly, a smaller population and scarcity of potential customers restrict business profit and thus limit service providers from investing in developing the necessary infrastructure.

As per the International Telecommunication Union, a specialized agency of the United Nations, around 2.6 billion people across the globe don’t have access to the internet, which is fourth-generation long-term evolution (4G LTE).

In addition, many people in developing regions such as Latin America and MEA still have no access to fiber optic cable infrastructure. Inspecting other issues, lack of digital literacy, affordability, and non-availability of vernacular content deters people from subscribing to any data service.

Satellite internet business also comes with a vast number of technicality and various operational challenges. And these could probably lead to delays or termination of the whole plan. Few of the expected ones are challenges in ground infrastructure building, spectrum rights disputes, radio frequency interference with other satellites, pricing, etc.

Country-wise Analysis

Why is the United States a Lucrative Market for Satellite Internet Providers?

“Presence of Early Adopters and Tech-Savvy Consumers”

Attribute	United States
Market Value (2024E)	US$ 900 Million
Growth Rate (2024 to 2034)	14% CAGR
Projected Value (2034F)	US$ 3.3 Billion

Presence of key market players and tech-savvy consumers are boosting the adoption of satellite internet in the United States. The introduction of advanced digital technologies such as cloud computing, edge computing, Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, and other wireless communication technologies such as 5G and 6G are set to boost the satellite internet market growth in the United States in the coming decade.

Why is Consumption of Satellite Internet Services Expected to Rise in Japan?

“Natural Disaster Concerns to Increase Adoption of Satellite Internet”

Attribute	Japan
Market Value (2024E)	US$ 500 Million
Growth Rate (2024 to 2034)	14% CAGR
Projected Value (2034F)	US$ 2 Billion

Satellite internet is estimated to play an important role during humanitarian or natural disasters. Japan is well-known for natural disasters. Satellite internet is expected to gain high popularity and usage in Japan during the forecast period. Along with existing terrestrial internet infrastructure, satellite services can operate as collective technologies, and while in synergy, develop revenue generation avenues for key players in the satellite internet market.

Category-wise Analysis

Why is Military Application of Satellite Internet So High?

“Satellite Internet Offers Quick Access and Secure Connection”

Attribute	Military
Segment Value (2024E)	US$ 2.3 Billion
Growth Rate (2024 to 2034)	12.7% CAGR
Projected Value (2034F)	US$ 7.7 Billion

Satellite internet is witnessing high applications in military and defense sector. Military and defense satellite communication systems are considered to be much secure and reliable. These internet systems aid in analyzing border and battlefield activities, particularly in remote and difficult geographic areas. Satellite internet also effectively helps to connect military planes, ships, tanks, and drones with soldiers.

Why are Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Satellite Constellations with 600 to 1200 km Distance from Earth Gaining Traction?

“Closeness to Earth Aids LEO Satellites in Offering Effective Data Communication”

Attribute	600 to 1200 km
Segment Value (2024E)	US$ 5.4 Billion
Growth Rate (2024 to 2034)	13% CAGR
Projected Value (2034F)	US$ 18.4 Billion

Latency is a measure of the time that data takes to pass from one network to another. Because optical fibers are on earth and in near proximity to users, latency associated with them is almost 5 microseconds. Since satellites are present in between heights of 500 km to above 35,000 km, latency is more. For LEO the distance from earth is ~160km to 2,000 km.

Latency for various orbits are, GEO it is ~477 ms, for MEO it is ~27-477 ms, and for LEO it is ~2-27 ms. The newer versions of geostationary earth orbit (GEO) satellites provide higher throughput (HTS) but latency remains the same. Whereas, low earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellations require a large number of satellites to provide the service since they are low in orbit, cover less area, and revolve around the globe in 88 to 127 minutes. Their closeness to the Earth enables them to provide the advantage of low latency.

The bandwidth capacity that LEO satellite constellations will be able to provide is likely to undersize existing high-throughput geostationary orbit satellites. Traditional GEO has a bandwidth capacity of 1 to 10 gigabits per second (Gbps), first generation HTS provides a range of around 10 to 50 Gbps, while third-generation HTS provides up to 150 to 350 Gbps.

While new generation constellations have the capacity of 10s of Gbps for a single satellite, which totals almost from a single digit to 10s of Tbps. It is expected that by the end of the decade, it is likely to reach above 60 Tbps.

Competitive Landscape

Currently, the satellite internet technology is in its advancing phase and it is evolving with customer requirement assessment by developers. Satellite internet is set to hold a dominant position in the overall satellite market throughout the forecast period.

A satellite can be considered as the workhorse of the whole satellite broadband ecosystem. Gaining expertise in its development and manufacturing provides a cost-effective and non-dependency advantage to satellite internet providers.

• SpaceX is manufacturing its own satellites, whereas, on the other hand, other LEO satellite operators source their satellite manufacturing to external parties such as Airbus and Boeing.
• Amazon a new company in the satellite internet market signed a contract in 2023 with SpaceX for three Falcon 9 launches to support deployment plans for Project Kuiper, Amazon’s low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite broadband network.

Fact.MR provides detailed information about the price points of key satellite internet providers positioned across the world, sales growth, production capacity, and speculative technological expansion, in the recently updated report.

Key Segments of Satellite Internet Market Research

• By Frequency Band:

  • L-band
  • C-band
  • Ka-band
  • Ku-band
  • S-band
  • X-band

• By Bandwidth:

  • Less than 15 Tbps
  • 15 to 20 Tbps
  • Above 20 Tbps

• By Orbit:

  • Less Than 600 km
  • 600 to 1200 km
  • Above 1200 km

• By End User:

  • Transportation
  • Military
  • Residential
  • Enterprises
  • Telecommunications
  • Others

• By Region:

  • North America
  • Latin America
  • Western Europe
  • Eastern Europe
  • East Asia
  • South Asia & Pacific
  • Middle East & Africa