The fixed satellite market continued to grow in 2010, but...

The fixed satellite market continued to grow in 2010, but faces slower growth rates and “a more challenging business environment” for the next several years, said a study by Euroconsult. It said fixed satellite transponder demand grew 4.4 percent in 2010, and revenue reached $10.8 billion. U.S. military withdrawal from the Middle East and Afghanistan will slow satellite capacity demand, it said, and the launch of new satellites will result in lower average fill factor, potentially putting pressure on prices. TV remains the biggest growth factor for satellites, with more than 29,000 TV channels distributed by satellite worldwide, Euroconsult said. Capacity demand from TV grew more than 9 percent in 2010 in Latin America, Russia, the Middle East, Africa and Southeast Asia, it said. The number of HDTV channels distributed by satellite grew 42 percent to about 2,680 channels, excluding those in the U.S. Euroconsult predicted a quick rampup of high-throughput satellite capacity, particularly in Ka-band, growing to 450 Gbps in 2015 from 77 Gbps in 2010. It said the new capacity will stimulate demand for satellite telecom, including consumer broadband, enterprise networks, backhaul, military communications and video.