IoT, Machine-to-Machine are Smallsat Growth Opportunity, NSR Says

By 2027, machine-to-machine and IoT applications will likely represent 37 percent of all satcom terminals, Northern Sky Research said Tuesday. A variety of small satellite constellations -- Astrocast, Hiber and Kepler Communications among them -- will target those applications, leading to new connectivity demands, it said. Low average revenue per user will mean "modest" opportunities, but smallsat constellations targeting M2M/IoT are more viable than low earth orbit telecom constellations due to lower capital costs, NSR said. Most connected IoT devices will rely on terrestrial connectivity, but low-cost satcom services have a niche opportunity with devices operating outside terrestrial network footprints or moving in and out of terrestrial networks, it said.