As uninterrupted workflows and up time become industry norms, the demand for communication technology that ensures the same for Internet of Things (IoT) is also going up. The rapidly expanding use of IoT devices, especially in difficult/ remote applications and regions, is spurring the use of satellites as they provide greater reliability and coverage and help to fill in the gaps which are left by cellular and landline communication solutions. As a result, there has been a growing adoption of satellites as either the primary or backup technology for communications competing with broadband networks.
The new Frost & Sullivan analysis titled “Global Satellite Internet of Things (IoT) market, Forecast to 2022”, suggests that instead of considering satellites as a competing technology, they should be used to complement terrestrial networks and could serve as the primary communication technology for some unique applications.
There are only 25.5 million satellite units operational globally in 2015. Frost & Sullivan predicts that the satellite IoT market will grow at a 19.9% CAGR till 2022 and would grow at a much faster rate than any other segment in the satellite market. The growth in the market for Satellite IoT is expected to provide new opportunities for growth for providers of mobile satellite services. It is expected to bolster the satellite phone market where the development has become stagnant.
“The IoT market is experiencing high growth with an expected compound annual growth rate of 15.5 percent during 2016-2020,” says Peter Finalle, digital transformation research analyst, Frost & Sullivan. “Thus, satellite adoption for this application will also grow at a rapid pace, creating new opportunities for satellite operators around the world.”
The study found that industries like the military, oil & gas, aviation and maritime shipping, are able to conveniently integrate the S- and L-band networks, that available through satellites, with a large variety of IoT applications, cost effectively.
The growth of the satellite IoT market is challenged by the high upfront investments required for owning the satellite equipment. The challenges faced in integrating the legacy IT infrastructures with this communication technology are also high. But, the benefits of guaranteed communications and increased geographical coverage, even during network outages, disasters and cellular dead zones, far outweigh the challenges faced by this market.
“Satellite has the most significant opportunities when complementing terrestrial landline and cellular networks instead of competing with them,” observes Finalle. “Hybrid solutions can leverage the unique benefits of both technologies, allowing satellite to effectively fill in network gaps and service outages to provide consistent IoT implementations.”
