Convergencia Research, Consultoría especializada en Latinoamérica y Caribe
Monday, September 19, 2016

Satellites Map in Latin America 2016

Industry seeks to reduce costs and make supply flexible to sustain growth

Satellites Map in Latin America 2016 - Credit: © 2016 Convergencialatina
Satellites Map in Latin America 2016 - Credit: © 2016 Convergencialatina

Although there is an immediate concern about costs in US Dollars and about shrinkage effects on customers, the sector believes that the unfavorable economic environment in the region will not affect, in general terms, the investment plans scheduled. The new High-Throughput Satellite Technologies (HTS) and spot beams transmitting allow addressing strategies towards services supply more flexible models.

Industry concern to reduce costs drives initiatives ranging from architecture, primarily to minimize the cost of terminals, to the incorporation of experimental photonics and new reusable designs on launch platforms, as well as space resupply for satellites in orbit.

The data market will continue to gain importance, although the video is still the business star: in a market that according to different consultancy firms will reach US$20 billion by 2021, satellite TV represents more than 60%. But in the case of connectivity, the medium-term agenda will focus on the larger deployment of Ka-band capacity – including the emergence of a new "exotic" player such as Yahsat-, the development of IoT solutions for remote areas and earth stations in motion (ESIM) that communicate with geostationary space stations.

This type of terminals serves a wide range of applications, both on board of aircrafts and ships and on land, to meet the expectation of the user to be able to connect anywhere. Services provided by earth stations in motion are essential also for government and business users in many sectors such as shipping, media and energy customers who operate in remote parts of the planet.

Latin American economic and political pulse does not seem to affect government plans to increase local market share. Bolivia will launch in 2016 the project related to its second communications satellite, the Tupac Katari II. By that time it is also expected that the delayed Nicasat I, which was to be put into orbit this year, be ready, as well as the commencement of the project to build the first Costa Rican state-funded satellite.

Mexico announced a third satellite to its Mexsat constellation, and other countries in the region such as Chile and Honduras are also analyzing the possibility of having their own satellites. Instead, the arrival of a new government in Argentina opens a question about Arsat state operator’s plans to launch a third satellite by 2019. The same applies to Brazil’s Geostationary Defense and Strategic Communications Satellite (GDSCS) due to the political situation the largest market in the region is going through.

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