Satellite Map in Latin America 2024 - Credit: © 2024 Convergencialatina
The GEO market is going through a period of concentration, after two merger and acquisition movements already completed -Viasat and Inmarsat, on the one hand, and Eutelsat and OneWeb, on the other-, and a third announced in May 2024, focused on the purchase of Intelsat by SES. This repositioning occurs alongside the hype in low orbit, after the entry into full operation of two megaLeos -Starlink and Eutelsat OneWeb- and the upcoming activation of Amazon Kuiper at the end of 2024. Added to this is the launch in May 2024 of six new satellites from SES' O3b mPower fleet at MEO.
The three M&A movements mentioned before enable multi-orbit service schemes: for example, in the case of Eutelsat OneWeb, with 40 GEO and 634 LEO satellites; or the new Viasat, that introduced the combined NexusWave offer for the maritime sector (it brings together capacity in the Global Xpress Ka-band network, in the new Viasat 3 satellite, LTE services and L-band capacity). The shift to multi-orbit, not only in these concentrations but in the entire satellite industry, seeks to take advantage of the best of each orbit, and is established as the appropriate formula to meet different customer requirements, whether regarding latency, support or budget, such as was exposed in the debates of Satellite Map Day 2024.
Meanwhile, the trail of alliances with Starlink does not stop (Telefónica, Sencinet, Entel, Mercado Libre, SES for the cruise market, are just a few): they aim to bring added value in customer service, in transfer to other orbits in the face of eventual problems (solar storms, for example, that degrade the service in LEO) or the replacement of terminals. In the case of Eutelsat OneWeb, it focuses on corporate traffic and also adds more alliances to its credit every day: its distribution partners in South America are Speedcast, Hughes, KVH, Axess, Orbith, Cirion, Telespazio, Telefónica Global Solutions and SB Telecom.
Beyond the megaLeos, other projects in the making for low orbit are those of Telesat Lightspeed, to start in 2026; Rivada Networks, with its The OuterNET fleet of 600 satellites; the 5G IoT network of Spanish Sateliot; and the plan of 288 devices maintained by Viasat, among others.
The advance of fleets in LEO gave rise to two new scenarios that the industry outlines for the coming years, and will be the subject of debate at Satellite Map Day 2025: 5G Non-Terrestrial Networks and Direct-to- Device. They talk about the convergence of the space and terrestrial world, and star in joint announcements by satellite and mobile operators, especially in the United States these days.
Regarding the regulatory efforts behind these upcoming scenarios, the FCC made the first foray into a framework for so-called SCS or “Supplemental Coverage from Space”, enabling mobile operators to extend their coverage through collaboration with satellite operators. In Latin America, Brazil's Anatel authorized the start of D2D tests in the 800 Mhz band and announced the creation of a regulatory sandbox to support these trials.