The global satellite IoT market is set for explosive growth, according to a report from specialist analyst firm Berg Insight.
Berg Insight’s research finds the global satellite IoT subscriber base surpassed 5.1 million in 2023 and is projected to skyrocket to 26.7 million units by 2028, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 39.2 percent.
With only about 10 percent of the Earth’s surface covered by terrestrial connectivity services, the opportunity for satellite IoT communications is vast. Satellite connectivity serves as a crucial complement to terrestrial cellular and non-cellular networks in remote locations, proving particularly valuable for applications in agriculture, asset tracking, maritime and intermodal transportation, oil and gas industry exploration, utilities, construction, and government sectors.
The market is becoming increasingly competitive, with both established satellite operators and more than two dozen new initiatives vying for a slice of the IoT connectivity pie. Berg Insight’s study examines a total of 40 satellite IoT operators, highlighting the industry’s growing diversity.
Johan Fagerberg, Principal Analyst at Berg Insight, said: “Iridium, Orbcomm, Viasat (Inmarsat), and Globalstar are the largest satellite IoT network operators today.”
Iridium has emerged as the market leader, experiencing a 17 percent growth in its subscriber base over the past year to reach 1.8 million subscribers.
Orbcomm, which has transitioned from a dedicated satellite operator to an end-to-end solution provider, reported 715,000 million satellite IoT subscribers across its own and Viasat’s networks at the end of Q4-2023. Globalstar follows with 0.48 million subscribers. Other notable players with tens of thousands of connections include Australia’s Myriota, France’s Kineis, and the UAE’s Thuraya.
The satellite IoT landscape is being further disrupted by a wave of new entrants. High-profile projects such as Astrocast, AST SpaceMobile, CASC/CASIC, E-Space, Hubble Network, Kepler Communications, Ligado Networks, Lynk, Omnispace, Skylo, and Swarm Technologies (SpaceX) are emerging. Many of these newcomers are leveraging low-earth orbit nano satellite concepts and exploring innovative connectivity technologies.
A particularly interesting trend is the emergence of hybrid satellite-terrestrial connectivity solutions. Collaborations between satellite operators and mobile operators that explore new hybrid satellite-terrestrial connectivity opportunities will become common in the next few years.
“Skylo has been the most active NTN provider lately for hybrid cellular/satellite offerings working with Deutsche Telekom, BICS, emnify, floLIVE, Monogoto, O2 Telefónica (Germany), Particle, Soracom, Transatel and 1GLOBAL (Truphone),” explains Fagerberg.
“Additional satellite IoT operators partnering with mobile operators and MVNOs include Sateliot, Starlink, OQ Technology, Omnispace, Lynk, Intelsat, Viasat, and AST SpaceMobile.”
With the promise of global connectivity and the convergence of terrestrial and satellite technologies, the future of IoT communications looks increasingly boundless.
(Image Credit: Viasat)
See also: Google and Bentley future-proof infrastructure with digital twins
Want to learn about the IoT from industry leaders? Check out IoT Tech Expo taking place in Amsterdam, California, and London. The comprehensive event is co-located with other leading events including Cyber Security & Cloud Expo, AI & Big Data Expo, Intelligent Automation Conference, Edge Computing Expo, and Digital Transformation Week.
Explore other upcoming enterprise technology events and webinars powered by TechForge here.
