Global Lease Revenues for Commercial Satellite Capacity to Hit US$7.3 Billion in 2010, According to Northern Sky Research.

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Emerging HD will not Slow SD Channel Growth, with More Than 3,350 New SD Channels to be Carried on Commercial Satellites in the Coming Six Years

Northern Sky Research (NSR) today released its newest market survey and forecast report "Global Assessment of Satellite Demand: A Demand-Driven, Region-Specific Analysis of the Commercial Geostationary Satellite Transponder Market for 2004-2010". This new report is a completely updated, second edition of the most in-depth and detailed analysis of the commercial satellite market available to the industry. The study provides a highly granular evaluation of supply and demand for C-, Ku- and Ka-band satellite transponder capacity for seven specific satellite applications in twelve distinct regional markets.

In this new report, NSR found that demand for commercial C- and Ku-band capacity is growing at an average annual rate of 3.1%, and the total number of leased transponders should exceed 4,950 in 2010, up from 4,125 as of the end of 2004. Yet, this global view masks the fact that demand for C-band capacity is flat to declining in half of the regional markets investigated in detail, and the real engine for growth in most markets will be the lease of commercial Ku-band capacity for video distribution, Direct-to-Home (DTH) and emerging satellite broadband services. "NSR projects that, on a global basis, for every new transponder of C-band capacity leased, ten Ku-band transponders will be placed under contract", said Patrick French, Senior Analyst for NSR and author of the report.

To reach this conclusion, NSR structured the study such that in excess of 100 individual demand forecasts were performed in order to provide the detailed wealth of information the commercial satellite industry requires to successfully grow within an ever more competitive marketplace. Separate regional C- and Ku-band demand forecasts were performed for each of the major satellite applications investigated in the study. These applications included the three cited above, in addition to video contribution & OUTV, telephony & carrier, narrowband VSAT and a group of other niche satellite services. NSR primarily utilized a bottom-up approach to build its market assessment for each of the following regional markets: North America, Central America & Caribbean, South America, the Atlantic Ocean Region, Western Europe, Central & Eastern Europe, the Middle East & North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific Ocean Region.

A key finding from the study is that 61% of all leased commercial capacity was for video services and, illustrating the importance this segment to the world's satellite operators, NSR estimates that 64% of all leased capacity will be for video uses by 2010. "In the last year, NSR saw the number of standard definition channels carried on the world's satellites increase by 16.5%, rising from 9,138 in 2003 to 10,650 in 2004", states French. "Further, HD is emerging rapidly, and NSR anticipates that the number of full-time HD channels carried on commercial satellites will nearly quadruple by the end of 2006."

Beyond NSR's own assessment of the market, this study is seen as a tool to be used by its clients in their own assessments of the market. For this reason, NSR includes all of the study data in Excel files, along with a point-by-point forecast methodology, which allows the study's users to manipulate the data to suit their own internal forecast needs and their view of how each separate satellite application will develop in the twelve distinct regional markets. For additional information on this report, including a full table of contents, list of exhibits, and executive summary, please visit www.northernskyresearch.com or call NSR at 407-352-5295.

Northern Sky Research (NSR) is an international market research and consulting firm specializing in satellite and wireless technology and applications. NSR primary areas of expertise include satellite technology, IP applications, wireless convergence and broadcast services. With extensive expertise in all regions and a number of applications and technologies, NSR is a leading provider of in-depth market insight and analyses.