Government and Military Demand on Commercial Satellite, 4th Edition

The clamor for U.S. Military disengagement in Iraq and Afghanistan in terms of troop levels is leading to questions of sustainable demand in the near term as well as the long term. Election-led and promised policy thrusts are being analyzed as leading to military budget cuts that would affect procurement and usage of commercial satellite services as well as negatively impact the development of next-generation systems.

Yet, the counter-argument for such a scenario is that a major troop pullout may actually lead to higher demand for bandwidth and satellite services as the U.S. Military needs to continue engaging the globe' s "hotspots," albeit at relative arms length. Indeed, communications needs at the troop or soldier level should decrease given a massive or gradual pullout from Iraq and Afghanistan. However, bandwidth procurement for intelligence gathering and reconnaissance missions for systems such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) will likely increase at very high levels, given the technical requirements of running such systems.

At the same time, demand on the home front for DHS missions, the war on drugs and even environmental concerns are providing renewed impetus for civil government procurement and usage of commercial satellite systems. Once again, UAVs, traditionally the domain of the U.S. Military, are now being used by other civil agencies such as the Drug Enforcement Agency for border patrols, while NASA and agencies concerned with environmental monitoring and scientific research are likewise expected to procure UAVs for civil missions.

Moreover, the need to address public disaster preparedness around the globe continues to increase demand for commercial satellite communications services. In addition, commercial satellite demand for the government and military that has for the most part been centered specifically in the United States has begun to experience increased procurement and initiatives by other countries and organizations outside the Pentagon that are positively impacting the industry.

And while seemingly dormant over many years, the arms race between the U.S. and Russia took a recent turn when Russia announced perhaps ominously on September 11, 2007 that "it has tested the world' s most powerful vacuum bomb, an explosive device unleashing a destructive shockwave with the power of a nuclear weapon," which according to the Russian military is the "father of all bombs." Once again, intelligence gathering and reconnaissance missions at the very least will have to be undertaken by the U.S. and its allies to track developments in the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

The 4th Edition of this study determines the net effects on demand with an impending Iraq/Afghanistan pullout with that of new programs and initiatives outside the Pentagon and outside U.S. borders. This edition dedicates an analysis of equipment contracting, specifically for communications-on-the-move (COTM) capabilities on land, air and sea. "Netcentric" warfare as well as civil government applications of the future that are currently being contracted by military entities worldwide are expected to be run on true "on-the-move" systems with high bandwidth requirements.

• What is the current state of the market?
• What is driving the market, its strengths and what opportunities exist?
• What is restraining the market, its weaknesses and what are the market threats?
• On the military side, what emerging landscape is beginning to take hold with new systems coming online such as AEHF, TSAT, etc?
  • What is the effect on commercial companies?
  • What are overall bandwidth and service demand trends?
• What does the emergence of COTM mean to commercial satellite companies?
  • Who are the leading suppliers?
  • What are the contracts to consider?
  • What are key government requirements?
  • How does NSR expect this market to play out over the next 5-7 years?
• If the U.S. does draw down troops in the Middle East, what does this mean to the overall market?
  • Will contracts decline?
  • Are there other hot spots?
  • Will domestic demand (DHS, DEA, etc.) soften this blow?
• What is emerging in other markets (specific contracts and opportunities) in Europe, Asia, and Latin America?
• What is taking place currently that will affect future domestic U.S. programs in DHS, disaster recovery and environmental concerns, among others?

• Transponder Lease/Network Services
• VSAT Market
• Broadband and Next Generation Mobile
  • COTM Equipment
    • Land
    • Air
    • Sea
  • SATCOM Services
    • Land
    • Air
    • Sea
• Transportable/Flyaway (COTP)
• Narrowband Mobile
• UAV
• Ancillary Terrestrial Component (ATC)

• Regional Breakdown in terms of Procurement and Usage
  • North America
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • Asia Pacific
  • Africa/Middle East
  • Atlantic Ocean Region
  • Pacific Ocean Region
  • Indian Ocean Region
• Breakouts for Military versus Civilian Procurement and Usage

• Complete report document segmented by analysis on all regions and all applications, frequencies and technologies
• An Excel file containing extensive data and charts so the client can easily use this work as a basis for their own internal market projections

In addition, all clients of the Government and Military Demand on Commercial Satellites: 4th Edition report are entitled to a FREE half-day of consulting with a Northern Sky Research analyst. This time can be used to review report findings, interpret market forecasts and determine how the report information applies to your company' s business model.