NSR, Newtec stress need for defense, government markets to prepare for significant growth in satellite data rates

Posted by Courtney E. Howard

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., 22 Oct. 2011.Defense and government markets need to anticipate increased data, video, and voice rates over satellite, according to officials at NSR, an international satellite market research and consulting firm, and satellite communications technology provider Newtec in Stamford, Conn. The worldwide, rapidly increasing demand for communications over satellite is driven by the growing numbers and video plus data traffic by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and manned aircraft, as well as advances in fixed government communications and national security technologies.

“Cost considerations in the time of expected budget tightening coupled with tremendous pressure to offer creative solutions to address complex mission requirements for data and video should lead to tighter commercial partnerships over the long term,” says Jose Del Rosario, senior analyst at NSR. “The commercial opportunity for government/defense should grow at healthy levels. From $3.2 billion in 2009, NSR forecasts revenues to reach $9.2 billion at the end of 2019 with a representative compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.9%."

Newtec engineers recommend use of technologies, such as those in the company’s FlexACM, designed to automatically optimize satellite capacity, enabling defense/government end users to get the most out of the bandwidth available to them.

FlexACM has been deployed on platforms supporting UAVs and manned aircraft; as well as government fixed communications; Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (MWR); and intelligence through commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) satellite communication equipment.

“The increasing requirement for satellite capacity in the government and defense market has been conspicuous,” says Koen Willems, Newtec's strategic marketing director of government solutions. “With applications and services in the market becoming more and more data hungry, efficiency is becoming increasingly important to keeping costs down whilst ensuring reliable and stable services.”