Hosted Payloads Continue to Emerge as Viable Option for Satellite Capacity Building

 

 

NSR released its newest market survey and forecast report: Hosted Payloads on Commercial Satellites, 2  Edition.  The report provides an in-depth overview of demand trends for military and civil government requirements for creative solutions that address Communications and Earth Observation/Science missions, as well as the emergence of private enterprise risk-taking.

The report concludes that, from an estimated $106.2 million in revenues for 2012, revenues for payload equipment, engineering services and commercial satellite operator hosting services are expected to range from $330.8 million to $554.0 million by 2022, yielding cumulative revenues of $1.8 billion to $2.9 billion over an 11-year period. The range of revenue streams depends largely on the types and varying costs of hosted payload equipment, and here, NSR conducted a scenario-based approach in its forecast methodology to reflect various payload complexities.

Although delayed largely due to the global fiscal environment and governmental budgetary constraints, the hosted payload proposition remains viable over the long term, and one of the key developments that should usher in robust growth is the emergence of greater private sector involvement. An emerging business model is expected to materialize where private entities absorb the risks that military and civil government entities may not be willing to take.

“There is at least a 10-year window of opportunity that exists brought about by the state of government budgets, the changing political landscape and procurement processes that, among other things, have hampered the signing of hosted payload contracts,” according to Jose Del Rosario, Senior Analyst and author of the report.  “There is clearly pent-up demand, and the right amount of risk-taking by the private sector via partnerships with technology companies, satellite operators, government clients and, to some extent, private equity can provide sustainable and even enormous revenue potential over the long term,” Del Rosario said.