It’s a Mobile World for Flat Panel Antennas
February 6, 2017
NSR’s Flat Panel Satellite Antennas, 2nd Edition (FPA2) report, forecasts cumulative FPA equipment sales to reach $9.1 billion by 2026. As the only multi-client report on this emerging technology, NSR’s FPA2 finds that aeronautical equipment will drive revenue growth for manufacturers, while fixed broadband services from non-GEO satellites will be the main volume market.
Flat Panel Antennas (FPAs), and more specifically, phased array antennas, have been deployed since the 1980s. Their cost and performance have been the major factors holding back the potentially ‘game-changing’ technologies. “There is no one specific FPA technology that fits every need, as each market has its own specific performance requirements that come with the weight of regulatory and economic constraints,” stated Prateep Basu, NSR Analyst and report co-author.
Technical complexity of FPAs for mobile applications is expected to keep antenna prices high, even as they become more viable in mobile markets. Combined with the rapidly rising number of airlines pursuing in-flight connectivity, large leisure maritime markets, and the established land-mobile government sector, NSR expects mobile applications to drive FPA revenues, accounting for over 92% of total FPA equipment revenues, by 2026. Satellite broadband applications, driven by the expected operationalization of LEO-HTS constellations like OneWeb and SpaceX, are the main drivers of the Fixed Applications forecast, delivering services over 2,000,000 lower-priced FPAs by the end of the forecast, primarily to the Middle East and Asia.
“The market today is clearly dominated by commercial aviation connectivity markets. However, partnership models that new FPA manufacturers are adopting across the satellite industry value-chain can be expected to accelerate vertical market-specific development. This will also shape business models that cater to a definite demand for such equipment,” added Dallas Kasaboski, NSR Analyst and report co-author.
NSR’s Flat Panel Satellite Antennas, 2nd Edition (FPA2) report, forecasts cumulative FPA equipment sales to reach $9.1 billion by 2026. As the only multi-client report on this emerging technology, NSR’s FPA2 finds that aeronautical equipment will drive revenue growth for manufacturers, while fixed broadband services from non-GEO satellites will be the main volume market.
Flat Panel Antennas (FPAs), and more specifically, phased array antennas, have been deployed since the 1980s. Their cost and performance have been the major factors holding back the potentially ‘game-changing’ technologies. “There is no one specific FPA technology that fits every need, as each market has its own specific performance requirements that come with the weight of regulatory and economic constraints,” stated Prateep Basu, NSR Analyst and report co-author.
Technical complexity of FPAs for mobile applications is expected to keep antenna prices high, even as they become more viable in mobile markets. Combined with the rapidly rising number of airlines pursuing in-flight connectivity, large leisure maritime markets, and the established land-mobile government sector, NSR expects mobile applications to drive FPA revenues, accounting for over 92% of total FPA equipment revenues, by 2026. Satellite broadband applications, driven by the expected operationalization of LEO-HTS constellations like OneWeb and SpaceX, are the main drivers of the Fixed Applications forecast, delivering services over 2,000,000 lower-priced FPAs by the end of the forecast, primarily to the Middle East and Asia.
“The market today is clearly dominated by commercial aviation connectivity markets. However, partnership models that new FPA manufacturers are adopting across the satellite industry value-chain can be expected to accelerate vertical market-specific development. This will also shape business models that cater to a definite demand for such equipment,” added Dallas Kasaboski, NSR Analyst and report co-author.