According to a study by Juniper Research, the number of satellites in orbit that can be leveraged for internet of things (IoT) connectivity will grow by 150 per cent over the next five years.
The study predicted that these satellites would grow from 10,000 in 2024 to over 24,000 by 2029, owing to increased demand for connectivity in nomadic locations from IoT network users. It forecasted that 98 per cent satellites launched over the next five years will be low earth orbit (LEOs) due to low costs.
As per the study, substantial investment in multi-orbit satellite solutions is necessary to meet this growing demand for satellite IoT connectivity. This model combines the low latency and high throughput from LEOs satellites and the extensive geographical coverage of geostationary earth orbit (GEOs) satellites over a single service. This will enable satellite IoT providers to cater for the wide spectrum of IoT use cases, including data-intensive and low power, wide area connections.
Meanwhile, the study recommended satellite network operators to form strategic partnerships that fill in coverage gaps between LEO and GEO capabilities. It identified construction and infrastructure, and logistics, as two key growth opportunities. Further, it found that the wide range of connectivity requirements, such as nomadic operational areas and conditional monitoring, necessitate the use of LEOs and GEOs for complete service provision. Furthermore, partnerships that enable the use of LEOs and GEOs for IoT networks will be essential to attract enterprise users in these sectors.
